If you’ve been feeling like your Meta ads are a bit hit and miss lately—or you’ve just noticed things aren’t working like they used to—you’re not imagining it. There’s been a major shift.
Meta has officially rolled out its biggest update since the infamous Apple iOS 14 privacy change that turned digital advertising on its head.
This new update is called… Andromeda. (Dramatic, I know!)
And today, I’m going to break down exactly what it is, what it means for your ads, what you need to be doing differently right now.
The Problem: Why Your Old Ad Strategy Might Be Broken
Let’s rewind for a second.
Since iOS 14, digital advertising—especially on Facebook and Instagram—has been harder. More expensive. Less predictable.
Advertisers lost visibility into what was working. Targeting became less precise. ROAS dropped across the board. And many brands just gave up or kept throwing spaghetti at the wall hoping something would stick.
But now, Meta has a brand new weapon: Project Andromeda. And it’s changing everything again.
The question is: will you ride this wave and grow with it—or get lost in the noise?
So, What Is Meta’s Andromeda Update?
Here’s the lowdown.
Meta has just finished building some of the largest data centres on the planet, and they’re now running an advanced AI engine called Advantage Plus. Think of it like a supercharged, brainy robot that can test millions of creative combinations in milliseconds.
Its job? To match the perfect ad with the perfect person at the perfect time.
Sounds amazing, right?
But—and this is a BIG but—this only works if you feed the AI the right stuff.
The algorithm is incredibly smart. But it’s not a mind reader. It can’t invent your brand message for you. It can’t uncover your customers’ deepest desires on its own. And it definitely can’t sell your product if you don’t first tell it why someone should care.
Which brings me to the most important shift you need to make…
What Brands Must Do Now To Thrive With Meta’s New System
Under the new Andromeda system, success depends on TWO things:
1. Deep Customer Understanding
You can’t run a generic ad anymore and expect it to convert. You can’t just throw up a pretty product photo and hope for the best anymore.
You need to deeply understand your ideal customers:
- What problems are they trying to solve?
- What transformation are they chasing?
- What words do they use to describe their pain—and their dreams?
- What triggers them to say “YES” and hit that buy button?
Because the content you input—your copy, visuals, offers—all need to speak directly to those emotional drivers. Otherwise? The AI doesn’t have the right ingredients to do its job.
Meta’s AI can only deliver the perfect ad if YOU give it the right ingredients—your messaging, your visuals, your offers—all need to speak directly to your customer’s emotions, desires and objections.
2. A Bespoke, Brand-Specific Strategy That Aligns With This New Ad Setup
Forget duplicating someone else’s funnel or copying that “winning ad” you saw in a Facebook group. Or running a basic ad campaign or boosting a post and calling it a day.
To succeed now with Andromeda, every brand needs a custom campaign strategy:
that reflects your brand, your products, your customer journey, and your current level of business growth.
This includes:
- How you structure and test campaigns (especially Advantage+ Sales campaigns).
- Your creative strategy across different funnel stages.
- How you segment your audiences and deliver personalised content. You may have heard people say that your ad creative is your new targeting and that you always use broad audiences. Which is true, but it’s still not as cut and dried as that, especially in niche or smaller markets like Australia and New Zealand.
- How often you refresh creatives.
- And how you integrate paid ads with organic marketing and email to boost your customer lifetime value.
This is NOT a plug-and-play moment. One-size-fits-all doesn’t work anymore. Your strategy needs to be uniquely yours if you want to stand out in this AI-powered sea of sameness.
3. Treat It Like a Living, Breathing Machine—Not Set-and-Forget
This is the step I see too many brands skip—and it’s costing them a fortune.
This new Meta environment is not “set and forget.”
You must be on top of your numbers daily. Here’s what that means:
- Know your margins.
You must understand your fixed and variable costs to determine how much you can actually afford to spend to acquire a customer. Otherwise, scaling ads just bleeds money.
- Track your in-platform metrics.
That includes ROAS, CTR, CPA, MER, CPM, thumb stop rate, outbound click-throughs—the whole shebang. These numbers are your compass, showing you which creative combinations are winning and where things are tanking.
- Be ready to pivot quickly.
If an ad is fatiguing or costs are rising, you need to act fast. Swap in new creative. Test a new angle. Change up your offer. Speed and agility win in this new game.
- Creative iteration is non-negotiable.
Most ads don’t perform well right away. And even the good ones will burn out fast. You need a process to regularly brainstorm, test, and launch new ad variations—ideally every week.
In short: if you want to scale profitably, you need to operate like a media buyer and a CEO. Know your numbers. Watch them daily. And use them to guide your decisions.
So… What Should You Do Next?
I know this might feel a little overwhelming. The game has changed, and it’s hard to keep up when you’re busy running your business.
Here’s the thing: adapting to Meta’s new Andromeda update isn’t just about flipping a switch on your ads. It’s about rethinking how you market, how you measure, and how you scale.
