Oliver Dehning
Hello, I'm Oliver 👋

Meta Ads is no longer a targeting game. It's a thinking game.

Meta Certified media buyer specialising in ecommerce and lead generation. I find what's really holding performance back, and fix it.

Hire meView LinkedIn
Worked withSotheby's International RealtySotheby's International RealtyWoolcraftWoolcraftHamadi Clinical LaboratoriesHamadi Clinical LaboratoriesNurturing FibresNurturing Fibres
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About Me

About

I'm a Meta Certified media buyer who has already run real ecommerce accounts. When performance stalls, I find the actual bottleneck, whether it's creative, offer, funnel or trust, instead of just moving budgets around. The fixes I drove took one ecommerce account from 3.34x to 11x ROAS. I want to bring that thinking to an agency or brand that needs a Meta specialist.

Oliver Dehning

Oliver Dehning

I look past surface-level metrics. When a campaign stalls, I work out whether it's creative fatigue, audience saturation or a learning-phase limit. When a business is making sales but struggling to scale, I find out why.

I believe great media buying pairs analytical thinking with commercial awareness. It isn't only about improving ROAS or lowering CPA, but about how ad performance connects to the growth of the business. For one smaller ecommerce brand, that meant looking beyond the ad account at funnel and trust issues. I worked with the team on the fixes that took them from 3.34x to 11x ROAS.

I also work as a creative specialist, building ad creative with Canva, Higgsfield AI, Claude Code, HeyGen and more, so I can take an ad from idea to launch myself.

I'm open to media buyer roles at agencies or brands that want a Meta specialist.

Based and work inCape Town, South Africa
My current time--:-- Local Time
Why me

Why You Should Hire Me

01

Intentional and always learning

I haven't managed huge ad spends yet, but I'm very intentional about my work. I keep learning from leaders in this industry, I get deeply involved in every account, and I'm looking for the right place to grow.

02

A diagnostic approach

I identify the root cause before changing anything, whether it sits in creative, offer, funnel or trust. Optimisation is based on evidence, not guesswork.

03

Commercially minded

I assess performance against margin, AOV and CAC, not ROAS alone, so results translate into profitable growth for the business. On larger budgets I plan across the funnel, with top, middle and bottom of funnel (TOF, MOF, BOF) ads working together.

04

Tracking set up properly

I can set up and audit the ad account itself, including Meta Pixel and Conversions API (CAPI). Clean event tracking and accurate data give Meta better conversion signals, which means smarter targeting and optimisation.

05

Certified and experienced

Meta Certified, with years of hands-on experience across sales, lead generation and awareness campaigns, plus creative skills in Canva, Higgsfield AI, Claude Code and HeyGen. Clear in communication and quick to align with a team.

Ads Manager screenshots are available on request. Some client work is confidential, but I'll share as much as I can.

Career

And This Is My Career

Lead Generation • Sotheby's International Realty

Property

Leads under R170 ($10), property sales worth R3.3 million to R8.3 million ($200,000 to $500,000). I ran two kinds of campaigns. Awareness campaigns promoted agents in their local areas, so people knew who to turn to when they were ready to buy or sell. Lead generation campaigns then brought in enquiries at a very low cost, and those leads often turned into property sales worth R3.3 million to R8.3 million ($200,000 to $500,000) and more for the company.

AwarenessLead GenerationCost Per LeadProperty

Sales Campaigns • Woolcraft

Present

ROAS from 3.34x to 11x. I manage the entire online marketing for Woolcraft, a South African yarn and craft supply store, through Meta, keeping CPA and return strong. So far I've managed R60,000 ($3,600) for them. The ads earned a great CTR but weren't converting, so I looked past the ad account, identified trust issues and website optimisation that was needed, and communicated them to the team. Once those were fixed, ROAS rose from 3.34x to 11x.

Sales CampaignsMeta AdsROASCPAConversion

Marketing Assistant • Hamadi Clinical Laboratories

Jul 2026 - Present

Contract role, remote. I manage Hamadi's social media and run their awareness campaigns, including paid social advertising. The goal is to grow their social media following and raise awareness of their clinics, especially when diseases are in the news and getting people to understand the importance of testing matters most.

Social Media ManagementAwareness CampaignsPaid Social

Media Buyer • Nurturing Fibres

Apr 2024 - Jan 2026

Contract role, on-site in Cape Town. I ran their Meta ads and paid social awareness campaigns. The goal was to introduce the brand to people across South Africa, help them learn what Nurturing Fibres is about, and build the trust that makes someone confident enough to buy from a brand they have only just discovered.

Meta AdsAwareness CampaignsPaid Social
First 90 days

What I'd Do For Your Team

Days 1-30

Learn and support

Learn your clients, tools and reporting. Take on audits, reporting and creative test tracking so senior buyers get time back for strategy.

Days 31-60

Own the details

Handle day-to-day optimisation on assigned accounts, structure and launch creative tests, and flag problems before the client does.

Days 61-90

Drive results

Bring data-backed test ideas, manage budgets with light supervision, and carry a growing share of accounts.

Education

And This Is My Education

No degree, by choice. I don't believe university is necessary for this work. I've spent years in media buying, obsessing over the numbers. It's all I do, and I do it well.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why hire you over someone with more experience?

Experience shows what someone has done. I'd rather show how I think. I'm Meta certified, I've run live campaigns, and I diagnose problems the way a senior buyer would. You get that with the energy and coachability of someone who wants to be great at this.

Q: What's your approach to media buying?

Meta can find the people. My job is to give it the right creative, offer and messaging. I start with the customer: what makes them stop scrolling, what builds trust, what makes them buy. Then I use the data to find the real bottleneck before changing anything. For larger budgets I plan across the funnel, using TOF, MOF and BOF ads (top, middle and bottom of funnel) so every stage of the buyer's journey gets the right message.

Q: What do you do when performance drops?

I diagnose before I optimise. Low CTR points to creative, messaging or offer. High CTR with no purchases points to the landing page, pricing or value. Plenty of add-to-carts with few purchases points to checkout friction or a lack of trust. Strong results that won't scale point to creative fatigue or audience saturation.

Q: What are you looking for next?

A media buyer role at an agency or brand that needs a Meta specialist, where I can run accounts, keep learning and push results. I'm based in Cape Town and open to on-site, hybrid or remote.

Q: Can you work with clients directly?

Yes. I've run campaigns for real businesses, so I'm used to reporting on results and explaining them in plain language.

Contact

Let's Get in Touch

Hiring a Meta media buyer? I'd love a 15-minute call. Send me an email and I'll get back to you.

olivervtc@gmail.com

Marketing should be judged like a sales hire. If I don't bring in revenue this month, replace me.