The Challenge
This Copenhagen-based fitness brand offered digital workout subscriptions and physical classes across Denmark. Their 3-person marketing team was running Meta Ads and TikTok Ads to drive trial signups, with Google Ads for branded search. But subscription economics were brutal: CAC was nearly equal to first-year LTV, making the business model unsustainable at scale.
The Demand Gen Manager was under pressure to either improve unit economics or cut spend. TikTok Ads seemed like the obvious cut - platform-reported ROAS was 0.8x, seemingly unprofitable. But the team had a nagging feeling that TikTok was playing a bigger role in the funnel than the numbers showed.
Without cross-channel attribution, they couldn't prove or disprove this hypothesis. Every platform was claiming credit for the same conversions, and the team was making budget decisions based on unreliable data.
The Solution
The team connected Meta Ads, TikTok Ads, Google Ads, and GA4 to Xplainr. The cross-channel view immediately revealed a surprising insight: TikTok Ads had a direct ROAS of 0.8x, but when Xplainr attributed assisted conversions, TikTok was actually involved in 40% of all new subscriptions as a first-touch or assist channel.
- Cross-Channel Attribution: Xplainr's multi-touch model revealed TikTok's true contribution. Users typically discovered the brand on TikTok, researched on Google, and converted through Meta retargeting. Cutting TikTok would have collapsed the top of the funnel.
- AI Channel Mix Optimization: Aria recommended a specific budget allocation split: increase TikTok top-of-funnel spend by 60%, reduce Meta prospecting by 30%, and maintain Meta retargeting. The AI predicted this would improve blended CAC by 40–55%.
- Subscription Cohort Tracking: Xplainr tracked not just initial signups but 90-day retention by acquisition channel, revealing that TikTok-sourced subscribers had 25% higher retention than Meta-sourced ones - making them more valuable despite higher initial CPAs.
The Impact
Following Aria's recommendations, the team restructured their channel mix over 4 months. The results exceeded projections: subscription revenue tripled, CAC dropped by 52%, and LTV:CAC ratio improved from 1.1x to 2.4x - putting the business model firmly in profitable territory.
The TikTok insight was transformative. Instead of cutting the channel, they invested in TikTok-first creative and saw ROAS climb to 3.4x when measured with proper cross-channel attribution. The team now uses Xplainr's cohort analysis to evaluate every channel on long-term subscriber value, not just first-month metrics.