Nick Shackelford - The new formula to run Meta ads in 2025

⚡️ BTS & More: https://openresidency.com/nick-shackelford

In this episode, I sit down with Nick Shackelford, Head of Retention and Partner at BREZ, to break down modern customer acquisition and retention strategies for 2025.

Nick has managed over $200M in ad spend and brings hard-won insights from scaling multiple brands — including his own agencies, Structured and Konstant Kreative — into this conversation.

We get into:

• Why creative is now the new targeting, with Nick giving the keys on Meta’s evolving algorithm

• The ideal framework for customer acquisition in today’s landscape

• How to structure your testing budget between proven winners and fresh creative

• Conversion tactics that immediately lift performance — from mobile-first design to offer structure

• The retention strategies behind BREZ’s drop in subscription churn from 24% to 17%, on a mission toward sub-5%

• The tactics powering BREZ, one of the fastest-growing beverage brands in the country, on pace to hit $50M in just two years

• How celebrities like Drake and Druski use subtle content strategies to drive massive viewership — and what brands can learn from it

This is a deep dive on what’s actually working in marketing in 2025.

Enjoy the conversation!

Chapters

• 00:00 Trailer

• 00:57 Customer Acquisition & Creative Testing

• 05:52 How to Optimize Ads with Smart Creative

• 09:13 Targeting in a Post-iOS World

• 11:56 Media Buying Meets Creative Strategy

• 18:03 Influencer Army

• 19:35 Clipping Culture (Cheat Code)

• 25:13 Running Ads as a Founder + Managing Creative

• 33:38 Marketing Funnel Breakdown

• 39:32 Organic Content’s Role in Paid Performance

• 43:24 Learnings from Running a Creative Agency

• 45:30 Conversion Optimization & Offer Strategy

• 55:32 Retention Marketing + Subscription Tactics

• 01:04:35 Building Products & Activating Loyal Customers

• 01:08:06 Smart Product Strategy and Feedback Loops

• 01:16:20 Building a Brand in Public (Pros & Cons)

• 01:24:43 Playing the Long Game: Brand, Business & Burnout

• 01:27:49 Work-Life Balance, Tools & Final Reflections

• 01:35:00 How Big can Brez Be?

• 01:36:00 Outro