TikTok Ads Case Study: How I Increased Outsmarted's Purchases by 8,724%
Updated: Sep 9
The Results At A Glance....
+8,724%
YoY increase in TikTok purchases
28% Below Target
TikTok CPA vs target
36% Lower CPA
TikTok Ads vs Meta Ads
The result was strong enough for Outsmarted to increase TikTok's planned share of advertising budget from 2.16% in 2025 to 50% in 2026.
Can TikTok Ads Become A Profitable Customer Acquisition Channel For A Brand When They've Previously Tried The Platform And It Hasn't Worked?
That's exactly the challenge Outsmarted brought to KIS Advertising ahead of Q4 2025.
After generating just 42 purchases from TikTok Ads in 2024, I developed a new TikTok advertising and creative strategy for Outsmarted's most important sales period of the year.
The result? An 8,724% year-on-year increase in purchases, a £14.36 CPA against a target of £20, and TikTok Ads ultimately outperforming Meta Ads in the UK.
This TikTok Ads case study looks at the strategy, creative testing and campaign management behind that growth.
The TikTok Ads Challenge.
Outsmarted is a highly seasonal product, with the majority of annual revenue generated in Q4. Historically, the brand relies heavily on Meta Ads during this period and has seen strong results there.
In 2024, the brand tested TikTok Ads in-house but saw limited success, generating just 42 purchases. As a result, confidence in TikTok Ads as a scalable acquisition channel was low.
For Q4 2025, Outsmarted wanted to explore whether TikTok Ads could reach a new audience and reduce reliance on Meta Ads during their most important sales period. To manage risk, campaigns were limited to the UK only, with a strict cost per purchase target.
An additional challenge was that previous TikTok activity in 2024 had been run via TikTok Shop. For Q4 2025, a new website pixel was implemented, meaning the new pixel had to build learnings from scratch, something that typically drives higher CPAs in the early stages.
The TikTok Ads Strategy.
Outsmarted had previously tested TikTok Ads, but the platform hadn't become a meaningful customer acquisition channel for the business.
So rather than simply increasing budget and hoping for a different result, I focused on building a TikTok-specific strategy around the two areas I believed would make the biggest difference: the campaign setup and the creative.
With Q4 being such an important sales period for Outsmarted, the goal wasn't simply to generate more purchases. It was to prove that TikTok could acquire customers at a CPA that made commercial sense for the business and, importantly, could be scaled.
Creating Ads Specifically for TikTok.
A big part of the strategy was making sure we weren't simply taking ads created for other platforms and expecting them to work on TikTok.
I created bespoke in-house video ads designed specifically for TikTok's native format, prioritising strong hooks, clear product demonstrations and gifting-focused messaging that reflected how people were buying during Q4.
The creative strategy wasn't just about making lots of different videos either.
Each creative was built to test something.
Different hooks, messages, product benefits and reasons to buy allowed me to understand what was actually motivating people to purchase Outsmarted.
Creative testing was then fast and iterative. Rather than deciding what I thought would work and sticking with it, I used the performance data to continually shape the next round of creative.
Winning concepts could be developed further and scaled, while weaker ones gave me useful information about what to test differently next.
And as the account gathered more purchase data and we identified the creatives that were driving customers at the right CPA, I could begin increasing spend while closely monitoring efficiency.
This allowed us to move TikTok from an advertising channel Outsmarted had previously struggled to make work into one that could be confidently scaled throughout its most important sales period.
Outsmarted's TikTok Ads Results.
+8,724% increase in purchases year-on-year from TikTok Ads
Achieved a CPA 28% more efficient than the UK benchmark.
TikTok ads outperformed Meta ads in the UK by 36% lower CPA.
In-house TikTok creatives drove the lowest CPAs and highest sales volume
Exceptional performance despite launching with a fresh website pixel
TikTok ad spend will be scaled from 2.16% in 2025 to 50% of total budget for 2026
From TikTok Ads Test to Core Acquisition Channel.
What began as a cautious test quickly became a core acquisition channel for Outsmarted. TikTok Ads not only proved viable during the most competitive time of year, but outperformed the brand’s historically strongest channel in the UK.
As a result, TikTok Ads will play a central role in Outsmarted’s growth strategy moving forward.
Using TikTok Ads for Q4 Ecommerce Growth
Q4 is the most important sales period of the year for many ecommerce brands, but it's also one of the most competitive times to advertise.
More brands are increasing their advertising budgets, which means you're competing for more expensive ad space and, most importantly, your customers' attention.
For Outsmarted, Q4 was particularly important because a large proportion of their annual sales happen in the lead-up to Christmas. This meant our TikTok Ads strategy couldn't simply focus on increasing purchase volume. We needed to scale while keeping customer acquisition costs profitable.
Creative played a huge role in this.
As we moved further into Q4, our messaging became increasingly focused around gifting intent. Rather than simply advertising what Outsmarted is and how the game works, we created TikTok Ads around the reasons someone might actually buy it at that time of year.
We focused on positioning Outsmarted as a Christmas gift, demonstrating the product through TikTok-first video content and creating strong hooks that gave people a reason to stop scrolling.
And as we learnt which creatives, messaging and audiences were generating purchases most efficiently, we were able to use that data to continually develop the creative strategy and scale the account.
But one of the biggest lessons from the campaign was that Q4 advertising isn't simply about spending more money because more people are shopping.
More competition means your creative has to work harder too.
Your ads need to reflect why someone is buying at that particular moment, what will make your product stand out against all the other options they're seeing, and what will give them enough confidence to actually make the purchase.
For Outsmarted, understanding that seasonal buying behaviour and adapting the TikTok creative strategy around it played an important role in turning TikTok from a small test into a major customer acquisition channel.
Looking to Scale Your Business With TikTok Ads?
If you've tried TikTok Ads before and they haven't delivered the results you expected, that doesn't necessarily mean the platform isn't right for your business.
Sometimes it's the strategy, creative or account setup that needs changing.
When you work with KIS Advertising, you work directly with me. I'll build your TikTok Ads strategy, manage your campaigns, analyse the results and continually develop your creative approach based on what's actually working.
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