In this episode, I sit down with Ahmed Kamel, one of the top performance marketers in Europe, to break down why ads “stop working,” how to fix them, and the exact creative and targeting system he uses to scale brands from 10K → 50K → 100K → 250K months and beyond.
Ahmed has driven half a million dollars in a single day, managed six-figure monthly budgets, and produced 524% year-over-year growth for brands by thinking like an investment manager, not a traditional “media buyer.”
We get into:
- Why most founders diagnose their ad problems wrong
- The creative mistakes 90% of Meta ad accounts do
- The right way to structure campaigns in 2025–2026
- Why traffic campaigns are “window shoppers” and what to run instead
- The growth ceilings at 10K, 50K, 100K, 250K months (and how to break them)
- Meta’s Andromeda update and the end of weak AI creatives
- How to test with a €1,000/month budget, step by step
- Why overproduced ads fail and simple UGC wins
- The metric founders obsess over that doesn’t matter
- The 7-day fixes that immediately improve conversions
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Introduction and Record-Breaking Ad Sales
(00:23) - The Role of an Ads Manager
(00:43) - Comparing Bank Interest to Ad Returns
(01:07) - The Reality of Marketing Guarantees
(01:32) - Factors Influencing Ad Success
(02:16) - Misconceptions About Advertisement
(02:51) - The Problem with Overpromising in Marketing
(03:15) - Testing and Iterating for Success
(04:15) - Breaking Growth Ceilings
(05:04) - Case Study: B2C SaaS Growth
(06:05) - Different Growth Ceilings for Different Revenue Levels
(07:03) - Challenges of Scaling High-Revenue Businesses
(07:34) - Common Misdiagnoses by Founders
(08:22) - Practical Steps When Ads Stop Working
(09:22) - Setup vs. Creative Issues in Ad Campaigns
(10:23) - Quick Funnel Check for Founders
(11:40) - Elements of a Good Landing Page
(13:59) - Do Ugly Landing Pages Sell Better?
(15:02) - The Impact of AI on Ad Creatives
(16:28) - Trends in Ad Creatives for 2026
(17:16) - Meta Andromeda Update and Its Impact
(18:44) - Importance of Strong Creatives
(19:45) - Effective Black Friday Creatives
(20:45) - Industry-Specific Creative Strategies
(22:20) - Simplifying the Buying Journey
(24:42) - The Power of Storytelling in Ads
(26:01) - Human Connection in Advertising
(27:28) - Trusting the Algorithm vs. Data-Driven Decisions
(29:30) - Audience Segmentation vs. Broad Targeting
(30:57) - Thinking Like a Business Owner
(31:58) - Building Trust with Clients
(34:37) - Practical Advice for Small Budgets
(35:42) - Example: Scaling a Podcast Course
(39:14) - Overcoming Fear of Ads
(39:47) - The Painful Truth About Scaling
(40:30) - Bottlenecks for Founders
(41:25) - Misconceptions About Ads
(42:40) - Ethical Considerations in Advertising
Connect with Ahmed:
https://www.instagram.com/ahmedkamel_7/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmed-kamel-performance-marketer/
Follow Marcus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/301podcast
Marcus: https://www.instagram.com/themarcusengel
💌 Business inquiries: studiobooking@weare301.comIn this episode, I sit down with Ahmed Kamel, one of the top performance marketers in Europe, to break down why ads “stop working,” how to fix them, and the exact creative and targeting system he uses to scale brands from 10K → 50K → 100K → 250K months and beyond.
Ahmed has driven half a million dollars in a single day, managed six-figure monthly budgets, and produced 524% year-over-year growth for brands by thinking like an investment manager, not a traditional “media buyer.”
We get into:
- Why most founders diagnose their ad problems wrong
- The creative mistakes 90% of Meta ad accounts do
- The right way to structure campaigns in 2025–2026
- Why traffic campaigns are “window shoppers” and what to run instead
- The growth ceilings at 10K, 50K, 100K, 250K months (and how to break them)
- Meta’s Andromeda update and the end of weak AI creatives
- How to test with a €1,000/month budget, step by step
- Why overproduced ads fail and simple UGC wins
- The metric founders obsess over that doesn’t matter
- The 7-day fixes that immediately improve conversions
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction and Record-Breaking Ad Sales
00:23 - The Role of an Ads Manager
00:43 - Comparing Bank Interest to Ad Returns
01:07 - The Reality of Marketing Guarantees
01:32 - Factors Influencing Ad Success
02:16 - Misconceptions About Advertisement
02:51 - The Problem with Overpromising in Marketing
03:15 - Testing and Iterating for Success
04:15 - Breaking Growth Ceilings
05:04 - Case Study: B2C SaaS Growth
06:05 - Different Growth Ceilings for Different Revenue Levels
07:03 - Challenges of Scaling High-Revenue Businesses
07:34 - Common Misdiagnoses by Founders
08:22 - Practical Steps When Ads Stop Working
09:22 - Setup vs. Creative Issues in Ad Campaigns
10:23 - Quick Funnel Check for Founders
11:40 - Elements of a Good Landing Page
13:59 - Do Ugly Landing Pages Sell Better?
15:02 - The Impact of AI on Ad Creatives
16:28 - Trends in Ad Creatives for 2026
17:16 - Meta Andromeda Update and Its Impact
18:44 - Importance of Strong Creatives
19:45 - Effective Black Friday Creatives
20:45 - Industry-Specific Creative Strategies
22:20 - Simplifying the Buying Journey
24:42 - The Power of Storytelling in Ads
26:01 - Human Connection in Advertising
27:28 - Trusting the Algorithm vs. Data-Driven Decisions
29:30 - Audience Segmentation vs. Broad Targeting
30:57 - Thinking Like a Business Owner
31:58 - Building Trust with Clients
34:37 - Practical Advice for Small Budgets
35:42 - Example: Scaling a Podcast Course
39:14 - Overcoming Fear of Ads
39:47 - The Painful Truth About Scaling
40:30 - Bottlenecks for Founders
41:25 - Misconceptions About Ads
42:40 - Ethical Considerations in Advertising
Connect with Ahmed:
https://www.instagram.com/ahmedkamel_7/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmed-kamel-performance-marketer/
Follow Marcus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/301podcast
Marcus: https://www.instagram.com/themarcusengel
💌 Business inquiries: studiobooking@weare301.com
