David Olusegun

Creative Control Ventures

CCV partners with purpose-driven creators to launch CPG brands that make a real impact. 🚀

Notable brands include:
- Nala’s Baby (Krept & Sasha)
- SYPS (Aitch) 

CCV operates as a co-founding partner, providing creators with the tools, support, and capital to build and scale their own businesses moving beyond endorsements to real ownership.

The goal? Turning influence into impactful, global brands. 🌍

Co-Founder & Co-CEO

Creators Capital

Creators Capital invests, advises, and builds value around creators, brands, and rights-holders across sports, music, gaming, and entertainment.

Founder & Investor

Black Diamond Music Group

Home to Black Diamond Records, a full-service record label imprint of Warner Music Group (home to Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Dua Lipa) and Black Diamond Publishing, a JV with Kobalt Music home to writers that have worked with Justin Bieber, Stormzy, Ariana Grande and many more

Co-Founder & CEO

Various

Providing marketing and sponsorship services to MTV, The FA, HIT Entertainment, Nike, Adidas, New Balance.

Various Entertainment marketing, branding and sponsorship roles

Hi 👋🏿

I’m David. I’m driven by faith and committed to purpose. My work is simple: build and invest in consumer brands that make lives better and leave a positive legacy.

For over a decade, I’ve worked across CPG, entertainment, and media with global players like Viacom, Nike, MTV, Nickelodeon, Sony Pictures, Boots, and Warner Music.

Beyond angel investing, I advise founders and corporations on building products that truly serve people, and I speak on faith, entrepreneurship, and brand leadership with a focus on real-world impact and integrity.

Honoured to be recognised by Powerful Media, Music Week, KPMG Entrepreneur of the Year, HSBC x Black Business Week Top Entrepreneur and the UK’s Top 100 African Business Leaders, but the mission stays the same: help brands serve people, do good with excellence and integrity, and honour God.

CCV is a venture builder that partners with purpose-driven creators to launch global CPG brands. We are a creative-led team with strong end-to-end commercial expertise that provides the complete infrastructure to launch, build and scale these pioneering brands.

Our goal is to give our clients the opportunity to build something bigger than their personal brand, receive ownership rather than just another endorsement deal and leverage their following into a long-term future through building impactful businesses.

Our operating model is to work together with the creator as a co-founding team and enable them with the right infrastructure, tools, support, and capital. We love working with creators to change the world, one brand at a time. We believe it’s time we build businesses that shift the power paradigm to the hands of the creators. It’s what gets us up in the morning, it’s in our DNA and we are irretrievably obsessed with collective success by working with CCV you’ll be working with vested partners committed to global success!

Jesus was the greatest leader to ever walk the earth, and if you study his example, you’ll find timeless lessons on humility, vision and service that can transform how you lead.

Building and Investing Purpose-Driven Consumer Brands | Angel Investor | Keynote Speaker

JESUS

I’m sure you’ve heard it a thousand times, but this time, let it sink in; Jesus really loves YOU. 

Not because you’re perfect, but because He is.

The love of Jesus stays, forgives, and heals.

Open your heart, He’s been waiting for you.

When God leads, your efforts are strengthened, and your path becomes clearer.

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed”— Proverbs 16:3

Are we witnessing a fundamental change in what it means to be an influencer?

For years, brands defaulted to the polished archetype: musicians, athletes, and models who could embody a kind of aspirational perfection.

But now we’re seeing a pivot, a willingness to bet on people who don’t fit the traditional mould, yet have something far more valuable: cultural credibility and a voice their communities genuinely trust.

Take Auntie Bemi. From London bus videos with 22M likes to front-row campaigns with JACQUEMUS, Burberry, H&M Group, and Maybelline New York, she represents a new era. 

One where influence is not about celebrity status, but about resonance, relatability, and cultural fluency.

Some critics argue that H&M’s campaign with her is a gimmick, but let’s be real: the same old faces are tired. The industry is learning that the fastest way to reconnect with audiences is to back homegrown, non-traditional talent who feel like us.

And that’s the deeper shift:
☯︎ Influence is no longer gatekept by industries like music or sport.
☯︎ Brands are recognising that style, voice, and cultural relevance can come from anywhere.
☯︎ Communities are responding to authenticity, not polished perfection.

For H&M, with shares down 8.4% last year against Inditex’s 29% rise, taking risks on fresh voices isn’t optional, but it’s now a matter of survival.

So maybe the real question is this: are we entering an age where the most powerful influencers aren’t the ones with the biggest stages, but the ones who speak most clearly to the people in them?

So many of us have felt lost, searching for purpose, direction, clarity. Life can get confusing, heavy and overwhelming. 

But the good news is that there IS a way.

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and in Him we find the peace and direction we’ve been longing for. (John 14:6)

Two months ago, I had breakfast with a friend in South Africa who does 9 figures a year.

A lot of what he said I already knew, but hearing it again reminded me how real it is and it has been stuck with me.

Here’s a few points I jotted down after:

✅ Focus is everything. 
The higher you go, the more distractions come for you. If you’re not locked in on your vision, the world will pull you in a hundred directions. People. Vices. 

✅ Your ego will rob you if you let it. 
He told me he’s lost millions because he let pride lead. Trying to prove something. Trying to win arguments that weren’t worth it. Ego feels good short term but it’s expensive long term.

✅ Who you partner with matters. 
More than people admit. The right person can give you peace, alignment and clarity. The wrong one can ruin everything. Choose with sense. Not just feelings.

✅ Keep your circle solid. 
When you’re winning, people show up. When it gets quiet, they disappear. Don’t lose the people who were there before the noise. 

✅ Don’t let anyone trick you out of your position. 
You are who you are for a reason. Stop doubting that. Imposter syndrome is loud but it’s a lie. Own your space. Stand on your assignment.

✅Stay Grounded. 
Values matter. Keep your integrity. Don’t let money or influence change the core of who you are. 

✅ Keep praying. Always. 
No matter what,  never let life make you lose sight of the One that gave it. We were never meant to do life alone, let God guide you.

Conversations like that show why the people around you matter. 

It made me realise again that your circle is shaping your mentality, whether you notice or not.

A Pizza Boy with $1,000 Capital became the UK’s Youngest Billionaire with a $1.45 Billion Brand.

At age 19, Ben Francis MBE started Gymshark in his parents' garage while juggling studying at Aston University and working as a Pizza Hut delivery driver.
 
 The first problem? He couldn’t afford a production line, and manufacturers kept saying no. So he learnt to sew. 

With about £1,000 in savings, he bought a sewing machine, some fabric, and a screen printer and handmade the first Gymshark pieces.
 
By day, he was in class, by night delivering pizzas, and in the early hours, he stitched and printed gym wear until 4 a.m.

Back in 2012–2013, fitness content on YouTube was booming, but creators’ audiences had no brand representing them.

Nike and adidas were “sports.” Under Armour was “performance.”
 
Ben understood early that these creators could drive distribution.
 
Gymshark sent free products to fitness YouTubers back when influencer marketing wasn’t even a playbook.

Then came BodyPower Expo 2013, Ben invested every penny the company had made into production and a booth at the fitness expo.
 
They didn’t have hype before the event, but they had one advantage: The creators wore Gymshark to the event.

The gamble paid off. The Gymshark stand was flooded. They sold out in 90 minutes.
 
 After the expo, the Luxe Tracksuit, one of their first premium products, went viral on Facebook.
The company went from making £300/day to £30,000/day overnight.

During the 2015 Black Friday, their website crashed. Orders went missing, and customers were furious.

Ben posted a raw apology video, no PR spin. This made customers connect more with the human behind the brand.

Gymshark remains a direct-to-consumer brand, where transparency matters. There is no middleman, no buffer.

They didn’t just sell gym clothes, they sold identity, they built a tribe:
“I’m building myself, I’m part of this community ”

By 2020, Gymshark had grown into a global fitness brand valued at $1.45 billion. Ben Francis MBE became the UK’s youngest billionaire at 28, still owning 70% of the company.

The lesson? Extraordinary results come when you start before you’re ready, commit fully to your vision, and trust your own instincts. 

Ben didn’t wait for a perfect factory, a big investor, or a proven strategy. He just kept building, testing, and going.

African Culture Is Exploding and It’s Creating One of the Biggest Untapped Food & Beverage Opportunities

I’ve been saying this privately for years, but it’s finally becoming mainstream news: African culture isn’t “coming.” It’s here! 

In 2023, Burna Boy sold out the London Stadium the first African artist in history to do so. That same night, Beyoncé was performing across town. Two icons. Two stadiums. One message: Africa is no longer on the periphery of culture. 

The Grocer just reported a major surge in British shoppers looking for West African foods.

For me someone who grew up in South London surrounded by jollof pots, suya smoke, puff-puff after church, none of this is surprising. The biggest untapped opportunity in UK consumer goods right now is African food & beverage.

The Pattern Is Clear: Every Global Cuisine Breaks Through the Same Way
Culture → Curiosity → Street Food → Restaurants → CPG → Category Leader

Korea did it. Japan did it. Mexico did it. The Middle East did it.
Now it’s West Africa’s turn. The difference this time?

The cultural wave is faster, the diaspora is younger, and the gap between cultural relevance and supermarket presence is the widest I’ve ever seen.

A Huge, Underserved Market Hiding in Plain Sight

The UK’s African community is not small:
✅ 1.5 million Black African people
✅ 250k mixed Black African
✅ Together, similar in size to the British Indian population

And the wider market is curious:
✅ 65% of Brits say they’d try West African food
✅ 57% have never had the opportunity

The demand is there. As someone who builds CPG brands, I see this gap every day:

✅ High cultural momentum
✅ High consumer curiosity
✅ Low shelf presence
✅ No dominant brands

This combination does not come around often. When it does, it creates category-defining winners.

The Signals Are Everywhere, the Industry Is Waking Up

1. The Grocer Confirms Rising Interest in African Frozen Foods
2. UK Retailers Expanding African SKUs
3. Michelin Stars Leading the Way
4. Festivals, Street Food & Gen Z
5. Diaspora Convenience Demand

This is the “Itsu moment” for African cuisine. Add the demographic reality, by 2050, 1 in 10 children globally will be African and you start to see how big this really is.

This isn’t a wave. African culture is global culture. When culture moves, consumer behaviour follows. When behaviour shifts, categories transform.

And the runway ahead is long, wide, and wide open.

Unilever’s latest move says more about the future of CPG than most people realise.

They’re exploring the sale of Marmite, Colman’s and Bovril, a ~£200m food portfolio, as they shift more aggressively into beauty, personal care and wellness.

Here’s what this really signals:

1. The numbers dictate the strategy.

Beauty operates at 2–3x the gross margins of packaged food, with stronger repeat rates and lower supply-chain drag.

When you model it out, the capital efficiency gap is massive. Unilever is simply reallocating resources to the categories with the best LTV/CAC, the strongest pricing power, and the most elastic demand curves.

2. Brand matters more than shelf space.

Food is increasingly commoditised. Retailers decide your fate.

In beauty, brand equity is the moat. You can build margin through formulation, IP, community, and positioning, not just volume.

3. Category focus beats sprawling empires.

The old FMCG model was: “own everything.” The new model is: “build where you have edge.”

Unilever knows their global R&D, talent, and marketing engine generates outsized returns in beauty.

4. This is part of a bigger industry correction.

We’re entering a decade where conglomerates will prune low-margin assets and double down on high-margin verticals.

Expect more divestments, more rollups, and more buying opportunities for challenger operators who know how to execute.

The lesson for founders? Focus where the economics reward excellence.

Double down on categories where great brand building still moves the needle.

So often, we live with the illusion that someone or some big event will come and fix all our problems for us. 

But the truth is, life doesn’t wait, and no one is coming to save you. 

The good news? When you take the reins yourself, you can achieve everything you’ve prayed for.

No one’s coming to save you!!

To make it in life, you actually need two things:

Delusion and audacity.

📌 Delusion: that inner belief that you’re meant for more, even if nothing in your life currently proves it.

📌 Audacity: the guts to act on that belief. To apply, to ask, to build, to enter rooms you technically have no business being in.

Most people stay realistic. That’s why they stay stuck.

The ones who change their life always sound a little insane at first.

Think about it: Airbnb started as two guys renting out an air mattress in their living room. 

The idea sounded ridiculous, but now it’s a global hospitality giant.

So if your dream feels delusional… good.

Now back it with action.

What if purpose isn’t a secret key you find, but a muscle you develop through bold actions?

The $5B Question: Is Kim Kardashians’s SKIMS’ Culture-First Model the New Blueprint?

Skims just raised $224 million at a $5B valuation

Meanwhile:
 📌 Spanx sold the majority stake to Blackstone at $1.2B valuation 
 📌 VICTORIA'S SECRET'S is currently valued at around $4.5B but declining 
 📌 Under Armour (founded in 1996) is struggling at $7B

Is Skims the blueprint for how modern brands beat heritage players?

Let me show you what the numbers actually say:
 ➡️ April 2021: $1.6B valuation ($154M raised)
 ➡️ January 2022: $3.2B valuation ($240M raised)
 ➡️ July 2023: $4B valuation ($270M raised)
 ➡️ November 2025: $5B valuation ($224M raised)

That’s 3x growth in valuation in under 5 years.

Here’s what makes it fascinating: The company is now officially targeting more than $1B in net sales for 2025. 

SKIMS is worth MORE than Spanx despite being 19 years younger and doing less revenue. Victoria’s Secret does 7x Skims’ revenue but is only valued at similar levels.

What does Skims have over the heritage brands? 

Let me break down the four strategic moves that explain Skims’ valuation:

♻️ Culture Over Category: Victoria’s Secret sold “sexy” through male-gaze fantasy. Spanx sold “solutions” through function (hide your flaws, look thinner). Skims sold “confidence” through representation (all bodies, all skin tones, worn by real women).

♻️ Celebrity as Distribution, Not Just Marketing: Kim Kardashian is the distribution channel. Kim Kardashian has 354 million followers on Instagram. That’s more reach than Victoria’s Secret ever had with its Fashion Show at its peak.

♻️ DTC-First, Omnichannel Second: Heritage brands built through wholesale department stores, speciality retailers, and mall locations. Then they tried to add DTC as an afterthought, Skims did the opposite.

♻️▸ Product Velocity Over Product Breadth: Heritage brands think in seasons (Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter), two major launches per year. Skims thinks in drops. Spanx took years to iterate on shades. Skims compresses that into months.

Is this actually sustainable? Does this model beat Heritage long-term?

To find out my take, I break down what’s working, what’s not, and the full numbers behind SKIMS’ $5B valuation in my newsletter. 

Link in the comments.⬇️

Chobani just raised $487M at a $15B valuation.

Back in 2005, a Kurdish immigrant named Hamdi Ulukaya bought a shut-down Kraft Heinz yogurt plant in upstate New York.

By 2007, Chobani had launched Greek yogurt into American supermarkets. 
Here’s what Hamdi did differently:

 ➡️ Phase 1 (2005-2014): Bootstrap with Debt
 → SBA loan to buy the factory (government-backed, low-interest)
 → Reinvest all profits into growth
 → Hit $750M revenue before raising outside capital

➡️ Phase 2 (2014-2018): Strategic Debt with Warrants
 → $560M from TPG as debt + warrants (~20% company)
 → Use capital for infrastructure, not covering losses
 → Debt serviced by a growing, profitable business

➡️ Phase 3 (2016): Employee Ownership
 → Give 10% to employees (worth $220M at the time)
 → Create unprecedented alignment and moat
 → Attract and retain talent without paying Silicon Valley salaries

➡️ Phase 4 (2018-2022): Long-Term Capital Partner
 → Pension fund buys out TPG
 → Patient capital with a 20+ year horizon
 → IPO filed but withdrawn when market conditions are poor

➡️ Phase 5 (2023-2025): Profitable M&A + Infrastructure Investment
 → Acquire complementary brands (La Colombe Coffee Workshop, Daily Harvest)
 → Raise $487M at $15B valuation for manufacturing expansion
 → Projected $2.85B revenue in 2025

Let’s look at what Chobani’s financial profile likely looks like:

 ✅ Revenue (2025 projected): $2.85 billion
 ✅ Gross Margins: ~35-40% 
 ✅ Debt Load: Likely $750M-1.5B
 ✅ Enterprise Value: $15 billion
 
If you want the complete playbook and numbers behind Hamdi Ulukaya’s $20B empire, check out my newsletter. 

Link is in the comments.⬇️

There’s a guy I follow who’s bought over 150 companies in his life, and what he said to me reminded me of this verse. 

“Give, and it will be given to you.” — Luke 6:38

The more you give, the more the world gives back. But only if you're intentional. 

Your problem might not be your network. It might be how you treat your network. Most people go around trying to "connect" coffees, events, DMs. 

And that’s great. But the real move? Build something that makes people come to you. 

This hit me hard recently after reading a post about how Aristotle Onassis, one of the wealthiest men of his time didn’t go to networking events. 

He bought a yacht and made everyone come to him. Business deals. Social connections. Relationships that changed the course of his life… 

All happened on his terms. He didn’t chase. He attracted. 

That made me stop and ask myself: Where is my version of the yacht?

For me, it’s been: 

✅ My content: People DMing me from something I posted 6 months ago 

✅ Hosting dinners: No agenda, just high-quality people in a room 

✅ Being helpful: Making intros, sharing plays, adding value before asking for anything 

The goal isn’t “go viral”. Let your reputation do the talking when you’re not in the room.

There’s One Thing I Want You To Do This Week…

Click here to find out and subscribe to my weekly newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eEpv-pGD

I’m thankful to Dr. Raphael Sofoluke, UK Black Business Week | UK Black Business Show, Jamelia Donaldson, Treasure Tress for this amazing gift! 

It means a lot to be acknowledged, especially as a Black man in business and it’s an honour to be recognised alongside so many great men who continue to inspire me. 

Moments like this remind me why we keep going… even on the days when the work feels heavy.

Appreciate you all. ❤️

Purpose is not always about an “aha” moment.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of speaking at the Invest Nigeria Conference.

Even though I already believed deeply in Africa’s potential, being there reaffirmed just how massive the opportunity really is.

Over the next few years, I’ll be spending a lot more time on the continent, building, backing and investing across the consumer value chain. 

From CPG to manufacturing, retail to technology, Africa is at an inflection point and those who understand its nuances will help shape the next generation of global brands.

I know for many investors and operators, Africa still feels “distant” or “risky.” The truth is: it’s just misunderstood.

So starting from December, I’ll be sharing a series of insights and data points from my work on the ground focused on Africa’s consumer and CPG ecosystem.

My goal is simple: to give you a clearer window into the opportunity that’s already unfolding.

Stay tuned 🌍

Over the last 12 months, luxury and consumer brands have quietly undergone a leadership cleanse. 

Here’s why...

The Great Brand Reset

The Beauty Incubator: A Strategic Re-think?

In 2010, when Kendo Brands, Inc. launched a defining incubator for beauty brands, it tapped into a powerful model: give emerging ideas access to retail, supply chain, and brand-building.

Over the next decade, it powered launches such as Fenty Beauty by Rihanna, KVD Beauty, and Marc Jacobs Beauty.

But today that model looks increasingly challenged. 

The recent move by LVMH to explore a sale of its 50% stake in Fenty and other signs of withdrawal from Kendo’s earlier ambitions suggest a deeper shift: the beauty-incubator isn’t dead, but it’s evolving.

Here are three strategic takeaways for businesses watching this sector:

1. Incubators entered the beauty ecosystem promising fast routes from idea to shelf. As one commentary put it: “You have the strength of [a major company] to support, fund and help direct these brands” and thereby combine entrepreneurial agility with corporate muscle. Global Cosmetic Industry

Yet, the case of Kendo Brands, Inc. shows how difficult the second half of the curve is. 

Launching Fenty was a triumph. But what followed was much less smooth: other incubated brands struggled, and the shelf-space, budget and internal resource conflicts began to emerge. According to industry commentary: “the road to exit was getting longer… the typical cash-out cycle… stretched from 3-5 years to 5-8 years today.”

2. Incubators once thrived because they provided access to formulation capability, manufacturing, retail distribution, and marketing support. But the industry is maturing, costs are rising, competition is fierce, and consumer attention spans are shorter. Incubators need to continuously justify their value-add, not just at launch, but throughout growth phases.

3. The broader beauty-industry backdrop is shifting. Consumer expectations (e.g., inclusivity, sustainability, social purpose), retail dynamics, and technology have all moved the goalposts. Incubators designed for a specific growth rhythm now need to adapt.

When the incubator model works, it can generate category-defining brands. 

But when the model lags, the risk is that an incubator becomes a drain.

If you’re in beauty (whether as a founder, investor, or corporate leader), this is a moment to ask:
Are we using incubation as a buzzword, or as a strategic system with clear KPIs, resource commitments, and an evolution roadmap?

Do we have what it takes not just to launch the brand, but scale and sustain it in an era of commoditisation and fast-moving trends?

How will we measure success? Is it “brand sold”, “exit achieved”, or “brand enduring and growing in year five and beyond”?

Brick

A Paid Ad & Creative agency helping DTC brands scale using Paid Ads, Creative & CRO behind $400m in revenue for your favourite DTC brands.

We're data nerds who live and breathe e-commerce growth, and our only goal is to help you grow in the most efficient and robust way possible.

Some of our brand partners include:

Patch Plants, Bougie Bakes, SHITI Coolers, Brooklyn Brew Shop, Moto 360, Kodak Smart Home, Paddywax Candles, PetFusion and many other excellent brands.

We typically work with e-commerce businesses who want:

✔ A partner who takes a holistic approach to growth marketing and does all the heavy lifting so you don't have to
✔ To achieve sustainable growth whilst building unshakeable foundations that last
✔ A team of experts that support you through thick & thin and tell you exactly how it is. No sugar-coated BS or pulling the wool over your eyes

To see if your business is eligible, schedule a quick call using the link below:

https://bricksocial.typeform.com/to/xKBNuhvf

Some things we’re proud of:

→ $400,000,000+ profitable ad revenue generated for our partners
→ Dozens of 5⭐️ reviews from our partners on Clutch.co
→ Featured in industry publications talking about e-commerce growth 
→ Client retention 1.8+ years

If you want to learn more about how we do this, you can either:

→ GO HERE: https://www.growwithbrick.com/

→ EMAIL HERE: toby@bricksocial.co.uk

→ APPLY HERE: https://bricksocial.typeform.com/to/xKBNuhvf

Co-Founder @ Brick | Meta & Google Ads For Ecommerce Brands

Apple

Connecting businesses and entrepreneurs with the tools they need to thrive. Introducing Apple solutions, technology, and services and strategically deploying Apple equipment across a range of businesses. Engaging with businesses to build successful, long lasting relationships.

Sales & Marketing

Mimecast

Working closely with marketing, channel and different sales teams to develop new business. The role also entailed working at events and being involved in partner sales environments, speaking directly with end customers and articulating the benefits of the Mimecast platform.

Marketing Development Specialist

Managing Partner @ Brick | Ads & Creative for 100+ DTC brands - $300m+ in sales | I write content about paid ads, performance creative & e-commerce

We scale 7 to 9-figure DTC brands using a creative-first, full-funnel approach that blends paid ads, landing pages, and performance-driven creative.

Brick isn’t a bloated agency juggling 50 clients. 

We’re a boutique team of senior strategists, creatives, and media buyers working closely with a small group of brands we genuinely believe in.

Everything we do is grounded in research, strategy, and execution. No juniors, no handoffs, no fluff.

We’ve driven over $400M in trackable revenue for some of the fastest-growing DTC brands. Our work has been featured in Entrepreneur, Social Media Examiner, and other leading publications. More importantly, 92% of the brands we work with hit all-time revenue highs in under 90 days.

If you're spending on ads but not seeing consistent growth, we can help. 

We focus on fixing the bottlenecks that are holding your brand back—whether it's creative fatigue, poor landing page performance, or inefficient account structure.

Message me “GROWTH” or check the link in my featured section to see how we work.

Toby W.

My creative team told me NOT to share this…

But here we are.

I just dropped our complete AI-powered creative multiplication system that we use to turn ONE winning ad into 20+ platform-specific variations.

This is the exact 6-step framework we use with our 8-figure clients - complete with every prompt, tool, and workflow we use internally at Brick.

Most brands are stuck in the "creative treadmill"... constantly producing new ads from scratch while their best performers collect dust.

This system changes that. Forever.

For the next 48 hours, it's yours.

Like this post + Comment "AI" and I'll send it over.

(We MUST be connected)

Toby Waller

Boutique growth team for ambitious eCom brands | Paid Ads & Creative | $450M+ revenue driven for brands like Leica, Moto, Drake, Shiti Coolers & 200+ more.

Most brands burn money on promo campaigns because they:

🚫 Launch ads too late
🚫 Use the wrong creative strategy
🚫 Scale budgets inefficiently

This Meta Ads Playbook fixes all of that

So you can run promos that actually drive revenue, not just clicks.

Drop ‘PLAYBOOK’ and I’ll DM it over.

Over 150 Meta accounts audited this year. 

The same 4 structural problems in 90% of them 👇🏼

These aren't tactical errors. 

They're strategic blindspots that cap your spend capacity and waste budget on inefficiency.

Let's dive in 👇🏼

1. You're micro-managing the algorithm:

20 interest stacks. Placement exclusions. 1% lookalikes segmented by behavior.

You think you're optimizing. You're strangling learning.

Meta's algorithm finds cheap conversions better than your targeting guesses. 

But it needs volume and breadth to learn.

What works: Broad targeting + all placements as default. Only add constraints when there's a creative or compliance reason - not because you "feel" an audience is better.

2. Testing and scaling live in the same campaign

When new ads compete with proven winners for budget:

Tests get buried under $200 spend and killed too early

Scaling budget bleeds into unproven creative

You can't tell what's working

The fix: Separate testing from scaling. Different campaigns, different goals.

Testing campaign: Small budgets, high rotation, disposable 
Scaling campaign: Proven winners only, stable budget allocation

Don't mix exploration with exploitation.

3. You don't know who you're actually reaching

If existing customers, engaged visitors, and cold traffic all live in the same audience, you'll never know:

How much budget hits true prospects vs repeat buyers

Whether your ROAS is real or inflated by people who were buying anyway

The fix: Define audience segments clearly:

Existing = past purchasers
Engaged = site visitors, engagers
New = everyone else

4. Your creative is format-locked

All video or all static accounts leave Meta blind.

Different placements respond to different formats. If you're only testing one, you're capping reach and driving up CPMs.

Repurpose your best performers across formats. That winning video hook? Test it as a static. Your top static? Turn it into a 15-second video.

Bottom line:
Scaling Meta in 2025 isn't about hacks or secret tactics.

It's about:
> Letting the algorithm learn (stop micromanaging)
> Clear campaign architecture (testing vs scaling)
> Defined audience strategy (know who you're reaching)
> Creative diversity (format mix, not format monopoly)

Most accounts are capped by structure, not by spend capacity.

If you want a full audit of your Meta account, campaign structure, audience strategy, creative portfolio, and scaling roadmap...

reply with AUDIT and I'll send over details.

Why do some brands scale past 7-figure months while others flatline at 6? 
Similar product. Same starting point.
✅ Different creative strategy.

We’ve helped 200+ 7 and 8-figure brands smash through plateaus using our data-first creative strategy.

And for the first time, I’m giving you the process we use to analyse ad creative that has been responsible for over $400m in revenue.

This free guide breaks down:

✅ How to create ads that actually resonate with your target audience

✅ The key metrics that drive creative decisions (and how to track them)

✅ How to use data to consistently improve and scale your ad creative

✅ The step-by-step strategy that has helped e-commerce brands triple their revenue

Want a copy? 

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I've seen brands with 100+ ads live struggle to break $500K monthly.

And brands with 50 ads scale past $5M.

The difference? 

One is making more ads. The other is testing more angles.

Going into 2026, Creative strategy isn't about volume. 

It's about angular diversity.

Here's what that means:

Most brands think they need "more creative." So they brief their team: 
"Make 10 new ads this month."

What they get back: 10 variations of the same concept. Different hooks, different B-roll, maybe different talent. But fundamentally the same psychological approach.

That's not 10 ads. That's one angle with 10 executions.

An angle is the core strategic premise. The "why should I care" that everything else hangs on.

"This product solves [specific pain point]" = one angle 

"This product delivers [aspirational outcome]" = different angle 

"This product works differently than [expected solution]" = different angle 

"You're already doing [behavior], this makes it better" = different angle 

"Everyone else is wrong about [belief]" = different angle

Each angle appeals to different psychology, performs in different audiences, and fatigues independently.

What I see working at scale:

The brands spending $500K+ monthly have 8-12 distinct angles in rotation simultaneously. 

Each angle might have 2-3 executions, but the strategic diversity is in the angles, not the ads.

They're not asking "Can we make more content?" 

They're asking "What angles haven't we tested?"

Pain point vs aspiration. Social proof vs founder story. Education vs entertainment. Problem-unaware vs solution-aware.

When one angle fatigues, the others keep performing because they're reaching fundamentally different audience psychology.

The brands stuck at $200K are making their 47th iteration of their winning ad.

The brands at $3M are testing their 9th completely different strategic approach.

Your creative production bottleneck isn't volume. It's your angle diversity.

You don't need 50 ads a month. You need 5 genuinely different angles, each executed 2-3 ways.

Stop counting ads. Start counting angles.

Everyone’s chasing UGC… 

But static ads still print the money.

The best-performing ads right now don’t move.

They’re clean, effective static ads - built on clarity, contrast, and credibility.

While everyone’s chasing UGC and “motion-first” creative, these brands are scaling with simplicity.

Here are 6 static ads worth studying and why they convert 👇

1️⃣ DEUX Donut Holes

🧠 Principle: Newness + appetite

“3x sold out. Now in chocolate.”

Scarcity + novelty + irresistible close-up.

💡 Takeaway: Use visual appetite cues before your copy does the work.

2️⃣ Hush

🧠 Principle: Product confidence

“Our coldest pillow yet.” Short. Direct. Calm.

No hype, just a confident product-led promise.

💡 Takeaway: Premium brands don’t need noise - they need authority.

3️⃣ Conzuri

🧠 Principle: Transformation without shame

“+2.4 inch height boost.”

Empowering, measurable, human. Handwritten notes make it feel honest.

💡 Takeaway: Sell confidence, not correction.

4️⃣ Misfits

🧠 Principle: Borrowed belief

“The best vegan protein bars in thirty years of searching.”

The review is the headline. Nothing sells like a real human endorsement.

💡 Takeaway: Turn your best testimonial into your next hook.

5️⃣ Bamboo Ave

🧠 Principle: Scarcity + simplicity

“They’re back. But not for long.”

Conversational urgency > corporate FOMO.

💡 Takeaway: Short scarcity lines feel more trustworthy than countdown timers.

6️⃣ Grüns

🧠 Principle: Contrast + humor

Side-by-side storytelling (pain vs relief) with raw, relatable emotion.

You understand the transformation in one glance.

💡 Takeaway: Show emotional before/after moments - not just product benefits.

Why static ads still work:

✅ They communicate one big promise in 3 seconds
✅ They show proof visually, not verbally
✅ They build belief, not just attention

Clarity > clever.
Message > motion.
Emotion > production.

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Static Ads

Ivy Villezas

This brand joined us 6 months ago.

Today? They just broke $4M/month 🤯

Here's the exact playbook we used 👇

In May 2025, this established apparel brand came to us with a problem.

Strong product. Loyal community. But their growth had stagnated.

They knew there was untapped potential... their existing team just didn't know how to break through.

6 months later, we're scaling profitably with momentum.

📈 The Results: 

→ Monthly revenue: $4.3M and continuing to grow
→ +85% month-over-month growth 
→ Blended ROAS: 4x+ 
→ AOV: +12% 
→ 2.5x increase in creative testing volume

🔍 Step 1: Deep Research First

Before touching the ad account:

Customer review and CS ticket mining to extract objections, pain points, and use cases

Post-purchase survey analysis

Competitor review scrapes

Meta & Google creative audits

PDP + heatmap analysis to ID CRO gaps

🚀 Step 2: Media Buying Structure

Meta: 
→ Minor ad account restructure 
→ Clear Test / Scale framework 
→ Tighter exclusions to manage prospecting frequency 
→ UTM tracking implementation 
→ Influencer whitelisting rollout

Google: 
→ Expanded PMax with new asset groups 
→ Generic Search campaign based on real queries 
→ Cleaned branded search campaigns 
→ Retargeting display focused on objections

YouTube: 
→ Targeted in-market, competitor & keyword-based intent audiences

🎨 Step 3: 

Creative Strategy 
→ Weekly creative testing cadence 
→ UGC, statics, testimonials, BTS & founder content 
→ Built avatars + mapped angles to awareness stages 
→ Fed winning data back into briefs weekly 
→ Thumbnail testing from top statics 
→ Unified messaging across channels

🏦 Step 4: 

LPs & Offers 
→ Tested % off vs $ off vs non-discounted bundles 
→ Introduced in-cart + post-purchase upsells 
→ Improved mobile & desktop speed 
→ Built avatar-specific landers vs generic PDPs

💡 Key Takeaways:

→ Scaling isn't just about spending more. It's about knowing what levers to pull and spending smarter. 

→ No creative iteration = creative system failure. Build feedback loops. 

→ Avatar-specific landers > generic PDPs 

→ Alignment between media buying, creative, retention and CRO is essential

Want similar results?

We'll build a free 70+ page audit that shows: 

→ What's causing your brand to stagnate 
→ Where your next $1M/month is hiding 
→ How to fix it across ads, creative & landing pages

👇 Drop "GROWTH" or DM me.

Brands don’t crash after BFCM because demand for their product dies.

They crash because they don’t plan for what comes after the weekend.

December has a rhythm that most teams completely miss

And that’s why their numbers fall off a cliff while others keep climbing.

I put together a quick carousel breaking down the real sequence we see inside accounts every year...

The dip, the mistakes, the pivots, and the plays that actually keep you profitable through December.

Carousel below 👇

BFCM

It’s never the sexy stuff that drives scale.

It’s the unsexy operational fixes that unlock the biggest efficiency gains.

Here are the unsexy optimisations driving the fastest scale for our brands right now 👇

1️⃣ Testing + scaling in the same campaign = chaos

When winners and tests fight for budget, you get:
 • False fatigue
 • Learning resets
 • No attribution clarity

Split them.
Testing = rotation + fast kills.
Scaling = stability + proven assets.
 
This single change unlocks more scale than most creative breakthroughs.

2️⃣ Authenticity > production value

Overproduced ads are losing to iPhone content daily.

Raw founder stories, lo-fi demos & native UGC consistently win.

And stop scripting creators to death - you’re paying for their authenticity.

Bonus: bold text overlays improve clarity AND help the algo understand your offer.

3️⃣ Your offer is limiting scale

Running the same offer for 6+ months? 

You're leaving money on the table.

 Top performers test:
 • BOGO
 • Bundles
 • Threshold incentives
 • Bonus value > discounts

 Small offer shifts often beat new creative entirely.

4️⃣ Operators win by watching the right metrics

Break-even ROAS should be non-negotiable.

Don’t let campaigns sit below it for 48 hours.

Look for timing patterns (best days/hours) and shift budgets accordingly.

And use placement breakdowns to decide which formats to make more of.

5️⃣ Scale comes from stacking small wins - not one magic tactic:

 +12% from better structure
 +15% from clearer hooks
 +10% from offer tests
 –18% wasted spend from exclusions

One optimisation is nothing.

Ten optimisations = compounding scale.

Bottom line:

The brands scaling into 2026 aren’t chasing quick wins - they’re tightening structure, simplifying creative, testing offers, and analysing performance daily.

Hitting $2M/month isn’t the hard part.
Breaking past it is.
And almost every brand fails for the exact same reason.

We recently took a brand from $2.1M → $3.3M/month (+57%), and it didn’t happen by “working harder” or “launching more ads.”

It happened because we removed the bottlenecks that were choking scale.
Here’s the breakdown:

1. Creative wasn’t the issue. Creative variety was.

They were launching hundreds of ads… all built around the same 2–3 concepts.

High output. Low intent. Zero range.

We installed a data-backed creative engine that forced variety:

 • Deep performance + competitor analysis
 • Weekly structured ideation
 • Full-spectrum creative testing (raw, polished, education-first, outcome-first, problem-agitate, lifestyle, all of it)

Winners stopped being luck. They became predictable.

2. Their account structure couldn’t support scale.

Testing + scaling mixed together. No clean learnings. No signal.

Frequency issues. Attribution chaos.

We rebuilt it around a simple flow:

Test → Graduate → Scale
Clean insights → faster decisions → consistent results.

3. Post-click was killing efficiency.

Great ads were sending everyone to the same PDP.

No angle alignment. No objection handling. No awareness matching.

We rebuilt landing pages around:

 • Specific personas
 • Specific pain points
 • Specific ad angles

Conversion rate lifted. CAC dropped. LTV improved.

The lesson:

What gets you to $2M/month won’t get you to $3M/month.

Scaling at this level isn’t about more spend or more ads.

It’s about systems that eliminate bottlenecks and compound small wins.

If you’re pushing harder without seeing movement, the issue usually isn’t effort.

It’s the system you’re pushing into.

Came across 3 eCom landing pages that I felt compelled to redesign:

→ Atlas

Added a navigation bar separator

The hero image blended in with the nav bar beforehand.

To me, it’s too connected. The elements need to be distinct.

So, we made them distinct.

Tidied up the upper-mid action of the site.

Moved their headline up.

Lightened the background to make the text pop.

Added a new line of copy to affirm Atlas’s mission:
To build incredible dog gear.

Added in benefit badges
“Handmade in Colorado”
“Buy it for life guarantee”

Can’t hurt & gives customers more reason to stay & click through.

New CTA button

Your site visitors won’t know what to do next without a CTA.

So we added in an on-brand button to keep visitors moving along.

Essential & goes beyond design.

It’s functionality.

→ anese

Cleaned up the navigation bar

The upper section of the site looked messy.

Too much going on.

So we cleaned up the top bar & made it look uniform.

Less buttons = less decision fatigue for customers.

Downscaled the hero image

Was too big before.

Took up too much space which took away from the site.

So we shrunk the image + added in their “8,000 reviews” social proof.

Revised the copy

We enlarged some of the previous copywriting.

We added in new text to tease anese’s come up story.

Much cleaner.

Added a highly visible CTA button + a “featured in” section.

The CTA button makes it easier to move the prospect towards buying.

The “featured in” section boosts anese’s status.

Both elements encourage sales & were missing entirely before.

→ Fast Growing Trees

Decluttered the navigation bar.

Too many buttons.

Too many options.

This confuses site visitors.

So we streamlined the bar to a general menu button, logo, and cart.

Added a reel showcasing multiple tree pictures

Visitors are on this page to shop for… trees.

So we added more pictures & upped the visuals.

Included more purchase options.

We made it clear that you can buy through Klarna with interest-free payments.

Or purchase 100% upfront.

No-nonsense when it comes to pricing & numbers.

Benefit badges

The purpose of these is to ease the reader & collect more sales.

They’re worries that customers have before buying.

So we tackle them upfront (shipping time, warranties etc).

Clear buyer’s journey

We introduced a size button.

We added a quantity option.

All tied together with an add to cart CTA.

Each element works in unison.

Landing Pages

November was absolutely insane.

Pretty much every brand we work with just hit lifetime record months.

Highest volume and efficiency they've ever achieved.

I'm watching my team execute at a level I didn't think was possible. The media buyers, the creative strategists, the account leads – everyone firing on all cylinders.

This is what happens when you get the right people rowing in the same direction 🔥

This apparel brand's best month ever was $3.2M.
Last 30 days? $6.5M.
Here's what changed in 8 months of working together.

When they came to us, they were stuck in the $2M-$3M range.

Decent business. But they'd hit a ceiling.

They had blinders on. 
US-only. 
Limited creative angles. 
Generic landing pages. 
No influencer partnerships. 
Same offer since launch.

They weren't doing anything wrong. They just weren't pulling enough levers.

Classic symptom: running a decent operation that's nowhere near optimized.

Here's what we fixed:

1. Launched whitelisted ads
They'd never run whitelisted content before. We partnered with creators in their niche and ran ads directly from their profiles immediately. 

The trust transfer was immediate. Lower CPAs, higher engagement, and access to audiences that were fatigued by the brand's own account.

2. Optimized their site (where 90% of traffic was going)

They were driving traffic to generic product pages with zero optimization for cold traffic.

We rebuilt the landing experience: faster load times, clearer value props, social proof above the fold, and offer-specific landing pages that matched ad messaging.

Site conversion rate jumped nicely.

3. Unlocked creative variety with our Creative Variety Matrix

They were leaning into 1-2 types of creative on repeat. 

Polished product shots and basic UGC.

We mapped their entire creative library and identified 12+ untested angles sitting in blind spots.

Within 60 days, we had founder content, problem-aware ads, comparison angles, and testimonial mashups all working simultaneously.

More variety = more scale.

4. Expanded into international markets

They were 100% US-focused while sitting on margins that could handle international shipping.

We tested Canada, UK, and Australia in prospecting campaigns.

Meta's inventory was cheaper in these markets. Same creative. Same offers. Different CPMs.

5. Authenticity beat production value

They were overproducing everything. Professional shoots. Scripted UGC. Polished brand content.

All of it getting crushed by raw iPhone footage.

We shifted to: authentic founder content, real customer testimonials, and benefit-first messaging with bold text overlays.

6. Tested offers like a media buying variable

They'd been running the same 20% off since launch.

We tested BOGO structures, threshold offers, and bundles that increased perceived value without destroying margins.

One bundle offer lifted AOV while keeping customers happier than a straight discount ever did.

This isn't an exhaustive list.... just some of the key levers we pulled over 8 months.

The results:
→ $6.1M in revenue last 30 days 
→ Daily revenue now consistently $200K+ 

This wasn't a creative breakthrough or a hack you don't have access to.

It was fixing the foundation and stacking optimizations month after month.

The unsexy stuff that actually compounds.

Our brands' spending $500K+ monthly don't refresh creatives. 

Here's what they do instead.

Everyone's obsessed with creative refresh schedules. 

"Rotate new ads every 2 weeks." "Refresh before fatigue hits." "Keep it fresh."

Wrong problem.

Here's what I see at scale:

The brands that scale don't refresh creatives. They maintain creative diversity from day one.

The difference matters more than most people realize.

Refresh thinking says: Run your winners until they fatigue, then replace them. 

You're constantly chasing performance with new creative, trying to recapture what worked.

Diversity thinking says: Run 15-20 distinct concepts simultaneously. Some will work this week. Others will work next month. 

Different creatives fatigue at different rates in different audiences. You're never dependent on any single winner.

What this actually looks like:

Your creative briefs aren't "make another version of the winner." They're "give me 5 completely different psychological approaches to the same outcome."

You have ads performing at 1.5X ROAS that you keep running because they're reaching different audiences at scale, while other brands would have killed them for "underperforming."

You're testing constantly, but you're not in panic mode when something drops off. Because you have coverage.

The brands that approach us talking about "creative fatigue" are running 4-6 ads. The brands that don't mention it are running 20+.

It's not a production problem. It's a strategy problem.

Most brands batch-produce creative once a month because they're thinking in refresh cycles. 

They should be producing 3-5 new concepts weekly because they're thinking in portfolio diversity.

When you have true diversity, individual creative performance becomes less critical. Your account doesn't swing wildly when one ad dies. You're not scrambling for a replacement winner.

You're just running a diversified system that smooths out the inevitable performance variance.

The question isn't "when should we refresh?"

It's "why aren't we diverse enough that it doesn't matter?"

After 6 months, we took this brand from ~$90K to ~$185K+ per day.

And it had nothing to do with better ads.

Here's the framework that unlocked $5.5M in monthly revenue:

✅ Research Before Spend

We analyzed 18 months of support tickets, had leadership call 50+ customers, and audited every creative that had ever run.

What we found: They'd been speaking to their smallest, noisiest audience while ignoring the segment doing the bulk of the buying.

Their messaging was dialed in for enthusiasts who cared about specs and features. 

But their actual growth was coming from people who just wanted something that worked without the learning curve.

The audience they'd been ignoring was 3x larger, converted better, and had significantly higher LTV. But every ad, every landing page, every product description was written for the wrong person.

Once we repositioned around what their best customers actually cared about, the entire funnel opened up.

✅ Separate Testing From Scaling

Here's where most brands break: they try to test and scale in the same place.

When you mix testing budget with scaling budget, you create chaos. 

Performance drops, and you can't tell if it's because your winner fatigued, your new tests are dragging down the average, or the budget increase triggered a learning phase.

But there was a deeper issue: their account was a mess. 47 active campaigns, overlapping audiences, campaigns with conflicting goals competing against each other for the same user.

We separated testing environments from scaling environments. New creative proved itself or died quickly in dedicated testing budgets. Winners graduated to scaling campaigns optimized for efficiency, not learning.

The simplification unlocked more efficient spend before we changed a single creative.

Top performers scaled from initial tests to meaningful daily spend without the performance degradation that kills most growth attempts.

✅ Authenticity Over Production

Raw founder content on iPhone outperformed polished brand content every time.

Short-form video generated 35% higher engagement and 28% lower CPA than statics.

✅ Geographic Expansion

By testing Canada, UK, and Australia, we increased total spend by 30% while maintaining efficiency. 

✅ Offer Testing Over Discounting

Instead of "20% off," we tested: 
→ BOGO structures 
→ Bundles that boosted AOV 
→ Threshold offers

A $100 product with $20 of bonus items feels better than the same product at $80. But your margin stays healthier.

✅ Post-click That Compounds

Desktop speed: 32 → 96
Mobile speed: 13 → 66
Advertorial landing pages converted 18% better
Global CVR hit 2.8%

The Result: $5.5M in 30 days.

We didn't chase breakthroughs. We stacked optimizations.

Better structure, authentic creative, smarter offers = better efficiency = more scale.

Research isn't sexy. 

But it's the difference between growth that scales and growth that stalls.

I've audited 150+ Meta Ad accounts this year.

These 5 critical structural issues appeared in almost EVERY account:

1. 𝗡𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲: 
→ Changes being made to campaigns already driving revenue 
→ Multiple large changes implemented simultaneously 
→ No isolation of variables to determine what's actually working

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 
→ 80/20 split between scaling and testing campaigns 
→ Clear promotion criteria for moving creatives from testing to scaling 
→ Scheduled testing cycles that don't disrupt scaling campaigns

2. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲: 
→ Over-reliance on one creative format (usually testimonial/UGC) 
→ Similar messaging angles across all creatives 
→ No testing of different creative formats by placement

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 
→ Balance of creative formats (UGC, lifestyle, educational, product-focused) 
→ Different hooks and angles mapped to audience segments 
→ Placement-specific creative (Stories vs. Feed vs. Reels)

3. 𝗔𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲: 
→ Unanswered questions in comments 
→ Negative sentiment not being addressed 
→ Missing valuable feedback that could inform future creative

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 
→ Comment monitoring and response protocol 
→ Comment sentiment analysis to inform creative strategy 
→ Leveraging positive comments as social proof

4. 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲: 
→ Traffic sent directly to PDPs
→ No alignment between ad messaging and landing experience 
→ One-size-fits-all landing pages regardless of ad angle

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 
→ Custom landing pages aligned with specific ad angles 
→ Problem/solution pages for problem-focused ads 
→ Comparison pages for competitor-focused ads

5. 𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗢𝗩 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆:

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲: 
→ No upsell/cross-sell system in place 
→ No offer testing beyond occasional discounts

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 
→ Strategic bundle creation based on purchase patterns 
→ Post-purchase upsell flows 
→ Subscription offers with appropriate incentives

The uncomfortable truth:

Most brands will never scale beyond 6 figure im monthly spend because they focus on tactics (bidding, new platforms, audiences) rather than fixing these fundamental structural issues.

Are you making any of these mistakes?

3 growth levers separate brands doing $2M from brands doing $20M. 

Here's what the winners obsess over:

1. Offer Architecture

Your offer is your multiplier. A great product with a weak offer converts at 2%.

The same product with an irresistible offer converts at 5%.

What works:

>Starter bundles - "Try all 3 scents for $39" (vs. $19 each)
>Threshold offers - "Spend $75, get free product X" (increases AOV 40-60%)
>Risk reversal - "90-day guarantee + free returns" (kills the main objection)

Don't just discount. Make the value undeniable.

2. Conversion Rate Optimization

Most brands are leaving 2-3x revenue on the table from traffic they already have.

Install Microsoft Clarity today (free heatmap tool). 

You'll immediately spot where people get confused and bail.

Then run this test: Have someone unfamiliar with your brand complete a task while thinking out loud. "Find and buy women's blue leggings."

Watch where they hesitate. That's your friction.

The 3 pages killing your conversions:

Homepage - Answer these in 5 seconds: 
→ What makes you different? 
→ Why choose you over competitors? 
→ Why someone needs this now?

Navigation - Keep it simple: 
→ 5-7 main categories MAX 
→ Highest priority left, lowest right 
→ No jargon or clever names

Product pages - Kill objections before they ask: 
→ Clear specs (size, materials, quantity, weight) 
→ 5+ photo types (studio, lifestyle, UGC, close-ups, comparison) 
→ Visible returns/shipping/guarantees above the fold

3. Product Iteration

The brands hitting 8 figures don't launch and forget.

They obsessively collect feedback, then ship version 2.0, 3.0, 4.0.

Your customer feedback loop:

→ Post-purchase surveys (what almost stopped you from buying?)
→ Review mining (what do 1-star and 5-star reviews say?)
→ Support ticket analysis (what questions come up repeatedly?)
→ Interview your customers (yes - on the phone) 

Then iterate. Better packaging. Improved sizing. New colorways. Upgraded materials, etc...

Customers reward brands that listen with repeat purchases and word-of-mouth.

The pattern: 

Brands stuck at $2-5M fix one thing. 
Brands scaling to 8 figures fix all three.

Start with CRO, dial in your offer, then iterate your products based on what's working.

P.S. - If you want a fresh set of eyes on your entire acquisition ecosystem, DM me. We love finding bottlenecks 💪🏼

Here's a pattern I see constantly:

Brand finds a winning ad → Scales the budget → Performance flops

The problem? 

They're trying to test and scale in the same place.

This is just one of the structural bottlenecks that quietly kills scale.

In this week's newsletter, I'm sharing 5 tactical optimizations that most brands miss:

→ Why your account structure is limiting your scale 
→ Why authentic content beats production value every time 
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Open article: Unsexy optimizations that unlock 40%+ growth by Toby Waller • 6 min read

Unsexy optimizations that unlock 40%+ growth

Most brands think December is about extending their BFCM sale.
Wrong.
Here's what happens on December 1st that changes everything:

Consumer psychology shifts completely.

Black Friday → People buying for themselves 
December → People buying for others

Your creative strategy needs to reflect this, or you're leaving money on the table.

Stop selling products. Start selling the pride of giving a great gift.

Don't just say "this is the best product." 

Reframe it: How does giving this make them look thoughtful? 

What emotion does unwrapping create?

People want to feel proud when they hand over a gift. Tap into that.

The Gift Guide Play

Showcase multiple SKUs organized by recipient:

"For the coffee obsessed"
"For the skincare fanatic"
"For the person who has everything"

These ads perform exceptionally well through mid-December (or your last shipping day - typically Dec 15-20).

Two Critical Moves After Your Shipping Deadline:

Be brutally transparent about cutoffs. An angry customer who didn't get their gift before Christmas costs you more than a lost sale.

Switch to gift cards immediately after. There's still a segment of last-minute shoppers with budget and zero ideas. Solve their problem.

But the brands that understand this shift? 

They maintain profitability while everyone else goes dark.

December isn't about sustaining Black Friday numbers. I

t's about strategic positioning when the market cools down.

Most brands flopped BFCM in 2024. 

The winners did 3 things differently:

1. They tested in October, scaled in November

BFCM isn't for testing. 

Top brands locked in their winning creative and offer structures 6 weeks early, then went all-in on what converted.

While competitors scrambled with new concepts during peak CPMs, the winners were printing money on validated playbooks.

2. They engineered offers for retention, not just conversion

Bundles weren't about moving inventory - they were about creating customers who reorder. One brand built a "starter system" that paired their hero product with complementary SKUs.

The goal wasn't just higher AOV. It was higher LTV through product adoption.

3. They front-loaded revenue before the chaos

VIP early access 72 hours before BFCM captured revenue with clean attribution before Friday's pixel carnage.

Thursday night isn't early anymore. Wednesday is.

The 2025 shift:

Stop optimizing for GMV during BFCM. 

Optimize for contribution margin per customer acquired.

Your Black Friday offer should be your Trojan horse for Q1 retention, not a race to the bottom on CPA.

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