the Ecom Handbook
Kylie Jenner, founder at ‘Kylie Cosmetics’
Hey, it’s Jochem. Welcome back to the Ecom Handbook #11.
Quick question: is there anything I can do better with these newsletters?
Just hit reply and tell me. I read every message and it directly shapes what I write next, my goal is to make each edition more useful than the last.
-Jochem (@iamjochems)
For years, performance marketing rewarded control.
• Tighter targeting.
• Manual bid adjustments.
• Audience segmentation hacks.
• Campaign duplication for scale.
The best media buyers were the best operators inside the ad manager. That era is fading.
• Advantage+.
• Performance Max.
• Auto-bidding everywhere.
The platforms are consolidating decisions into the algorithm. And this isn’t a temporary phase. It’s the new default.
The brands winning right now aren’t fighting automation. They’re redesigning their role around it. Let’s break down what’s actually changing.
Let’s get into it!
THE SHIFT
THE BIG IDEA
“Automation shifts leverage upstream.”
Old world: Media buyers controlled distribution.
Who sees the ad
How much you bid
Where budget flows
What audience scales
New world: The platform controls distribution.
You control inputs.
Creative
Offer
Conversion signals
Data quality
Account architecture
Measurement logic
Advantage+ and PMAX are not “smart campaign types.” They are allocation engines.
They scan patterns.
They model probability.
They redistribute budget fast.
They optimize what you feed them. If your inputs are sharp, automation scales performance.
If your inputs are weak, automation scales inefficiency faster than manual ever could.
The advantage is no longer in micromanaging. It’s in engineering the system.
THE IMPACT
WHY IT MATTERS
1. Creative is now the primary targeting lever
Broad targeting is built in.
Interest stacks matter less.
Micro-segmentation matters less.
The algorithm explores. Which means:
Your creative determines who the system finds. Each hook signals a different intent profile, and each angle attracts a different behavior pattern.
If all your ads say the same thing with minor visual tweaks, the system has nothing to learn from.
Creative diversity is no longer “nice to have.” It’s structural.
2. Signal quality determines efficiency
Automated campaigns optimize toward events:
Purchases
Conversion value
Modeled data
If your signal is distorted, optimization follows distortion.
Common issues:
Incomplete server-side tracking
Poor event prioritization
Blended new and returning customer data
No LTV or margin awareness
Automation amplifies signal strength. But it also amplifies signal flaws.
When brands say, “PMAX doesn’t work for us,”
the issue is often upstream.
3. Simplicity beats fragmentation
Old-school scaling meant duplication.
More campaigns.
More ad sets.
More control layers.
In automated structures, fragmentation slows learning.
Algorithms need:
Consolidated budgets
Clean signals
Sufficient data density
Fewer, stronger campaigns often outperform complex trees. Control today looks like clarity, not like complication.
4. The media buyer role is evolving
Button pushing is declining in value. Performance architecture is rising. The new skill stack:
Designing creative testing systems
Aligning offers with traffic temperature
Managing signal hygiene
Understanding incrementality
Evaluating blended performance (MER, contribution margin)
Automation didn’t remove the need for expertise, it redefined where expertise lives.
THE MOVE
WHAT TO DO NEXT
The Automation Readiness Framework
Before scaling Advantage+ or PMAX, pressure test four layers.
1. Signal Integrity (10 minutes)
Audit:
Are purchase events accurate and deduplicated?
Is server-side tracking active?
Are conversion values consistent?
Can we separate new vs returning customers?
If signal integrity is weak, fix this first. Optimization is only as strong as the event it learns from.
2. Creative Depth (15 minutes)
Review your last 30 days.
Do you have:
At least 5 distinct angles?
Different hooks per pain point?
Clear differentiation from competitors?
Native-feeling creative formats?
Automation thrives on variation, not on volume.
3. Offer Strength (10 minutes)
Ask internally:
Is this offer strong enough for cold traffic?
Does it reduce risk?
Does it create urgency or clarity?
Would you click this ad in-feed?
Algorithms can distribute attention, but they can’t manufacture demand.
4. Measurement Reality (10 minutes)
Look beyond platform ROAS.
Check:
Blended MER
Contribution margin after ad spend
CAC stability over time
Incrementality assumptions
Automated campaigns can fluctuate daily.
Judge them at the system level.
When these four layers are aligned, automation becomes leverage. When they’re misaligned, it becomes exposure.
THE ASSIST
WHERE AI FITS
Use AI as a strategic co-pilot before you launch.
Prompt:
“Act as a performance marketing strategist. Based on this product, margin profile, and audience, design an Advantage+ and PMAX structure. Define creative themes, signal setup, budget allocation, and KPI evaluation framework focused on profitability.”
Paste:
Product description
AOV and gross margin
Traffic geography
Creative angles currently available
% new vs returning customer mix
If the output reveals unclear KPIs or weak angle diversity,
you’ve identified the bottleneck before spending.
AI is powerful at diagnosing structural gaps. Use it upstream.
THE STACK
TOOLS WORTH KNOWING
Automation increases the need for measurement clarity.
• Triple Whale - Blended performance tracking and MER visibility.
https://www.triplewhale.com/
• Northbeam – Marketing attribution and incrementality modeling.
https://www.northbeam.io/
These tools don’t replace platform data, they contextualize it.
THE NEWS
THIS WEEK IN E-COMMERCE
Government and TikTok Shop educate sellers on e-commerce compliance
A trade department partnered with TikTok Shop to train online sellers on legal and consumer protection obligations.
Cake(dot)Shop appoints new commercial director
Programmatic platform Cake.Shop has hired a senior executive to drive its digital commerce growth strategy.
Visual AI shaping ecommerce CRM
Automated imagery and visual APIs are emerging as key assets for improving consistency and conversion in e-commerce CRM.
THE FIX
YOUR ACTION STEP
Stop asking:
“How do we control the algorithm?”
Start asking:
“Are our inputs engineered for scale?”
This week:
Run the Automation Readiness Framework, and fix one upstream weakness. Then let the system work, because the competitive edge in 2026 isn’t manual control.
It’s strategic architecture.
If you have any comments or feedback, just reply to this email!
Thanks for reading,
Jochem
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