Loukas Hambi

5 years ago, I quit my job in print to start Hambi Media.

Since then, we’ve helped 150+ DTC brands scale to 7 and 8 figures and spent over £150M on creative. We leveraged:

1. Compelling performance creatives
2. Ad campaigns that drive leads and sales
3. High-production studio for ecom brands (in-house)
5. Landing pages designed to convert
5. Social media management expertise

The road wasn’t always easy.

Hambi is now almost 20 people and we’ve grown at 400% in the past year.

2 years ago, I also co-founded For You Advertising - the fastest growing TikTok agency.

We’re one of the only agencies in the UK officially partnered with TikTok.

If you want to scale your e-commerce brand with a holistic partner who does everything creative for you, reach out at loukas@hambimedia.co.uk.

Co-Founder

2026 is about building systems that teach the algorithm who to find and how to convert them.

The top 10% of brands are already doing it.

We’ve pulled together exactly what they’re doing differently and how you can apply it in one resource:

🚨 THE 2026 D2C PLAYBOOK: The New Rules of Meta, TikTok, AI & Performance Creative

2026 is the reset year.

If your ads aren’t built for algorithmic feeds and personalised signals, you won’t scale.

Every platform is now fully personalised.

You’re not competing in interest groups anymore You’re competing inside each user’s unique feed.

And at the same time…

People crave connection more than ever.

They want emotion and authenticity, not just AI-fed precision.

So what wins in 2026? Brands that blend machine logic with human insight.

This is your roadmap to profitable, personalised growth across Meta, TikTok, Google, and AI workflows.
- What’s working
- What’s out
- What’s next

Get the playbook. Build for what’s coming:  https://lnkd.in/e2RZmsvs

If you'd like to work with us in 2026, you can get in touch with the team here: https://lnkd.in/eeaTd3cd

CEO of Hambi Media | Co-Founder of For You Advertising | CCO of Soar Hold Co | your DTC brand’s one stop destination for Performance Creative

🚨We're still taking applications for the UK’s first Creative Strategist Incubator role!

This is not a junior marketing role.
It’s not an internship.
It's a training ground for the next generation of elite Creative Strategists in e-commerce.

Over the last few years, we’ve trained and developed dozens of creative strategists inside Hambi Media / Soar With Us Group. What we’ve learned is simple:

Great creative strategists aren’t hired. They’re built.

What compounds isn’t just individual talent, it’s the network effect of strategists learning together, pressure-testing ideas, sharing context, and raising the bar collectively.

That’s what this Incubator formalises.

Think of it as the MBA for Creative Strategy:

✅ Real accounts

✅ Real performance pressure

✅ Real feedback

✅Real ownership

Compressed years of experience into months, inside one of the strongest creative strategy ecosystems in the UK.

If you’re early in your career, deeply curious, commercially sharp, and obsessed with how creativity actually drives performance, this is your launchpad.

More details here: https://lnkd.in/e6wta8Wp

Apply here: https://lnkd.in/eEGEw5c2

We’re not just hiring strategists. We’re building the next wave.

Converting DTC eCom Poverty into Profit 💰 $50M+ in Revenue | Meta, Google & Paid Ads Architect

Focused on impact & mastery.

Check my posts to find out more.

Felix Dragoi 🔥

Social proof isn’t a nice-to-have anymore
It’s a multiplier

Here’s how social proof stacking actually boosts ad performance 📈

1️⃣ What it is?

Layering proof instead of relying on one signal

Reviews
Testimonials
UGC
Influencer mentions

All in one flow

2️⃣ Why it works?

One review builds trust

Five different proofs build belief

People buy faster when others already validated the choice

3️⃣ How to use it in ads?

Start with a strong customer quote

Add a clear stat like 4.8⭐ from 1,000+ buyers

Finish with UGC or an influencer mention

Multiple reasons to trust

Less friction to buy

That’s how you turn attention into conversions

If someone you know is struggling with trust in ads, send this to them

I Help eCom Brands with Paid Media 💰 $50M+ in Revenue | Meta, Google & Paid Ads Architect

Most brands obsess over ads
But the real retention engine?

Email 📧

Here’s why email beats paid ads for retention:

1️⃣ It builds real relationships

You’re not renting attention
You own the connection

Ads stop the moment you stop paying

Email keeps the conversation going

2️⃣ No Ad fatigue or rising CPM

Your email list doesn’t charge you more every send

No rising costs
No fighting the algorithm
No creatives burn out

3️⃣ It scales long term at a low cost

One strong email, sent to the right list can drive revenue for years

Not once
Not twice
But every time you show up with value

If you know a brand relying only on ads

Send this to them before they learn it the hard way

Most brands try to scale by buying more traffic
But that's the best way to have worse CAC

The smarter move? 🧠

Make every order worth more $$$

Before you touch ad budgets, 

Fix AOV

Here are 3 tools every Shopify store should be testing:

1️⃣ Upsell apps

Turn one purchase into two

Same traffic

More revenue

2️⃣ Bundling tools

Give buyers a clear reason to spend more now

Not later 

Not hoping they just click buy 2 instead of 1

3️⃣ Subscription plugins

Repeat orders without reselling every time

LTV compounds 

AOV does change everything

And CAC gets easier

If someone you know is stuck chasing more traffic,

Send them this

They’re probably pulling the wrong lever

Most eCom stores celebrate the first sale
Then go quiet

That’s where growth stalls

The brands that win long-term
Keep talking after checkout

Here’s how they turn one-time buyers into repeat customers:

1️⃣ Thank-you notes

Small detail
Big impact

It makes the brand feel human, not transactional

2️⃣ Product usage tips

Help them win with the product

Better results = fewer refunds + higher trust

3️⃣ Smart cross-sell recommendations

Not random offers
Only what actually makes sense next

Post-purchase isn’t extra work
It’s where LTV is built

If someone you know is stuck chasing new customers every month, send them this

Ad results going up one week📈
Then falling apart the next 📉

That swing usually isn’t random

It’s due to structure and strategy

Here’s what causes it:

1️⃣ Running the same strategy for too long

Same audience. Same creatives. Same angles

Eventually the algorithm runs out of fresh signals

Performance fades

New creatives and new offers aren’t optional

They’re how you extend what works

2️⃣ No real testing system

Test and pray is not a strategy

Testing is how you find stability

Different creatives
Different offers
Small controlled changes

Over time, patterns appear

3️⃣ Ignoring seasonality

Buyer behavior changes constantly

Holidays

Slow months

Economic pressure

If your ads stay static while people change, results drop

Consistency comes from adaptation

Not from forcing yesterday’s setup to work forever

If someone you know is stuck on the performance rollercoaster, send this to them

It might save their next month

Most ads try to sell the upside
However, the best ones highlight the downside 

That’s loss aversion

Here’s how to use it in ads

1️⃣ People hate losing more than winning

Losing $10 hurts more than gaining $10

Your ads should reflect that reality

2️⃣ Shift the frame

Stop saying what they’ll get

Start showing what they’ll miss if they don’t act

Missed savings
Missed results
Missed opportunity

3️⃣ Add a real deadline

Loss aversion only works when time is limited

Countdowns
Expiring offers
Limited stock

Now waiting feels expensive 💸

Good ads don’t push harder

They make inaction uncomfortable

Save this, or send it to someone still selling only the upside

Getting clicks but no real engagement❓
People scroll past your ads without reacting ❓

Here’s one simple shift that changes that

👉Start with yes questions

They’re easy to agree with

They work because agreement comes before logic

Here’s how to use them:

1️⃣ Ask questions that are impossible to say no to

“Do you want better skin?”
“Do you want more energy?”
“Would you prefer a good night’s sleep?”

Your audience answers yes before scrolling

2️⃣ Keep them effortless

No thinking required
No explaining

The faster the yes, the stronger the hook

3️⃣ Open the ad with the question

Conversation first
Offer second

It pulls people into the message naturally

When people agree mentally

They stay longer
They engage more
They click with less resistance

If your ads feel invisible

This is an easy fix worth testing

You can send this to someone running ads right now

You open Ads Manager
CTR is low ❌
CPC keeps rising ❌
Sales are flat ❌

And you’re wondering what you broke❓

Here’s the truth:

Your ads aren’t failing randomly

They’re telling you exactly what’s wrong

1️⃣ CTR under 1%

People aren’t stopping

Your hook isn’t strong enough to earn attention

If they don’t stop, nothing else matters

2️⃣ CPC keeps climbing

Meta doesn’t see relevance

Your message doesn’t match who’s seeing it

So you pay more for every click

3️⃣ No conversions after 3 to 5x CPA

The ad might be fine

But the offer or the page is killing momentum

Confusion, weak trust, or no clear reason to buy

Good ads get clicks

Great systems turn clicks into customers

Fix the system before you touch the budget

If this sounds like your account, send this to someone on your team

It might save you a lot of wasted spend

Most eCom brands send emails 📧
Very few actually know what to look at

If email is part of your growth plan, 

These are the numbers that matter

1️⃣ Open rate

This tells you if your subject lines deserve attention

No opens means nothing else matters

2️⃣ Click through rate

Shows if your message actually moves people

Reads are nice
Clicks pay the bills

3️⃣ Revenue per recipient

This is the truth metric

One email., one number, real impact

4️⃣ Unsubscribe rate

Spikes here mean you’re taking more than you’re giving

Value keeps lists alive

5️⃣ Bounce rate

Quietly kills deliverability

Ignore it and future emails suffer

If you’re not tracking these

You’re not optimizing
You’re guessing

And guessing is expensive 💸

If someone you know runs email on autopilot
Send this to them

I’ve been running ads for eCom brands for years
And honestly, most of what I thought mattered at the beginning ... doesn’t

❌ I used to obsess over the perfect ad copy
❌ The right targeting
❌ The perfect, most textbook campaign structure

All of that matters
But even when you get it right, nothing is guaranteed

So what actually moves the needle MORE

📊 Data
🔢 Numbers
🔍 Patterns

These days I spend more time in spreadsheets and calls than I ever expected

Because the brands that grow are not the ones chasing perfect creatives

They’re the ones reviewing their numbers every single week and doing something about what they see

I’ve seen brands with average creative scale to six figures because they knew their unit economics cold

And I’ve seen beautiful award worthy campaigns bleed money because no one wanted to look at the boring stuff

I’ve seen this across enough ad accounts to stop arguing with it

The hard truth is this

E-commerce success is maybe 20% creativity
And 80% showing up every Monday reviewing last week and making small disciplined adjustments

Most brands don’t fail because ads stop working
They fail because discipline does

Not sexy
But this is what separates a brand that compounds from one that slowly fades

Ever wondered why some ads get skipped instantly
And others stay in your head for days?

That difference isn’t creative talent

It’s storytelling ✍️

Here’s why story-driven ads outperform product-first ads every time

1️⃣ Products don’t stick, stories do

A product is just an object

A story gives it meaning

When you show how it fixes a real problem or changes someone’s day,

People feel it

And feeling beats features

2️⃣ Stories make people see themselves

Good ads don’t explain

They let the viewer imagine

Their life
Their routine
Their before and after

If they can picture it, they’re already halfway in

3️⃣ Stories are remembered long after the scroll

Nobody remembers feature lists

People remember moments, emotions and outcomes

That’s why story ads don’t just get clicks

They get recalled

If your ads only talk about the product, you’re leaving money on the table

Ads sell when people feel something

Stories create that feeling

Send this to someone still running feature-only ads

It might change how they think about creative forever

Most people scroll past ads on autopilot

No pause ❌
No click ❌
No chance ❌

If you want someone to stop, you need to hit something deeper than logic

Here’s what the best hooks actually do:

1️⃣ Curiosity

They don’t explain everything

They create a gap people feel forced to close

2️⃣ Emotional triggers

Fear, desire, belonging

That’s what makes thumbs stop moving

3️⃣ Clear value

Say what’s in it for them

Fast and obvious

If the hook doesn’t land

The rest of the ad never gets a chance

If this made you rethink your hooks, send it to someone still blaming the algorithm

Sendlane just got acquired by Privy
I’ll be honest, it was the worst ESP I’ve used

If you’ve been using them for your email flows and campaigns...

You should know why

The main issue? Deliverability

❌ Used it in 2025, and it was brutal
❌ Open rates tanking across the board
❌ Support non-existent

If your emails don’t land in inboxes, nothing else matters

That said

If you’re switching platforms, there’s one I’d recommend...

Because they have one of the best support teams I met

✅ Omnisend

Not to hype it because they have enough accolades
- 150K+ brands trust it
- 4.8/5 Shopify rating
- $79 ROI per $1 spent
- Free migration for paid accounts

Would’ve said Klaviyo, but can’t really recommend them anymore due to their pricing and support quality

So if you’re exploring alternatives (or honestly just stressed about this whole situation), check them out: 

🔗 https://lnkd.in/dsBxNJnYa

taplio

The Battle

Loukas Hambi

Felix Dragoi 🔥

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taplio

The Battle

Loukas Hambi

Felix Dragoi 🔥

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Loukas Hambi's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreLoukas Hambi's LinkedIn Performance