The King of Color (Pantone documentary): 8,762 Initiate Checkouts at $1.97, $17.3K budget
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The task
Promote the documentary The King of Color (the story of Pantone) in the US via Meta Ads (Facebook / Instagram) on a TVOD model (paid viewing at $4.99–$14.99). The goal — a scalable flow of high-intent actions (Initiate Checkout) at a controlled CPA. Channel — Meta only, no Google.
Period: April 21 – May 14, 2026. Total budget — $17,268.
What we did
The campaign was built in 3 phases with iterative optimization of targeting and creatives:
- Phase 1 — asset testing ($3,561): testing creatives, which ones work.
- Phase 2 — audience testing ($2,663): testing audiences, who converts.
- Phase 3 — aggressive scaling ($11,044): aggressive scaling on proven creative-audience combos.
After each phase — budget reallocation based on data: switched off underperformers early, concentrated budget on validated combos.
| Phase | Budget | Initiate Checkout | CPA | CPM | Video Plays | Impressions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | $3,561 | 1,118 | $3.18 | $17.17 | 66,035 | 207,555 |
| Phase 2 | $2,663 | 1,827 | $1.46 | $10.08 | 207,746 | 264,157 |
| Phase 3 | $11,044 | 5,812 | $1.90 | $8.98 | 820,733 | 1,229,478 |
| Total | $17,268 | 8,762 | $1.97 | $10.14 | 1,094,514 | 1,701,190 |
Creatives
2 creatives delivered 88% of all results. The hero creative — the Language video (62% of results, CPA $1.74). The Static KeyArt 101 static delivered 18% at an almost identical CPA of $1.76 — confirming that for a design documentary a static key art with the recognizable Pantone aesthetic works no worse than video.
| Creative | Type | Initiate Checkout | Share | Avg CPA | Total Spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Video | 5,446 | 62% | $1.74 | $9,470 |
| Static KeyArt 101 | Static | 1,611 | 18% | $1.76 | $2,837 |
| Tenacity | Video | 552 | 6% | $2.25 | $1,243 |
| Valuable | Video | 296 | 3% | $2.32 | $687 |
| AmericanDream | Video | 195 | 2% | $2.89 | $563 |
| Static KeyArt 104 | Static | 167 | 2% | $2.37 | $395 |
| Other creatives | Mixed | ~495 | 6% | $4.15 | ~$2,073 |
Top creatives:
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Prospecting vs Retargeting
Cold traffic (prospecting) outperformed warm audiences by 23–57% in every phase. A niche audience burns out fast in retargeting, while prospecting delivers a steady inflow of high-intent users — a scalable model without the ceiling of a warm pool.
| Phase | Channel | Initiate Checkout | Share | CPA | Spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Prospecting | 1,118 | 100% | $3.18 | $3,561 |
| Phase 2 | Prospecting | 1,412 | 77% | $1.29 | $1,827 |
| Phase 2 | Retargeting | 415 | 23% | $2.02 | $836 |
| Phase 3 | Prospecting | 4,068 | 70% | $1.78 | $7,241 |
| Phase 3 | Retargeting | 1,744 | 30% | $2.19 | $3,803 |
Age
The audience core — 35–54 (52% of results, best CPA $1.81–$1.87). 55+ delivered 37% at a slightly higher CPA ($2.01–$2.26). In total, 35+ delivered 89% of volume. Young audiences 18–34 were weak (10.5%).
| Age Group | Initiate Checkout | Share | Avg CPA | Total Spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45-54 | 2,325 | 27% | $1.87 | $4,402 |
| 35-44 | 2,225 | 25% | $1.81 | $4,026 |
| 55-64 | 1,887 | 22% | $2.01 | $3,792 |
| 65+ | 1,351 | 15% | $2.26 | $3,052 |
| 25-34 | 917 | 10% | $1.95 | $1,790 |
| 18-24 | 40 | 0.5% | $2.83 | $113 |
Results
- 8,762 Initiate Checkouts on a $17.3K budget.
- CPA $1.97 on average; a 40% improvement — from $3.18 (Phase 1) to $1.90 (Phase 3) with a 5.2x growth in volume.
- 1.09M video views at $0.016 per view.
- 1,701,190 impressions, average CPM $10.14.
- 80% of results came from 2 creatives (Language + Static KeyArt 101).
Insights
- Prospecting dominance: cold traffic outperformed warm audiences by 23–57% in every phase — a scalable acquisition model without the ceiling of a warm pool.
- Creative concentration: 2 creatives (video + static key art) carried 80% of the campaign — quality over quantity.
- Demographic precision: 89% of volume — age 35+, best CPA in 35–54 ($1.81–$1.87); this is the core for future campaigns.
- Channel efficiency: a Meta-only strategy (no Google) delivered the full result within budget — focus on one channel matters more than diversification.
- Scalability: Phase 3 spent 4x the Phase 2 budget while holding CPA within 30%; prospecting kept its efficiency at scale (CPA $1.29 → $1.78 at 3x volume growth); no audience saturation was observed.
The campaign validates a disciplined data-driven approach to marketing documentary film on Meta: lean start (Phase 1 asset testing $3.6K) → audience validation (Phase 2 $2.7K) → aggressive scaling on the winners (Phase 3 $11K). Identifying Language as the hero creative and 35–54 as the core gives a ready playbook for future TVOD campaigns in the arts/design documentary vertical.
