Hiring Amplomedia has unfortunately become a very costly mistake for our business…read more
We set a very clear monthly ad budget of $6,400 (an increase we agreed to after Lance's recommendation to boost spend in order to hit higher revenue targets). Without any formal approval or proper communication, Amplomedia burned through nearly $15,000 in just over two weeks--between ad spend and agency fees. The breaking point? Just days after I sent an email expressing serious concern that we were already over budget--an email that was ignored entirely by both Lance and Dani (no response whatsoever)--our daily Meta ad budget was inexplicably increased from $90 to $430/day, without any consent. It's difficult to comprehend how a direct warning about overspending could be disregarded, only to be followed by more aggressive, unauthorized ad spend. That level of disregard highlights just how fragmented their internal communication is--and how many disconnected hands were involved in managing what should've been a straightforward, small-scale account.
To make matters worse, the account felt like a revolving door of team members. I had no consistent point of contact who could answer basic questions about our ad spend, campaign direction, website issues, or overall strategy. Communication was chaotic, unclear, and disconnected.
Most alarming of all: no one could clearly explain who was managing our campaigns. It was eventually confirmed by Aiden via email that some of the work was being outsourced by "team members" out of country--yet we were being charged premium agency prices even when it was clear that entry level workers were making changes to our account. The strategy felt rushed, uncoordinated, and deeply unprofessional.
The deliverables reflected this:
* Google Ads were left at a 68% optimization score. (I've personally achieved 90% without formal training.)
* No conversion tracking, Google Tags, pixel setup, or analytics were implemented--which are foundational for any paid ad campaign.
* Meta ad performance was significantly worse than what I had previously achieved on my own. My in-house campaigns were getting $0.07 CTC. Their lowest was $0.18.
* Landing pages? Three basic duplicates with minimal effort or strategy. I had to manually edit each one to make them usable. Despite this, Amplomedia charged us over $6,000 in two weeks--a fee that is impossible to justify based on what was actually delivered.
As for billing: we were charged $4,200, then another $1,837 just days later. For what, exactly? Sloppy execution, zero ROI, and no strategic oversight.
Naturally, we requested a refund to recover from the financial damage. Amplomedia was fully aware of our sensitive business situation--yet the response has been silence.
And here's what's most unacceptable:
It has now been over a week since we formally requested a refund. There has been no urgency, no accountability, and no resolution. We're a small business trying to survive--and Amplomedia has shown no real care through action for the position they've put us in.
We've since moved to another agency, and the difference has been staggering. Within 12 hours, they cleaned up our campaigns, implemented proper tracking, and established clear communication. Their fee? $750/month--a fraction of Amplomedia's cost, with far better results.
A word of warning to other businesses:
If you do not have prior marketing or advertising knowledge, be especially cautious. I was fortunate to have enough experience to recognize mismanagement and demand answers. But someone with less familiarity could be taken advantage of far more easily--left overcharged and overwhelmed, with no clear way to understand what's being done on their behalf.
If you're a small business with tight margins and big goals, do not risk your time, your trust, or your budget here. Amplomedia didn't just miss the mark--they left us overbudget, underdelivered, and unheard.
-- Megan Ledarney
Owner, Extensionist Salons Inc.
