Case Study
How a UK credit card brand cracked TikTok's hardest vertical
Ocean Finance came to Shook as a first-time TikTok advertiser: no prior data, no creative playbook for this channel, no baseline.
The goal was to prove the channel could work for a UK credit product, and build the evidence to scale. That meant treating every cycle not just as a media buy, but as a structured experiment: each one designed to answer a specific question and hand a clear answer to the next.
−87%
Blended CPA (average spend per submitted form, calculated as spend ÷ conversions), from first test cycle to most recent
29%
CVR (percentage of clicks resulting in a conversion, calculated as conversions ÷ clicks) in our most recent cycle, up from 4% at the start of the programme
Objective
The goal was to prove the channel could work for a UK credit product, and build the evidence to scale. That meant treating every cycle not just as a media buy, but as a structured experiment: each one designed to answer a specific question and hand a clear answer to the next.
Solution
We ran three test-and-learn cycles over twelve months. Each one was built on the data from the last.
Cycle 1
We tested multiple creative formats and creator approaches simultaneously. Initial performance was expensive, and most brands would have called TikTok a write-off at this point. We saw something different: specific creative and messaging combinations were dramatically outperforming others, and one message theme in particular was generating real intent once it leaned into a clear, simple pain point.
This cycle wasn’t a failure, it was the data that made everything after it possible: a working map of which messages and which creative approaches actually earned attention.
Cycle 2
We applied those learnings. Not by guessing at what “testimonial-style” should look like, but by taking the two clearest signals from Cycle 1 – the pain-point messaging that converted, and the creative approach that resonated most – and rebuilding the test around them. Format switched entirely, from lifestyle content to testimonial-style content, and messaging was rebuilt around product benefits rather than pain points.
The result was an 84% reduction in cost per acquisition. A small number of hooks drove the overwhelming majority of results, confirming that message and format mattered far more than any single creative variable.
Cycle 3
We entered this cycle with a clear set of hypotheses, built directly from what the first two cycles taught us: double down on the winning message types, refine the testimonial format further, expand the creative playbook with new angles, and make the offer clearer in every hook.
The result was our lowest cost per acquisition yet and our highest conversion rate of the programme: a small number of top-performing hooks again carried the majority of results, reinforcing that the message, not any single creative attribute, was the deciding factor.
The lesson isn’t that Cycle 3 was clever. It’s that Cycle 3 was only possible because we didn’t stop at Cycle 1.
Results
Three cycles. Twelve months. A cost per acquisition that dropped 87%, in one of the most expensive categories to advertise in on TikTok.
The creative intelligence built along the way is worth as much as the headline numbers: which messages convert, at what point in a video a conversion decision gets made, and how quickly to act on early signal rather than wait out a full test.
Client Quote
“Shook understands that creative in financial services has to be both engaging and compliant and they’ve made that balance feel easy. Their testing approach has given us clear, usable insights and learnings. It’s a partnership that’s helped us feel more confident in every new round of creative.”
Zannetta Zannettou, Creative Specialist, Ocean Finance
Brand
Ocean Finance
Company
Ocean Finance
Industry
Fintech / Credit Cards
Target market(s)