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Meta changed attribution in March — and suddenly every brand’s ROAS looks worse.

Chris Richards from Pilothouse breaks down what actually happened, why performance appears to have dropped 30–45%, and how brands should respond without damaging long-term growth.

For DTC founders and operators scaling from $5M–$50M who rely on Meta as a core channel.

In this episode:

• What Meta’s attribution change actually did
• Why social proof no longer shows up the same way
• How to interpret rising CPA and falling ROAS
• Why MER is a better north star right now
• The risk of over-retargeting after performance dips

Who this is for:

DTC founders, CMOs, and media buyers trying to make sense of Meta performance

What to steal:

• Shift from ROAS to MER as your primary KPI
• Keep funding top-of-funnel even when numbers look worse
• Use consistent attribution (MTA) to guide spend decisions

Timestamps

00:00 Meta attribution change explained

02:00 Click vs engaged attribution breakdown

04:00 Impact on ROAS and CPA metrics

06:00 Social proof and ad performance insights

08:00 Why engagement optimization can backfire

10:00 Importance of multi-touch attribution tools

12:00 How campaign strategy is shifting

14:00 MER as a new performance north star

16:00 Omnichannel and ecosystem thinking

18:00 Meta automation and future attribution trends

20:00 What brands should do right now

22:00 Strategy mistakes and growth risks

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