Creative Strategy Development

It's easy to overcomplicate creative strategy. I've watched creative teams drown in documentation and updating trackers while ad performance flatlines. The endless cycle of trackers, updating docs, and an assembly line video production process has created a monster. Your creative strategists shouldn't need three meetings to make a simple video ad. They need time in the trenches trying to stress test and break your system and find new winners. When we built our first video pod back in 2019, our system was like an assembly line. It was handed off over and over anad 4 different people touched a video before it was done, and the system needed to be followed to a T. About 3 years ago we stripped away everything that wasn't essential. The results? We have 4 separate pods that operate separately and each pump out hundreds of new video ads monthly.   The secret wasn't some revolutionary new system. It was giving talented strategists room to obsess over patterns in the wins and losses to feed into new ideas. Most brands have created systems that protect mediocrity and efficiency rather than nurture insight. Your creative strategist should be part visionary, part creator, and a high level marketer. Updating sheets shouldn’t be in their day to day. Less internal constraints = less friction. More curiosity. & Better results.

I generated 25+ campaign ideas for my client without using AI. Here’s my 6-step creative ideation process: ➡️ Step 1: Understand the End Goal Before anything else, you should understand the overarching marketing and business objectives. Ask yourself the following: Who do I want to reach? Why? What impact do I want to have? What would success look like? ➡️Step 2: Discovery & Research To think strategically down the line, use this step to gather info: 📊 Internal content audit → Examine what’s been done so far and look in depth at what has and hasn’t worked (and why) 🔍 Competitor analysis → Dive into your competitors campaigns, their effectiveness, and how people are reacting to them ➡️ Step 3: Empathise Get to the root of your target audience’s needs so that you can address their pain points. This means you can show how your product/ service solves a problem they’re facing. (Ex - A personal branding agency recognising that their ideal client struggles with lead gen. They use social proof to demonstrate how they’ve successfully created content that positions their current clients as industry leaders). ➡️ Step 4: Inspire Creativity Through Brainstorming Creative thinking is all about experimentation, imagination and curiosity. Let your mind run free here and allow yourself to spontaneously brainstorm. Quantity > quality is best at this stage. Some examples of brainstorming techniques: 💭 Create a mindmap, drawing branches from each idea 💭 Reframe and reword your target audience’s problem, looking at it from different angles 💭 Think outside the box i.e. ask ‘how would a child solve this problem?’ 💭 Test the waters of constraints and aim to brainstorm 10 rough ideas in 10 mins ➡️ Step 5: Relax & Unwind Giving yourself breathing space after so much thinking. It can stimulate subconscious ideas. ⛅️ Walking 💭 Meditating 🚿 Taking a shower 🎶 Listening to music It’s often in these moments that we connect unexpected dots and ‘lightbulb moments’ are triggered. ➡️Step 6: Unlock Your Creativity It’s solution time! Having completed steps 1-5, you’re now ready to generate innovative ideas to test. Evaluate and select the ideas you think will have the greatest impact. At this step, you want to whittle the best ideas down so it’s quality > quantity Quick idea generation checklist ✔️ 1. Understand what you want to achieve and why 2. Research internal content & your competition 3. Put yourself in the shoes of your ideal target audience 4. Get inspired through brainstorming techniques 5. Schedule downtime and give your mind a rest 6. Generate, evaluate and select ideas P.s. don’t just take my word for it that all of this planning & prep is worth it. Take Einstein’s advice: “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.” What helps your creativity when it comes to ideation? 💡

The NEW Creative Strategy 7-8-Figure Brands Are Using to Dominate Meta Post-Andromeda → Based on Meta's July "Andromeda" update and why 90% of brands saw performance drops. After analyzing $30M+ in post-Andromeda ad spend, here's what's actually working: • Meta now optimizes for EXTREME personalization • Broad creatives are getting algorithmically buried • You need 5-10x more creative variations than before • Micro-segmentation beats mass-market messaging every time Stars + Honey is a great example of a diversified ad account. This premium collagen protein bar brand cracked systematic creative diversity across every dimension, while maintaining brand cohesion. Production Quality Spectrum: → High-end 3D animations (dancing ingredients) → Professional food photography (macro overlays) → Raw iPhone UGC (drawer full of bars) → Comic illustrations (protein humor) Messaging Multiplication: Same product, different psychological triggers: • Flavor seekers: "Tastes like freshly baked raspberry donuts" • Problem-aware: "My protein farts would clear an elevator" • Health-conscious: "21g collagen + brain function support" • Social proof: "2,582+ five-star reviews" The Meta Algorithm Reality: Meta punishes creative similarity within ad accounts. If your ads aren't getting delivery, add visual differentiation beyond just angles. Your New Framework: → 80% ad spend: Hyper-specific micro-segments → 20% ad spend: Broader appeals → 10+ unique concepts per product → Zero creative batch similarity True Creative Diversity Includes: • Production quality (high/medium/low-fi) • Visual formats (charts, UGC, 3D renders) • Aesthetic moods (premium vs authentic) • Color psychology (luxury purples vs clinical whites) • Messaging frameworks (benefit vs problem-aware) The brands scaling right now understand: You don't scale with mass-appeal ads anymore. You scale with dozens of micro-targeted creatives that feel personally crafted and address each level of customer awareness/sophistication. Most brands are still running 3-5 hero creatives that all look the same and wondering why September is down. Diversity among all production, messaging, sku and offer variables is the key.

STEAL our 6 Pillar Content Process Refined From $100M+ in Ad Spend Ever wonder what goes into creating ad creatives that actually convert? I was speaking with a brand owner recently who asked for a more in-depth look at how we approach creative strategy to drive results. So, I’m pulling back the curtain to share the exact process we’ve refined through managing over $100M in ad spend. Here’s a breakdown of our 6-pillar framework that consistently delivers high-converting creatives: 1-Ideation We start by researching your audience to understand their behaviors and ensure our creatives align with your brand. The right creators and angles are selected to build an authentic connection and fresh engagement. 2-Concepting We focus on testing hooks that grab attention in the first 3 seconds, and design visually appealing content that complements the brand’s messaging. Each creative follows a clear framework to align with conversion goals. 3-Producing High-quality production with tailored formats ensures visuals are engaging and optimized for platform performance, whether 1x1, 4x5, or 9x16. 4-Testing Creatives are tested in controlled environments to gather data and identify the best-performing combinations of hooks, visuals, and messaging. 5-Optimizing We analyze performance data to refine and improve creatives, focusing on key metrics like retention and conversions to maximize results. 6-Scaling Top-performing creatives are iterated, and we continue testing new angles to maintain freshness while scaling validated strategies and frameworks. These six pillars are the backbone of every successful campaign we’ve run. Whether you’re a brand looking to maximize ROI or break into new markets, following this process can help turn underperforming creatives into powerful conversion drivers.

2024: Creative is the new targeting. 2025: Creative is STILL the targeting. The rules of the game haven’t changed—creative remains the driving force behind high-performing ads. My 6-step creative process continues to deliver results. Want to steal it? Here’s how it works: Step 1: Research The foundation of every great ad is research. - Analyze historical performance data. - Study your competitors. - Gather customer feedback and reviews. - Organize insights around your customers' pain points to create messaging that resonates. Step 2: Brief A great creative starts with a great brief. - Include ad copy, visual examples, aspect ratios, and audience targeting details. - Make it prescriptive—clear briefs lead to better execution. - Prioritize tasks based on performance metrics and deadlines. Step 3: Production & Editing Your designers bring the vision to life, producing the creative and making necessary post-production edits. Step 4: Quality Assurance (QA) Before launch, ensure every creative aligns with your brand and messaging. Make final tweaks to avoid mistakes later. Step 5: Launch Content Deploy your ad creative on the chosen platform(s). - Monitor performance metrics closely. - Use consistent naming conventions to simplify analysis. Step 6: Analyze Performance Measure success against your KPIs: - Spend amount, purchase amount, and cost per purchase. - Creative-specific KPIs like video hooks, average play time, and click-through rates. Compare results to benchmarks, extract insights, and return to Step 1 to refine and optimize continuously. Creative is—and always will be—the key to scaling your ads. Let this process guide you to consistent wins in 2025 and beyond. — If you’re looking for help in ad creative development to maximize performance, please DM me.

[Top 10 Things Media Buyers Should Do to Nail Creative Strategy] Your ad creative is the first impression, and media buyers play a huge role in ensuring it works. Here’s a quick checklist to sharpen your creative strategy: 1️⃣ Understand Your Audience Deeply ↳ Go beyond demographics—study their pain points, desires, and daily habits. 2️⃣ Analyze Winning Creatives ↳ Look at what’s worked before and pinpoint trends: visuals, messaging, or formats. 3️⃣ Test Creatives Strategically ↳ Test to validate new ideas and scale winners. Test one variable at a time for clear insights. 4️⃣ Use Hook-First Thinking ↳ Your first 3 seconds matter most. Craft scroll-stopping visuals or copy to grab attention. 5️⃣ Pair Data with Creativity ↳ Balance metrics with fresh creative concepts. Let the numbers guide you, but not limit you. 6️⃣ Rotate Creatives Regularly ↳ Avoid ad fatigue by refreshing visuals and messaging. New creatives keep audiences engaged. 7️⃣ Collaborate with Designers ↳ Share ad performance data with creative teams to inspire better iterations. 8️⃣ Incorporate UGC ↳ User-generated content builds trust and feels authentic. It often outperforms polished studio ads. 9️⃣ Leverage Storytelling ↳ Make ads feel like narratives. Even short videos can tell a compelling story about your product. 🔟 Always Have a CTA ↳ Drive action with clear calls-to-action that guide users on what to do next. Myth: Creative strategy is just for designers. Truth: Media buyers who own this process amplify performance. Which of these are you doing consistently? Share your thoughts below! Found this useful? Like, follow, and repost ♻️ so others can too.

Our client fired 3 agencies before us. Their agency made pretty ads.  The ads flopped.  No one knows why. Recognize this pattern? We've audited 100+ struggling accounts.  The problem wasn't obvious.  It was fundamental. Here's where brands go wrong; 3 Creative Strategy Killers: → Zero customer insights They guess. They assume. They fail. Why? No real data. → Copying competitors "It works for them!" Does it? Really? Your audience is unique. Your brand stands alone. → Trend addiction "Let's go viral!" How's that working out? Engagement ≠ Conversion. Trends fade. Results vanish. The GoMarble Difference: We built tech for customer-backed ads. How? Three simple steps: 1. We analyze your online persona. Website. Social. Everything. What's your true voice? 2. We mine UGC Reviews that reveal the truth. Comments tell stories. Support tickets expose pain. 3. We craft data-backed personas No more guessing—pure insight. Clear targeting. Our team transforms these insights into ads. Our secret tools? → AI Ads Analyzer to evaluate your previous ads to find insights on your hook, script and CTA → Copy Playground analyzes 1000+ top ads to find the best copy → Image Creator builds lifestyle assets from flat lay in minutes The results speak volumes. Our clients slash CAC by 30%+ in 3 months. No random testing.  No wasted budget.  No more guesswork. Just methodical creative backed by data. P.S. Tired of beautiful ads that don't convert? We put creative back at the center. And make it 10x more effective with AI. DM me. Let's fix your paid media.

"We don't feel like we have a strategy behind our Facebook ad creatives and don't know what's making ads perform well." This is one of the most common issues I hear brands mention during the sales process. At Brighter Click, we’ve honed a unique methodology behind categorizing creatives to track their performance. Here’s a quick tour: 🔎 Our Creative Dashboard: Using a Google Sheets-based system, we tag and track each creative component. This granular approach lets us analyze everything from copy to landing pages. Creative Tagging System The number one thing you need from a Creative Tagging System is a comprehensive tracking method. CR# = Creative CO# = Copy HE# = Headline LP# = Landing page Ex. CR2 CO4 HE1 LP2 🎯 Analyzing Key Metrics: We categorize creatives by brief, format, and theme, then measure them against account averages. This helps us spot which elements truly drive performance. The Central Report (shown in the video) allows for a quick glance at high-level performance. 🚀 Continuous Testing and Improvement: Every creative undergoes thorough testing. We aim for constant improvement, particularly in ROAS/CAC, ensuring our content stays impactful and relevant. 🔧 Strategic Insights: Our methodology extends beyond tracking. We use these insights to refine our creative strategies, continuously improving our approach. Measuring creative performance is an evolving art. How do you measure creative impact in your campaigns? p.s. Leave the comment "Ad Creative" in the comments or send me a DM if you'd like access to this tracking template. #adcreatives #digitalmarketing #BrighterClick #marketinganalytics #campaignoptimization