Proxima's $12 Million Breakthrough

Remember when Facebook's lookalike audiences were THE go-to approach for creating successful campaigns? 

That was before broad targeting became the leading strategy, leaving many of us missing the “golden days” of precision marketing. 

But lookalikes are back, and better than ever. 

Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all strategies and “set it and forget it” campaign management – the entire world is moving towards personalized consumer experiences and full lifecycle optimization.

Powered by AI.

Thanks to Proxima's innovative use of machine learning and a fresh investment cycle of $12 million in Series A funding, precision marketing with AI just got a MAJOR upgrade. 

Here's what this means for the future of marketing and how it could transform your brand.

The Secret Ingredient? Data Intelligence

Proxima is literally redefining what it means to be a data-driven marketer. Their data intelligence platform goes way beyond traditional data analysis, offering predictions and enhancements for every customer interaction. 

Since its launch in May 2022, Proxima has not only grown 400%+ but they’ve also built a network with over 12,000 brand connections.

How’s that for a portfolio?

Their secret ingredient lies in their aggregated data network and machine learning models. Proxima uses aggregated data and predictive algorithms to build powerful audiences that outperform Meta’s old-school lookalike methods.

Imagine having access to insights from over 65 million high AOV shoppers and $17 billion in purchases across thousands of Shopify stores.

You’ve heard it before: Data is the new oil. It’s your competitive edge. Data is what will help you cut through the noise in a crowded market and scale your business profitably. 

But here’s the rub: Most brands don’t have the volume of data or the data science resources they need to truly get ahead.

That’s where Proxima comes in.

Instead of just relying on your store’s first-party data or Meta’s black box, you can strengthen your signal by tapping into one of the strongest datasets in eCommerce.

Every step you take is backed by millions, if not billions, of data points – it’s almost like having a fortune teller with a data science degree on retainer.

Almost. 

Tackling Concentration Risk with Diversified Data

Look, 

If you’re only relying on ASC or broad targeting, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity that so many brands are already using.

So not only are you falling behind, but you’re also exposing yourself to concentration risk. 

Today’s market demands adaptability and diversification if you want any chance of scaling in the long term. 

Proxima addresses this by diversifying the data sources for audience creation, protecting your marketing strategy against ad platform volatility and change.

This approach enhances campaign effectiveness AND secures a stable foundation for growth in a fluctuating market.

And to make this even better, their mission is to make sure that their technology is accessible to as many brands as possible. They’ve made it easy for every marketer to leverage AI in their campaigns, regardless of how “tech savvy” they may be. 

This turns what once seemed like a ‘niche’ technology into a must-have for any modern brand that wants to scale sustainably. 

Always Be Testing

Every good marketer knows you need to always be testing. In today’s world of “just go broad”, consistently testing new creatives is the norm. Makes sense, right? Since creative is really the only way to ‘target’ and nudge Meta’s algorithm in the right direction when you go broad.

While you should regularly be testing new creatives, the level of creative iteration needed to sustain efficiency at scale is a significant undertaking for lean (or even moderately sized) teams. Marketers we talk to are constantly churning out new creatives (50+ per week in some cases) to stay ahead. Extensive creative testing is time-consuming, expensive, and not possible for everyone.

Creative is not your only path to scale. 

You should start thinking about testing audiences just like you think about testing creatives.

The great news?

Proxima automates much of the testing for you. 

Here’s what we mean:

Not only can Proxima unlock new (and profitable) audience pools that Meta’s algorithm won’t go after, but they also provide automatic audience refreshes and continuous campaign optimizations on the fly. Instead of creating new audiences that you’d need to drop into a campaign, they’ll refresh your existing audiences that you’ve been running by updating the underlying seed with new shoppers who fit into that same audience category. Proxima’s algorithm looks at billions of real-time data points, so refreshing the seeds keeps the data relevant, enhances targeting precision over time, and ensures your audiences remain efficient so you can scale profitably.

Proxima’s Real-World Impact

Proxima’s influence is already visible across many high-growth DTC brands. Here are some of the most notable:

Finn, the internet’s favorite pet wellness brand, utilized Proxima's AI Audiences to efficiently scale Meta ad spend by 200% year-over-year while boosting Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) +13% and without increasing Cost Per Acquisition (CPA).

They 3x’d ad spend without any efficiency loss 🤯 

With Proxima, Finn was able to drive incremental reach and regain traction in its digital advertising efforts after iOS updates initially hurt their targeting capabilities.

Pestie (the category leader in DTC pest control) added $6M in incremental ad spend through Proxima’s audiences, with as high as $30k in daily spend…While maintaining efficiency and CAC.

Those numbers have driven a +87% increase in daily orders.

With big eCom growth targets, Pestie looked to aggressively ramp ad spend. 

Their growth team zeroed in on experimenting with audience targeting and shattered performance expectations with every campaign:

→ 69.7% increase in daily Meta spend

→ 86.9% increase in daily orders

→ 0.2% decrease in CAC

Their lead media buyer, Tanner Duncan, a veteran growth marketer with 9+ years of experience, had heard every argument for and against old-school audience targeting.

He’s seen first-hand the dangers of “best practice bias,” particularly media buyers going all in on ASC, broad targeting, and creative testing as the end-all solutions for scaling Meta.

Tanner knew that injecting Pestie’s ad account with positive signal was the key to hitting their bold growth targets. Proxima’s data-enriched audiences were a no-brainer.

They lowered CPA by 32% while increasing ROAS by +33% and click-through rate by +18%. 

C4 Energy, the viral energy drink brand hit a spend ceiling on Meta and needed a more efficient way to scale reach beyond broad and creative testing.

The solution?

They scaled through audience testing. Proxima consistently found net-new audience pools that Meta’s broad algorithm wouldn’t go after, even though they showed high purchase intent. Using Proxima’s predictive audience targeting, C4 increased ad spend on Meta +50% and reduced CPAs by -20%!

This was achieved by utilizing Proxima's algorithm to identify and target new, high-value customer segments that Meta wasn’t going after. This more precise approach to audience targeting enabled C4 to drive incremental reach and improve the efficiency of their Facebook prospecting campaigns at scale.

Looking Ahead: Your Unique Data Advantage

Top DTC operators know that winning on Meta is all about efficiency – smart spending and maximizing returns. 

Proxima’s technology unlocks efficient growth on Meta for brands struggling to scale ad spend efficiently. 

What’s more, their customer insights features enable brands to maintain genuine connections with their audience – so that they can drive more value from their customers and secure lifetime fans for pennies on the dollar.

This $12 million investment will allow Proxima to provide the BEST insights, performance, and strategies at a scale that never would have been possible before…

And they’re laying the groundwork for modern marketers who are looking for their next competitive advantage.

Ready to get more from your ad spend?