Jake Abrams

I help 7-9 figure DTC brands with revenue & CAC | I write The Process, a newsletter about modern growth marketing | Sold 100K+ personal cooling devices

Consumer Marketing & Growth Leader.  

Brands I've worked with:

Caraway
Jones Road Beauty
Skylight
Canopy
Insurify
Naked Wines
Rugiet
Sundays For Dogs
Momofuku
Sunday Lawn Care

100+ others

Book a discovery call in the featured section below 👇

Founder

The lean DTC growth marketing partner that I wish existed when I was an in-house marketing lead. 

At Odyssey, we help 7 & 8-figure DTC brands increase revenue & ROAS by finding the right combination of:

- Messaging
- Audience targeting
- Media channel allocation
- Creative

https://www.growodyssey.com/

Over the last 90 days, I built a brand from scratch: category research, product formula, name, brand design, packaging, and website.

I used AI for probably 85% of the process. 

But here's what nobody talks about: the other 15% required humans. And that 15% made all the difference.

So I documented the process, and I'm giving away the breakdown for free.

What's inside:
- How I used Claude as a thinking partner for category research
- The naming process (including 2 failed brand names)
- How I used AI to develop the actual product formula
- Where AI's "yes-man problem" almost killed me
- The top 1% designer conversation that changed everything
- Why I spent 30+ hours on packaging with AI and still needed a human to finish 
- How I used Nano Banana Pro to generate my product imagery
- Where I'm drawing the line on AI-generated content vs human content

Bonus: A usable framework for knowing when to push AI harder vs. when to bring in a top 1% human to help.

I've been in DTC marketing since 2017 and run a creative agency working with 50+ brands. This doc is everything I learned the last 90 days trying to build my own thing with AI as my primary collaborator.

Want the full 2123-word outline and 16-minute Loom video?

Like this post and comment "BUILD" and I'll send it over 👇

♻️ Like & repost if this would help someone in your network ♻️

Creative-led growth for 8-9 figure consumer brands | Writing about AI & advertising | Sold 100k+ personal cooling devices

My 81 favorite BFCM/holiday ads from the past few years. 

This is not another "inspiration board" with random creatives.

It's a curated Foreplay.co collection of ads that actually work during peak shopping season.

Here's what makes these different: 

→ Written for people actively shopping right now 
→ Designed for bottom-funnel audiences hunting for deals 
→ Built for comparison shoppers evaluating your product vs. competitors 
→ Crafted for buyers comparing your solution vs. failed alternatives

PROBLEM THIS SOLVES: 
Most brands don't realize that BFCM / holiday creative is a completely different category of advertising.

Your audience isn't browsing. They're hunting. They're comparing. They're ready to buy but need the right specific reason to choose you.

Meanwhile, many brands are running the same top-funnel creative they use year-round, wondering why it fails. 

WHY THIS IS CRITICAL: 
The next 35 days aren't really about awareness or consideration. Your audience is in active shopping mode.

They're not asking "Do I need this?" They're asking "Should I buy this one or the other one?" and "Is this actually a great deal?"

So I built a Foreplay board with 81 of my favorite ads. Including a bunch of formats you could make with footage you're already sitting on.

Want the Foreplay board link?

1. Comment "BLACKFRIDAY" below
2. Like this post
3. Make sure we're connected so I can send the link

P.S. I'm sending the link to anyone who comments by Friday

We're hiring for multiple creative strategist roles (junior through senior). 

Honestly it’s because our strategists keep landing incredible roles at amazing brands that they can’t turn down (I’m proud of them).

Our people have been hired by Athletic Greens, Gruns, and other best-in-class DTC brands. 

You're a good fit for this if:
- You have a feel for making TikTok's that get lots of views
- You can work across data, taste, and creation
- You believe the next winning ad is 1 deep insight away
- You're AI native & use it as a strategic / operational partner

What we offer: 
- 100% remote work
- Make ads for best-in-class brands & build an elite portfolio
- Cutting edge creative strategy: AI, elevated shoots, native content
- In-person team event in January in Miami
- Insane growth potential, we promote fast

Links in comments 👇

JSESSIONID

(58) High Scale: People | LinkedIn

li_at

Talks about #dtc, #careeradvice, #growthmarketing, and #digitalmarketing

Matthew McConaughey's 'private LLM' idea is actually what every creative strategist needs in 2026. 

The people who are making fun of him for it are totally missing the point.  

My agency ships 2000+ video ads / month across 40+ brands.

Broad AI creative strategy tools are a waste of time. All they do is make it faster to generate a higher volume of mediocre content. Nobody needs that. 

What CS's actually need are narrower context kits:

- AI trained on ads they actually won, and why they won
- AI with vision into their ad account data
- AI that analyzes that data like an expert performance marketer
- Agent that knows exactly how to analyze customer reviews
- Micropersonas specific to the brand they are writing for
- Voice, and messaging guidelines specific to brand they are writing for

So that when a CS asks "how do I improve this skincare ad," the answer is actually valuable and based on a competitive advantage specific to them / the company they work for. 

McConaughey gets it. He wants an AI that thinks like him, not like everyone.

That's what we need as creative strategists.

I've been playing with Octo the last few weeks, and they are seriously onto something within this category of AI tech.

Dropped the link to the tool in the comments.

Need to hire a freelance TikTok Shop / Affiliate strategist. 

You're a good fit for this if:

- You've grown multiple TikTok shops to over $100k a month
- You're an operational psychopath who enjoys wrangling hundreds of affiliates
- You have an innate feel for making viral TikTok content
- You can build an incentive structure that drives creator participation 
- You're AI native & use it as a strategic / operational partner

I don't care about resumes. Just send me a well-written DM with the names of 2-3 specific brands you've grown on TTS and the exact role you played in making the growth happen. I'll double check your work on Kalodata.

21 ways to find your next $100K spend ad:

1. Build an Airtable database that organizes all of your existing winners, making it easier to turn 1 win into 10 wins.

2. Use N8N + Apify to capture TikTok creators who are consistently hitting 100K+ views in your category, then scrape their email addresses to do outreach.

3. Set up Claude Desktop and use that as your primary writing zone, with all of your data flowing into projects that are specific to each part of the creative process. 

4. Mine Amazon reviews with AI agents to find the exact trigger events customers use before buying, then turn those into hook concepts.

5. Use Wispr Flow to voice-note analyze every ad that made you stop scrolling this week b/c your subconscious knows what works.

6. Make it a habit of writing down the specific creators that you see amazing partnership ads from, and have a $10/hour offshore person do systemic outreach.

7. Use Motion (Creative Analytics)'s Social Listening Agent to process 500+ customer reviews in 3 minutes and extract the psychological frameworks that drove purchase

8. Start your ads mid-moment. 

9. Analyze your top-performing ads with the Audience/Angle/Offer framework.

10. Put your best 4-5 creators on $1K-$5K monthly retainers instead of chasing new talent. Make it easier on yourself.

11. Use Octo to analyze groups of ads together, and automatically build storyboards for new ads to make based off of the undeniable proof in the ads that worked. 

12. Just launch your ads as partnership ads, stop playing Meta on hard mode. 

13. Use Adology.AI's "god view" to watch every signal related to your brand on the internet.

14. Use Arcads to make a comedic podcast related to your product, using Nano Banana to place your product onto one of the podcasters.

15. Actually allow a good thought to pop into your head, write it down, then talk through it with Wispr Flow into Claude.

16. Take something that's already a winner and do format multiplication: normal UGC becomes a staged moment, podcast version, street interview version.

17. Give open-ended briefs to strong up-and-coming TikTok creators via TikTok Shop affiliate program - let them run wild with commission-only structure and cash bonuses. 

18. Use Sora 2 Pro to generate beautiful cinematic b-roll that allows you to create brand new concepts with existing footage. 

19. Build an agent that analyzes your customer support tickets for recurring pain points, then creates creative concepts that address those specific objections.

20. Create a systematic workflow where you feed viral TikTok transcripts to Claude and have it help you do script re-writes that don't suck.

21. Start posting TikToks yourself. You'll learn the importance of writing incredibly specific caption hooks that break through.

TLDR:
- AI workflow = a competitive advantage 
- Human taste = your strategic filter 
- Outrageous operating speed = market domination

so we're all just ignoring the fact that...

1. you can have AI analyze the top 1% of content in your niche and extract the exact frameworks, hooks, and structures that actually get engagement.

2. you can voice-record your thoughts with Wispr Flow and have Claude turn them into polished LinkedIn posts, Twitter threads, and newsletter drafts.

3. you can upload a single piece of winning content to Claude and prompt it to take that same idea and put it into 8 different formats. 

4. you can have AI watch viral videos in your space and give you detailed breakdowns of why they worked, then help generate similar concepts for your own story and area of expertise.

5. you can feed AI your best-performing posts and have it generate 100 variations in your voice and style.

6. you can turn any industry report, podcast transcript, or article into 20 pieces of original content with your unique take.

7. you can create custom GPTs trained on your writing style.

8. you can generate post-ready thumbnails, graphics, and visual assets without touching Photoshop.

9. you can take one 60-minute conversation and have AI turn it into 2 week's worth of content: posts, threads, newsletters, video scripts.

10. you can have AI analyze your audience's comments and engagement to identify exactly what topics and formats resonate most.

11. you can rip the structures of high-performing creators (in your niche or not) and plug in your own ideas and perspectives

12. you can literally just pick up your phone, record a TikTok with your raw thoughts, and TikTok will basically just handle the editing and captions.

13. you can have AI scrape viral content in any category and automatically organize it into your Airtable database with full analysis of what made it work.

14. you can set up N8N workflows that automatically find trending topics in your space and generate content briefs before anyone else catches on.

15. you can have AI agents specialized for different content types: one for LinkedIn thought leadership, another for TikTok scripts, another for newsletter storytelling.

16. you can take any boring industry insight and have AI help you find the contrarian angle that gets people talking.

Now is the single greatest time in history to join the 5% of humans who actually create content, instead of mindlessly consuming it. 

What are you waiting for?

My $1.2M BFCM disaster nearly got me fired from an 8-figure brand. 

So I created a 103-item checklist to make sure it never happened again. Drop a comment on this post and I'll send you the entire checklist. 

Now back to the story....

I was so obsessed with our Black Friday email campaigns.

But I ignored the 3 flows that drive the bulk of BFCM revenue:
→ Welcome flow 
→ Cart abandonment 
→ Browse abandonment

Be honest with yourself: When's the last time you locked yourself in a room and made every single email within those 3 flows as strong as possible?

Omnisend data shows that:
- Email automations account for just 2% of email volume but drive 37% of email sales.
- 87% of automated orders come from just these 3 flows

Most brands haven't touched them in months.

Looking back, I was leaving a massive pile of on the table because I wasn't making optimizations likes these for BFCM:

- Making our Black Friday offer crystal clear ATF in every email
- Ensuring cart abandoners saw their exact products + our discount
- Adding urgency with clear deadlines to every flow
- Personalizing welcome sequences based on how people signed up

Inbox competition during BFCM is brutal.

The time you spend making every single email within these 3 flows perfect is so much more important than forcing your team to take another design pass at your campaigns.

Omnisend is great for DTC operators & agency owners b/c it makes it simple to nail these 3 flows:

- Email + SMS + push all working together
- Dynamic product recommendations that actually work
- $68 ROI for every $1 spent

Your BFCM campaigns will get opened once. Your automations work 24/7.

Focus aggressively on the 2% of volume that drives the bulk of your sales. 

---

👉 If you want to try Omnisend for 30% off for your first 3 months, check the link in the comments. 

---

And to grab my 103-Item BFCM Preparation Guide:

1. Comment "BFCM" below
2. Like this post
3. Make sure we're connected so I can send the link

P.S. I'm sending the link to anyone who comments by Monday

#Omnisendpartner

99% of creative strategists confuse looking busy with real insights:

→ They group ads from different channels together
→ They compare testing campaigns against proven winners
→ They set identical CPA targets across Meta / TikTok / YouTube

Because of this, the "analysis" ends up being meaningless.

They're comparing apples to oranges to bananas.

→ Conversion campaigns mixed with awareness campaigns
→ New channel performance held to mature channel standards
→ Creative tests evaluated against scaled winners

The result is bad decisions based on weird data.

"This ad failed" - no, it was a test in a testing campaign.
"TikTok doesn't work" - no, you expected Meta-level ROAS on day one.
"This format underperforms" - no, you compared video views to conversions.

To actually generate insights, evaluate creative within its own context:

1. Group by objective first. Conversion campaigns together. Video views together. Awareness together. Never mix them.

2. Separate testing from scaling. Your testing campaigns should have 10-25 ads where you're taking big swings. Don't compare those against your proven winners running at scale. Different purpose, different benchmarks.

3. Adjust expectations by channel. A new TikTok test won't hit your Meta ROAS targets immediately.

This is why a media buying foundation is so critical for creative strategy.

And why I'm willing to pay for tools like Motion, because it makes it simple for junior / mid-level CS's to build these segments with filters and actually evaluate the creative properly.

The strategists who understand this will always out-analyze the ones just making pretty decks.

P.S. Motion is hosting a 2026 Ad Creative Trends event in a few weeks. If you want to stay ahead of what's coming, link to register is in the comments.

How to survive and thrive as a DTC brand in the age of AI:

First off, ruthlessly copying what works is a strategy. I'm not going to pretend it doesn't work. AI makes it way, way easier. 

If a competitor's hook is crushing, study it. Rip it. See what happens. "Lift & Shift" can be a percentage of your creative output. 

But if 100% of your strategy is copying, you're screwed.

The brands I see actually breaking through right now aren't the ones who copy best. They're the ones who push past the baseline from a point of originality.

TikTok is the cultural tastemaker for the internet right now. The brands I constantly see in my TikTok feed aren't playing it safe.

Hismile. Underbrush. Hiyo. Pete's Pasta. Stan Store.

These companies aren't ignoring what works. They're paying attention to proven ad structures and formats, but injecting something unmistakably theirs. 

People can sense the difference. They can sense the difference between a brand with a genuine point of view and one that's trend hopping.

The AI age makes copying easier than ever. Which means it's easier for anyone to make content that is "competent."

But that means the gap between "competent" and "extraordinary" is widening every single day. 

Brands that win in 2026 will have a portfolio approach.

Don't make copying 100% of your strategy.

2026 will be the best time in history to be a Creative Generalist. 

Because AI makes it possible to get your vision to 85% done, and as long as you have the network to take it the remaining 15%, you are unstoppable.

Don't let anyone tell you that you need to "pick a lane."

The future belongs to the people who can see the big picture and make it become a reality insanely fast.

Built an AI owl podcaster in ~20 minutes with Arcads & Nano Banana Pro.

Used Nano Banana Pro to generate the owl + podcast setup:

“A wise owl sitting at a podcast table in a cozy moonlit library, warm ambient lighting, vintage microphone in front of the owl, owl wearing this exact black sleep mask, leather-bound books in background, intimate podcast studio setting, cinematic lighting with soft golden shadows, professional yet cozy atmosphere.”

Then I used the Sora 2 in Arcads to make the 8-second demo video. Provided the script and some subtle motion notes.

Is it ridiculous and unserious? Yeah, and that’s the point. 

This is the category of AI-produced content I’m actually excited about. You can think of a wild idea, and then make a demo in like 20 minutes. AI tools like Arcads remove so much of the friction.

Comment "PROCESS" and I'll send you the exact tool stack and step-by-step process I used to make this demo. 

---

P.S. Arcads is running a BFCM promo where you get 50% OFF all annual plans, so now’s a good time to sign up and try this workflow for yourself. Link in first comment. 

#ArcadsPartner

70% of your creative time should be spent on the first 3 seconds.

I always knew that the hook mattered. But after growing my own TikTok from 0 to 19.2K in a few months, feel like I have a different level of understanding now.  

The hook actually is EVERYTHING. 

And the hook is 3 related elements, all working together:

1. The written caption
2. The voiceover
3. The visual action

Most people are lazy and make the caption the same thing the person is saying. 

The best creative strategists connect all 3 elements to make something that people won't scroll past. 

Seeing our team pay attention to the details and put this into action makes me feel awesome.

1,358 people commented on a STOLEN viral post about AI Kobe Bryant.

I jumped in to offer my perspective, as someone who writes about AI every day but also worked in real sports marketing with pro athletes. 

I don't love dunking on people, but here's the problem I had with that viral post:

First off, the guy stole the content word-for-word from someone on Twitter. It's not his video. It's not his workflow. It's not even his hook.

Now onto the content itself (which wasn't even his):

Even if Kobe Bryant were still alive, there is a 0% chance Nike would ever make a consumer-facing ad like the one this guy posted (that he didn't even make himself). 

The video was useful as a prototype video, but if they were actually launching something like that it would probably tank their stock price.

The writing was AI slop, it made no sense.
The voice tried to sound like Kobe, but didn't.
AI Kobe was dribbling and dunking all weird. Super glitchy.
People hate the AI-ification of everything.

In reality, here's what would actually happen if Kobe was still alive:

Nike would organize a shoot with the real Kobe Bryant. 
It would cost a lot of money. 
The writing would have soul. 
He would dribble and dunk like Kobe, because it would actually be Kobe. 
He would sound like Kobe, too, b/c it would be his actual voice.

The AI process that the poster described is actually a massive unlock for the pre-production process. They could use the prototype video to pitch a campaign to Kobe. Way more powerful than a storyboard + 3rd party references.

But the real Kobe Bryant would HATE the video that he posted. The team responsible for it would be fired immediately.

So to me: when someone writes a post about text-to-video replacing consumer-facing Nike ads with real NBA stars is disingenuous.

I'm laughing tat my desk right now b/c there are so many layers to this latest LinkedIn grift:

AI Overhype + Stolen Content + "Fire Everyone" Hook

- Marketer & massive NBA fan

388k people have watched my TikTok about why a brand backed by the Paul Brothers, Mr. Beast, and other massive influencers is totally failing.

Here are the spark notes for why I believe the sales are so underwhelming:

1. If your positioning is wrong, nothing else matters. It's a shaky foundation. Better ads, more spend, bigger influencers...none of it will fix a broken core message.

2. Celebrity without trust doesn't worked like it used to work. People are smarter now, and they value authenticity over pure celebrity influence.

3. You can't do problem-based marketing when the problem is an insecurity nobody thinks they actually have.

Follow me on TikTok for more breakdowns like this. Link in comments.

Tok_Vibes

Built a boutique creative strategy studio serving DTC brands from performance-driven strategy to hands-on UGC content production.

Led campaigns for brands like Loop Earplugs, Neutrogena, and Ziploc, translating their brand vision into high-converting social ads.

Delivered results: achieved a 3.5x ROAS on $150K spend (20% above industry benchmark) and reduced CPA by 18% through relentless creative testing and optimization.

Extended winning ads’ lifespan by 60+ days through continuous iteration saving clients thousands in production costs and keeping performance consistent.

(Growing fast? Let’s bring your brand’s story to life through creative that sells. Portfolio case studies available on request.)

Founder of Tok-Vibes 

The Earthling Co.

Led sprint-based creative projects across UGC, AI voiceover, and statics

Sourced & vetted creators; handled outreach, contracts, and onboarding

Wrote briefs (hook, script, on-screen lines, CTA, shot list) and editor notes

Directed editing (cut orders, versioning, QA) to accelerate time-to-winner

Built a performance tracker (hook heatmap, hold/CTR notes) to guide iterations

Ran weekly reviews; shipped 1–2 iterations/week on winning angles

Organized asset library (naming, folders, reusable shot bank) for faster reuse

Aligned creative with VoC insights

Creative Strategist

Loop Earplugs

Brought on in Q4 to turbocharge Loop’s holiday ad campaigns. 

Exceeded the $18M Q4 revenue target by 33%, thanks to a viral TikTok ad strategy and data-driven optimizations.

Developed attention-grabbing video and static ads that resonated with Loop’s community

 These campaigns performed so well that our team was nominated for “Greatest Performance” at the TikTok Ad Awards 2024 (UK). 🎉

Worked closely with Loop’s marketing team to transfer knowledge and ad creatives for continued success into the new year.

Performance Creative Strategist (Q4)

Meroda Cosmetics

Managed multi-country ad strategy cordinating with agencies in NL, Germany, the UK, and across the EU to ensure a unified message and efficient use of creative assets.

Audited each market’s Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ad account and provided detailed recommendations, resulting in a consistent uplift in ad performance across all regions (estimated +15% ROAS improvement overall).

Created clear, tailored creative briefs for each agency to produce on-brand and high-performing content. Introduced a weekly reporting cadence (using Motion app analytics and Meta Ads Manager data) so the Meroda CEO had transparent insights into what ads worked best.

Built a shareable knowledge base & SOPs for the brand’s internal team, laying the groundwork for future growth and faster onboarding of new team members.

Helped with a roadmap to follow for testing creatives in different market/languages

Performance Creative Strategist

Softizing

Joined an early-stage marketing tech startup to lead 360° creative campaigns from insight to execution. I turned consumer research into bold marketing concepts that drove initial revenue for the company’s pilot product.

Founding Member - Perfomance creatives

QuickFrame

Led end-to-end digital campaigns for various beauty and health brands as a one-woman studio – including Neutrogena, JLo Beauty, and Method.

 Managed everything from creative concept to creator coordination to final edit delivery.

Focused on UGC to produce authentic videos.

Several campaigns yielded double-digit % increases in engagement and sales.

Conducted deep audience analysis for each client (surveys, comments, reviews) to tailor campaign messaging.

Producer, Creative Strategist & UGC Creator

Apple

Started my career as a contractor at Apple, ensuring flawless music metadata for Apple Music. I cross-checked song info across databases so that millions of users could discover music without a glitch.
Collaborated with engineering and curation teams to improve how content is categorized and recommended. This experience sharpened my attention to detail and taught me how small data points can shape the user experience.
(This technical foundation in data quality indirectly became a secret weapon in my marketing career – I learned how to analyze and leverage data to improve content delivery.)

Mapping QA 

• Enhancing User Experience for Apple Music
• Research and cross-reference various sources to ensure accuracy of content.
• Ensured accuracy of content in terms of its localization, translation, functionality and flow.
• Curated qualitative datasets for Siri.

Metadata Specialist

TikTok and Meta ads for DTC Brands | Creative Strategist | UGC Producer|Founder of Tok-Vibes.com

Hi, I’m Oli!  a creative strategist who helps DTC brands turn scrolls into sales. 

You’ve got a great product and a solid team ..but if your ads aren’t converting like they used to, that’s where I come in. 

I blend storytelling and data to build ads that not only grab attention but also drive growth. 


Here’s what I do best:

 I dig deep into your ad data and customer psychology to find out what truly makes your audience click. 

Then I craft fresh ad concepts (often leveraging UGC and AI content) grounded in those insights.

 The result = Campaigns that lower your CAC, boost ROAS, and scale your revenue sustainably.

 Over the past 5+ years, I’ve helped startups and global brands alike smash through growth plateaus:

🔹 Scaled Loop Earplugs to exceed a $18M Q4 sales goal by 33%. (Yes, we overshot the target by a mile!)

🔹 Drove 3.5X ROAS on $150K ad spend for a DTC accessory brand by reinventing their creative strategy (20% above benchmark performance)

🔹 Cut CPA by 18% for a skincare client and found new customer angles that led 5 out of 50 test ads to drive 70% of their online revenue.

I’m a founder, too...

 I launched an accessory brand with an innovative first product that I designed myself.

 I partner with you, founder-to-founder, treating your business like my own. 

If something isn’t working, I’ll tell you. 

If I spot an untapped opportunity, I’ll seize it. 

My approach in a nutshell: Test, learn, iterate. 📊 I run structured ad tests (thanks to my nerdy side that loves numbers) and then double down on the creatives that perform. 

No fluff, no ego.. just actionable insights and winning ads. 

And because I started as a content creator myself, I excel at producing ads that feel real and relatable (not like those stiff “agency” ads).

 On a personal note, I’m a bit of a nomad and nerd: I’ve lived on 3 continents, speak English & French, and once grew a fitness Instagram to 15k followers just by talking about protein pancakes. 🥞
 (Turns out, authentic content really does attract an audience...a lesson I carry into my ad strategies!). 

When I’m not optimizing campaigns, you can find me in a Reformer Pilates class and having lunch on a terrace with a friend.

Ready to scale your DTC brand with ads that convert? 

Let’s chat. 😊 

Send me a DM or book a call through my profile link, and let’s spark your next phase of growth.

Oli Cimet

A lot of people think creative strategy means writing good hooks.

That’s just copywriting.

Real strategy means knowing what to say, why it works, and how to get it made.

You need to think in layers:

→ Research like a scientist.
→ Write like a DTC copywriter.
→ Think like a psychologist.
→ Brief like a producer.
→ Test like a growth marketer.

That’s what makes strategy high leverage.

It’s not about being creative for fun.
It’s about getting creative that sells.

DTC Creative Strategist & Growth Partner Scaling 7-8 Figure Brands with Data-Driven UGC + AI Creative for FB & TikTok Ads | Founder of Tok-Vibes | Product Creator | Entrepreneur for Life

You don’t need another media buyer.

You need someone who can tell you why your ad isn’t converting.

That’s the gap most brands don’t see.

→ Editors can make content.
→ Buyers can launch tests.
→ But no one owns the message.

And that’s the real bottleneck now.

Meta doesn’t need help finding the right people.
It needs the right story to show them.

A creative strategist isn’t “just another hire.”

It’s the person who knows:

→ Which pain points actually move revenue
→ How to translate reviews into messaging
→ How to brief creators so the ad lands

Media buying is math.
Strategy is psychology.

If you’re testing 100 ads and still flatlining, the problem isn’t volume.

It’s clarity.

One of my highest-performing ads wasn’t a video.
It was a static.

No bright colors.
No gimmicks.
Just a well-written founder letter in plain text.

Here’s why it worked:

→ High dwell time
→ Instant trust
→ No ad fatigue

People stopped to read.
They felt the story.
They converted.

Sometimes your best creative doesn’t look like an ad.

Stop writing for everyone. Start writing for one person.

Every brand says their product is for:
→ Women 25–45
→ People who care about wellness
→ Anyone with skin, hair, a gut, a brain

That’s why their ads blend into the feed.

The winners?

They go narrow:
→ Women over 45 who feel invisible in the beauty aisle
→ Men with joint pain who don’t want to try another “miracle” pill
→ New moms whose hair is thinning and confidence is tanked

When you get specific, everything sharpens:

→ Your hooks get clicks
→ Your message hits harder
→ Your results compound

Mass-market ads don’t work on platforms built for personalization.

Find your person.
Speak directly to them.
Ignore the rest.

A DTC brand spent $12,347 on a product photoshoot.

They rented a studio.
Hired a photographer.
Booked polished models.
Shot 40 pieces for their new collection.

Then they A/B tested it.

→ The iPhone photos on a white wall converted at 3.2%
→ The $12K professional shots? 2.7%

That’s a 15% drop in conversion.

Why?

→ The lighting made the fabric look fake
→ The models didn’t feel relatable
→ The visuals looked like ads — so people scrolled right past


Here’s what they didn’t need:
→ A studio
→ Perfect lighting
→ A huge production budget

You can test polish without spending $12K.
Just use nano banana.

If it flops, cool, you just saved 5 figures.
If it hits, now go scale with confidence.

don’t forget the real lesson:

Your customers don’t want ad-looking content.
They want native.
They want honest.
They want to see what it actually looks like on someone like them.

Every founder says they want speed.
But speed without a system is chaos.

Here’s how I deliver 20+ ad concepts in 1 week without sacrificing quality:

→ I start with deep research.
→ I map out every angle + persona.
→ I brief like a maniac — every creator gets a clear role.
→ I tag raw footage so editors can build in hours, not days.
→ I use AI when it makes sense. Real humans when it matters.

That’s how we scale.

You don’t need a bigger team.
You need a faster engine.

I used to feel weird about having multiple passions.

Like if I wasn’t “all in” on just one thing, people would assume I wasn’t serious.

But that’s not how I operate

That’s not how most entrepreneurs operate either.

Right now, my focus is split between two clear goals:

→ Helping DTC brands scale through smart creative and paid ads
→ Investing in real estate, stocks to turn short-term wins into long-term freedom

That’s it.

And something wild happened:

The moment I got clear, really clear, the right opportunities started showing up.

I found my investing mentor
The right connections came in naturally.
Because what you focus on, you attract.

Not when you force it.
Not when you chase.
But when you move with clarity and intention.

You don’t need to limit your passions.

You just need to direct your energy.

Hiring: Direct-Response Copywriter (DTC Ads)
 Looking for a copywriter who can write short-form scripts that SELL (Meta/TikTok).
 Must have experience with: hooks, angles, UGC scripts, VO ads, LF8, and product research.
Send:
 1️⃣ 3 examples of past ad scripts
 2️⃣ Rates
 3️⃣ Quick intro
Comment COPY or DM me.

Talks about #dtc, #ugc, #tiktokads, #paidsocial, and #creativestrategy

If your performance has been meh these past few weeks, here is why 👇

Meta's Andromeda update changed EVERYTHING about creative testing.

The old playbook is dead:
❌ 1 angle with 4 small variations
❌ Changing headlines and CTAs
❌ Testing "blue button vs red button"

Here's what's actually happening:

Meta now uses hierarchical indexing. Translation? Your audience isn't one big group - it's multiple cohorts with different needs.

Example: You're selling to "construction workers"

But within that audience:
• Cohort 1: Guys who've broken expensive gear
• Cohort 2: Guys who want professional respect
• Cohort 3: Guys who see gear as identity
• Cohort 4: Guys influenced by their crew

The OLD way targeted all 4 with the same message.
The NEW way creates different messages for each cohort.

Why your performance dropped:
→ You're still using 2022 creative strategy
→ Meta can't optimize with limited creative diversity
→ You're missing 75% of your potential audience

What winners are doing now:
✅ 4 completely different psychological angles
✅ 20-30 unique ads per month (not variations)
✅ Letting Meta's algorithm pick the winners
✅ Testing angles first, then formats

The difference?
• Old way: 4 chances to win
• New way: 16+ chances to win across different audience segments

This isn't just "more creative" - it's strategic audience expansion.

Instead of fishing with one hook, you're using four different baits for four different types of fish.

More fish = more sales.

If your ad account is full of Gen Z creators...

You’re probably missing the sale.

One of the top DTC brands I work with has 3 strategists.

All smart.
All young guys.
All building hair care ads.

But here’s the problem:

Their customer is 45–64.

And the copy, tone, and creative?

Still sounds like it’s made for 25-year-olds on TikTok.

If your creative team doesn’t reflect your buyer — you’re leaving money on the table.

Creative strategy isn’t about trends.

It’s about relatability.

And a woman in her 50s isn’t going to click on an ad that says “hot girl hair hack.”

You don’t need more content.

You need content that makes people say:

“That’s me.”

40+ buyers are Meta’s secret weapon.

They don’t swipe like Gen Z.
They read.
They click.
They buy.

Most brands sleep on this demo.
That’s a mistake.

Here’s what works:

→ Founder-letter statics.
→ Wellness ads with real science.
→ UGC that sounds mature not cringey.
→ Objection-handling copy with press logos for social proof.

I’ve scaled six-figure campaigns just by dialing in this age group.

They’re not flashy.
But they convert like crazy.

You can’t build something great when you’re the only one pushing.

At some point, you need people who get it.

Who don’t need to be convinced why the hook matters.

Who instinctively know how to make a product feel real on camera.

Who take your raw footage and turn it into something that actually sells.

You don’t need a huge team.

You don’t need a massive budget.

But you need the right people or you’ll burn out trying to do it all yourself.

That’s the real reason most founders get stuck.

Not because they aren’t smart.

But because they’re surrounded by B-players... and too tired to keep carrying the whole thing on their back.

If you’ve got big goals, protect your energy.

Find people who make execution feel easy.

It’s not supposed to be this hard.

3 types of supplement ads that convert like crazy:


→ 1. The “Taboo” Ad
This ad calls out the embarrassing reason someone’s taking the supplement.
Bloating. Hair loss. Constipation. Brain fog. Libido.
The more “shame” attached to the problem, the stronger the hook.

→ 2. Benefit point out Ads
More energy. Better sleep. Glowing skin. Stronger workouts.
it builds aspiration

→ 3. The “Golden Nugget” Ad
mine your reviews and find the onesuper specific oness that are super specific and highlight certain part of the revie to make it pop out.

These ads work.

The product is important.

But the way you talk about it is everything.

Most founders aren’t looking for a creative strategist.

They’re looking for someone who just gets it.

Someone who doesn’t need a 10-page brief to understand the customer.

Someone who can hear “we’re skewing older now” and instantly shift the tone, creators, and formats.

Someone who moves fast without needing to be micromanaged.

This week I had a founder tell me:

“I just want these to feel different. 

My team’s good but it’s all starting to feel the same.”

That’s the real unlock.

It’s not about replacing teams.

It’s about bringing in fresh thinking that actually changes performance.

Because when you’re trying to scale?

Creative fatigue isn’t just a feeling.. it’s a revenue problem.

One of the first things I noticed on a new brand’s ads:

→ 95% of their UGC was targeting the same demo
→ Young, aesthetic women, 25–30, soft lighting, good hair, etc.

And it was working... kind of.

But the brand wasn’t scaling.

Here’s why:

Meta needs diversity to find your next pocket of spend.

Andromeda won’t just “spend more” if you keep showing the same content to the same group.

You want scale?

→ Speak to Gen X women who buy for their daughters
→ Speak to men over 40 with a pain point they’ve been ignoring
→ Speak to people who don’t care about looking cool — but care about feeling better

Same product.
New angles.
New demos.
Lower CPAs.

That’s how you unlock scale.

Not just by spending more but by giving Meta more paths to win.

If your angles feel dull, here’s why.

Too many “strategists” are just prompting ChatGPT and reformatting the results.

What comes out?

✅ The same angles
✅ The same language
✅ The same tired problems everyone else is already testing

These aren’t bad ideas.
They’re just... hollow.

They lack context, nuance, and tension.
They don’t account for platform behavior, audience insight, or concept fatigue.
And worst of all:
They’re not strategic — they’re just content.

Strategy isn’t a prompt.

It’s a process.

A real strategist doesn’t start with GPT.
They start with:

📊 Ad comments
🛍 Purchase behavior
🧠 Buyer psychology
👀 Competitor fatigue
🧩 Platform mechanics

Then they reverse-engineer how real humans experience desire — and how to intercept that scroll at the right time with the right format.

They think in problems, personas, and proof.

Not generalities.

Want to bypass GPT mediocrity?

Build angles from inside the customer journey:

→ What’s not working with other ads in your space?
→ What are your best customers actually saying in reviews?
→ What’s one emotional wedge that isn’t already crowded?

When strategy is done right, creative feels native, specific, and sticky.
When it’s done lazily, you get AI angles that sound like everyone else’s.

What December 2025 just taught us about where eCommerce is headed next:

(Recap + POV from a creative strategist who tracks this closely)

1. TikTok Shop is STILL exploding
→ U.S. GMV up 136% YoY
→ Already 25% of Amazon’s daily volume
→ Most of the action? Low-AOV, impulse buys, powered by viral UGC

Lesson: If you're still running polished "brand" ads... you're missing what actually moves in-platform.

TikTok isn’t a billboard. It's a storefront.
And every video is your sales rep.

2. DTC Brands are Winning on Amazon
→ 10% YoY GMV growth
→ Supplements, beauty, health, lifestyle are leading the charge

Lesson: Omni-channel is no longer optional.
And your best-performing Meta ads?
Can probably be adapted to Amazon if the messaging is built right.

Creative strategy now = platform-mapping.
Same product, different angle.

3. Meta CPCs are rising (again)
→ CPMs are up
→ But ROAS isn't necessarily dropping if the ads are built for intent

Lesson:
Targeting is no longer your edge.
Messaging is.
The algorithm can find the right person but only if your story makes them care.

4. Consumers are more price-sensitive (but not bargain hunters)
→ Higher conversions on value-driven hooks (e.g. “lasts 3x longer”, “no subscriptions”, “1-for-1 impact”)

Lesson: You don’t need to discount.
You need to communicate value clearly.
Your creative should sell why it's worth it, not just what it is.

Big takeaway for founders & marketers:
eCommerce isn't about spending more.
It's about messaging smarter.

→ Build creative that matches the platform
→ Test formats that don’t feel like ads
→ Lead with pain points, not product features

That’s how you stay profitable when every channel is shifting under your feet.

GAP didn’t just run an ad!!! 
They dropped a cultural MOMENT.

And the internet felt it.

Here’s what made this winter campaign actually work and what DTC founders can learn from it:

It’s not an ad. It’s a vibe.
Everyone else is yelling “Buy our winter sweaters.”
Gap drops a full choir, no pitch, no sell.
Your brain says: music video not commercial.
So you stop. You watch.

A cappella = instant emotional anchor.
Warmth. Nostalgia. Holidays.
One comment said:

“I never look up an ad to rewatch it.”

That’s oxytocin. 

That’s creative doing its job.

The casting looks like us.
Not catalog models.
Not aspirational archetypes.
Just people who feel familiar.
One commenter nailed it:

“So nostalgic and at the same time fresh and authentic”

No CTA.
No overlays. 
No pitch.

Everyone’s wearing Gap.
But nobody says that.
The product is the context not the push.

Which makes it more persuasive.

The song is a throwback, but reimagined.
They took Miley’s The Climb, flipped it into a soulful group cover.

People felt it.

“This is the Christmas ad we needed 😭❤️”

“Got goosebumps omg so good”

“Literal chills.”

It triggered the share instinct.
Thousands of comments.
People tagging friends.
Calling out names in the choir.
Requesting the full song.
Begging for it on Spotify.

“I’ve never skipped a GAP ad once.”
“This is one of the greatest commercials I’ve ever seen on YouTube and Pinterest.”

This is what “native brand content” actually means.
→ It doesn’t sell.
→ It feels.
→ And because it feels, it scales.

Great ads don’t scream at you.
They pull you in and you decide to stay.

for context: https://lnkd.in/gFdtB79T

Open video: Give Your Gift on youtube.com

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