Jewelry & Accessories
2X ROAS Using Value Optimization for High-AOV Customers
How Pura Vida Bracelets prioritized quality over volume to improve profitability
ROAS
Purchase Lift
Higher AOV
Background
Client & Context
Pura Vida Bracelets is a direct-to-consumer jewelry brand that exploded on Instagram with their vibrant, handcrafted bracelets and coastal lifestyle aesthetic. Their stunning product photography created organic viral moments, building a passionate community of repeat customers.
When they came to Sum Digital, their previous agency relationship had stagnated. They needed to scale efficiently with Meta advertising while maintaining their strong ROAS and reaching customers who would buy multiple times—not just one-time purchasers drawn in by discounts.
Challenge
The Problem
Pura Vida faced three core challenges:
- •Stagnant performance: Their previous agency had plateaued on conversion-optimized campaigns, unable to find incremental gains
- •Low-value customer acquisition: Conversion optimization was driving purchases, but not prioritizing customers who would spend more or buy again
- •Need for efficiency at scale: They wanted to increase sales while maintaining or improving their return on ad spend
Analysis
Our Diagnosis
We identified three strategic opportunities:
Wrong optimization signal
Conversion optimization treats all purchases equally—a $10 order gets the same weight as a $100 order. This was driving low-value, one-time buyers instead of high-LTV customers.
Meta's algorithm needed better signals to find valuable customers.
Untapped value optimization tool
Facebook had recently launched value optimization (optimizing for purchase value, not just conversions), but few advertisers were testing it. This gave Pura Vida first-mover advantage.
Early adoption meant less competition and better performance.
Strong creative foundation
Pura Vida's visual content—influencers wearing their jewelry in aspirational settings—was already proven. We just needed to pair it with the right targeting strategy.
Great creative + better optimization = compounding returns.
Strategy
The Approach
We rebuilt Pura Vida's acquisition engine around value optimization—training Meta's algorithm to prioritize customers who would spend more, not just convert faster.
Strategy
- • Switch to value optimization objective
- • Build lookalike audiences from high-value purchasers
- • Let Meta prioritize order value over conversion speed
- • Feed performance data back to refine targeting
Execution
- • Carousel ads featuring influencer content
- • Facebook Pixel tracking purchase values
- • Custom audiences of previous buyers
- • Continuous creative testing and iteration
Execution
Key Changes
Implemented value optimization
Switched campaign objective from conversions to value optimization, allowing Meta's algorithm to prioritize users likely to make higher-value purchases instead of just any purchase.
→ Trained algorithm on actual purchase values from Pixel data
Built high-value lookalike audiences
Created Custom Audiences from Pura Vida's previous purchasers, then generated lookalike audiences to find new customers with similar behaviors and spending patterns—creating a self-reinforcing acquisition engine.
→ Lookalike expansion from 20K+ previous customers
Deployed carousel creative format
Used carousel ads showcasing influencers wearing Pura Vida's wave rings and bracelets in lifestyle settings. Tested combinations, scaled winners, and continuously refreshed creative to prevent fatigue.
→ Iterative testing across 15+ creative variations
Outcomes
Results
Doubled return on ad spend compared to conversion-optimized campaigns
Increased website purchases vs. standard conversion optimization
Value optimization unlocked efficient growth by teaching Meta's algorithm to find customers who would spend more—not just convert faster. Explore more case studies or request a paid media audit.
Framework
Why This Worked
Better optimization signal
Value optimization trains the algorithm on purchase value, not just conversions—so it learns to find customers who buy more, driving both revenue and efficiency gains.
Lookalike audience compounding
Building lookalikes from high-value purchasers creates a self-reinforcing loop—new customers look like your best customers, improving both acquisition quality and long-term LTV.
Platform-native creative format
Carousel ads let users swipe through multiple products in one ad unit, increasing engagement and giving the algorithm more conversion opportunities per impression.
"Value-optimized ad sets improve our return on ad spend while reaching the best audience. Facebook and Instagram are our largest channels for new customer acquisition, instrumental in our growth."
Ready to Prioritize High-Value Customers Like Pura Vida?
We'll audit your campaigns, identify opportunities to optimize for customer value instead of just conversions, and show you how to improve efficiency at scale like we did for Pura Vida.