How a Semi-Pro Footballer Became a 7-Figure Media Buying Expert

Imagine this: You’re in your final year of college, juggling computer science classes with a semi-pro football career. Your future seems set—either coding for a living or chasing a football dream. But then, an unexpected opportunity pops up: a random ad for a digital marketing apprenticeship.

That’s exactly what happened to Marin Istvanic. And today? He’s one of the top media buyers in e-commerce, managing ad spends of over $1M a month and scaling brands to 8-figures.

In this post, i’m breaking down Marin’s playbook. From his unconventional start to his battle-tested ad scaling tactics, you’re about to get a front-row seat to what it takes to win with Facebook ads in 2025.

Let’s dive in.

From College, to Football, to Mastering Facebook Ads

Marin’s journey is nothing short of fascinating.

While studying computer science and playing in Croatia’s second football division, he had a choice: continue down the path of coding or take football more seriously. But then, he stumbled upon an ad for a digital marketing apprentice position.

Intrigued, he dived deep. He didn’t just watch a few YouTube videos—he devoured Google’s entire advertising documentation. He obsessed over ad auctions. And he networked his way into working under one of Croatia’s top Facebook ad buyers.

That’s when things clicked. Running ads was like playing a strategic game—but with real money.

Fast forward a few years, Marin joined Inspire Brand Group, moved up the ranks from junior buyer to head of performance, and eventually became a partner. He even co-founded an e-commerce brand that hit $15M in revenue by year two.

So, what’s his secret?

Let’s break it down.

The Real Reason Some Ads Fail (And Others Scale to the Moon)

Most people think Facebook ads are all about creative.

And while creative is a big piece of the puzzle, it’s not everything.

In fact, Marin disagrees with the often-cited “80% of media buying success is creative” claim. Facebook’s own data says it’s about 56%. The rest? Offer, targeting, and the product itself.

“Ads are just fuel. If your offer sucks, you’re just burning cash faster.” – Marin Istvanic

Before throwing more money at ads, you need to dial in your offer. Marin proved this when he tested a simple pricing tweak on a brand:

Originally, they sold 1-month, 2-month, and 3-month bundles.
By slightly adjusting the pricing (making the 3-month bundle the obvious best deal), 99% of customers chose the highest package.
Later, they added a “Buy 2, Get 2 Free” option, and conversions shot up.

Same product. Same audience. Just a different way of presenting the deal.

That’s a 30% boost in ROAS without touching the creative.

The Marin Istvanic Ad Scaling System

Scaling Facebook ads is a science. And Marin has it dialed in.

Step 1: Testing with ABO (Ad Set Budget Optimization)

Forget CBO (Campaign Budget Optimization) for testing. Marin uses ABO to control spend across different ad concepts.

4 new concepts per week
3 variations per concept
Separate ad sets for each test

Why ABO? Because Facebook’s algorithm favors clickbait. With CBO, Facebook might dump 90% of the budget into an ad with a high CTR but low conversions. ABO lets you test each creative equally.

Step 2: Scale What Works (But Keep Testing!)

Once an ad starts performing, most brands just throw more budget at it.

Big mistake.

Marin uses two main tactics:

The “Handbrake” Method – If an ad stops converting, reduce the budget first. Don’t kill it immediately.
The “Resurrection” Trick – Duplicate underperforming ads. Often, Facebook’s algorithm resets, and they start performing again.

Step 3: Graduating Winners to Advantage Shopping Plus

Marin scales successful ads using Advantage Shopping Plus (ASP) with Cost Caps.

Why? Cost Caps force Facebook to stay within your CPA target.
How? He takes only proven winners from the testing phase and moves them into ASP campaigns with a high budget ceiling.

“ASP with Cost Caps is like giving Facebook guardrails. You get aggressive scaling without runaway spending.”

Optimizing Landing Pages for Maximum ROAS

Most media buyers focus only on the ad account.

But Marin? He optimizes everything—especially the landing page.

Using his Funnel Calculator, he identifies where brands are losing money:

Low add-to-cart rates → Bad product positioning.
Low checkout conversion rates → Unexpected shipping fees.
High bounce rates → Slow load times.

Fixing these before scaling ads means higher ROAS without increasing spend.

The Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) Playbook

Q4 is where e-commerce brands make 60% of their yearly revenue. Marin’s BFCM strategy? Start early.

October: Lower CPA targets to fill the funnel.
November: Scale aggressively.
December: Adjust forecasts (Cyber Monday falls in December this year!).

And when it comes to BFCM offers?

Forget storewide discounts. Offer bundles instead.
Make the deal irresistible (e.g., “Buy 2, Get 1 Free” performs better than 33% off).
Ensure your ad account has NO spending caps before the rush.

Now, over to you: What’s your biggest struggle with Facebook ads right now?

Drop a comment below, and let’s talk!