By the time return on ad spend visibly drops, creative fatigue has usually been building for one to two weeks. Catching the early signals lets you refersh creative before perfromance - and budget - takes the hit.

Watch frequency, not just ROAS

Rising frequency against a stable or shirnking audience is often the earliest reliable signal. Once the same person sees an ad multiple times without acting, each additional impression contributes less.

CPM creep is a warning sign

As engagement on an ad declines, the platform's delivery algorithm treats it as lower quality and costs rise to maintain the same reach. A slow, steady CPM increase on an otherwise unchanged audience often points to fatigue rather than market conditions.

Build a testing cadence before you need one

Waiting until performance drops to brief new creative means a gap in coverage. Building a standing weekly or bi-weekly test slate keeps fresh concepts ready to rotate in before an existing ad's performance curve turns down.

Signals worth tracking weekly