UFC Collectibles partnered with Eastside to turn paid media into a serious revenue channel for one of combat sport's most recognisable memorabilia brands. Demand was there, tied to every event, every title fight and every drop of signed and fight-worn product. What was missing was the structure to capture it. Google Ads was fragmented and inconsistent, and Meta was scaling unevenly, with neither channel pulling its weight against the commercial opportunity in front of it.
We took over both channels and rebuilt them around signal quality, high-intent capture and event-led demand. The result was a step-change in efficiency and scale across the board: Google Ads revenue grew up to 300% with return on ad spend reaching a peak of 34.6x, while Meta conversions grew as much as 540% year-on-year.
The Brand
UFC Collectibles is the official memorabilia platform for the UFC, offering authenticated signed pieces, limited-edition artwork, replica championship belts, fight-worn gear, posters and the Name on Canvas collection to fans across the world. The catalogue runs from accessible collector items to rare, high-value lots sold through live auction. The audience is global, deeply engaged and moves with the rhythm of the sport, spiking around numbered events, title fights and seasonal gifting periods. That makes performance marketing central to how the business captures demand and turns fan interest into sales at the moments that matter most.
The Challenge
When we took over both channels, paid media was underdelivering against clear demand. The problems sat in structure and consistency.
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Fragmented Google Ads account: Spend was spread across 14+ campaigns over Search, Shopping and Performance Max, limiting scale and muddying signal.
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Inconsistent return: Google ROAS swung between 2x and 6x, while Meta saw high CPA fluctuations across promotional periods.
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Product feed not built for search: Short branded titles held back Shopping visibility and relevance.
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Uneven Meta performance: Limited segmentation, recurring creative fatigue and no framework for scaling around events.
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Missed seasonal demand: Neither channel had a structured approach to peak windows like Black Friday, Christmas gifting and event launches.
Our Focus
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Performance Max rebuild: Consolidated 14+ fragmented campaigns into a cleaner structure and rebuilt PMax into the primary scaling channel, shifting to revenue-focused bidding and enabling a 200%+ improvement in ROAS.
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Product feed optimisation: Rewrote product titles around real search behaviour to improve keyword relevance and Shopping visibility, driving a significant uplift in shopping-led conversions.
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High-intent Search: Concentrated spend on high-intent queries aligned to UFC demand cycles, improving efficiency and stabilising Search ROAS through peak months.
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Meta restructure and scaling: Segmented campaigns by collection and promotion, reallocated budget to top performers and scaled spend through peak periods while keeping efficiency under tight control.
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Event-led creative and audiences: Aligned creative and targeting with event hype, auction launches, Name on Canvas and seasonal gifting, refreshing assets to counter fatigue and sustain conversion rates.
The Impact
Rebuilding both channels turned paid media from a fragmented cost into a controllable growth engine. Google moved from inconsistent multi-campaign inefficiency to a PMax-led system supported by high-intent Search, and Meta matured from uneven scaling into a full-funnel acquisition channel. Both delivered their strongest work through Q4 and the major seasonal windows, capitalising on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas gifting demand while staying profitable through aggressive scaling. The hardest part of the year to capture became the most valuable.
Business Outcomes
Google Ads delivered a clear step-change after takeover. Return on ad spend rose roughly 180% to 250%, lifting from a historical average of 4–6x to a consistent 14–20x and beyond, with Performance Max peaking at 34.6x ROAS. Revenue through the channel grew up to 300%, and monthly orders increased up to 180% on the back of sharper targeting and stronger Shopping visibility.
Meta scaled just as hard. ROAS peaked at 1752% through Black Friday and held between 900% and 1400% across multiple seasonal months. Revenue grew up to 300% year-on-year, with conversion growth reaching as high as 540% year-on-year, impressions up 968% and clicks up over 800% as reach expanded without sacrificing profitability.
