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Creative Decision Matrix

Newsletter•Demand Curve•Dec 9, 2025
Content GenerationAds

Part 1: Diagnose Your Growth Bottleneck

Each ad should test a hypothesis that directly impacts growth.

Always start by identifying the main bottleneck:

  • Funnel problems
    1. Awareness issue: not enough of the right people see the brand.
    2. Audience alignment issue: ads attract the wrong users → high churn, low LTV.
    3. Conversion issue: people see ads but do not act → messaging, offer, UX, or audience mismatch.
  • Product problems
    1. Retention issue: users sign up but do not stay.
    2. Activation issue: users sign up but do not engage.
    3. Product–market fit issue: wrong market or weak fit → poor adoption.
  • Unit economics problems
    1. Pricing not aligned with perceived value or willingness to pay.
    2. LTV / CAC misaligned: CAC too high vs. LTV.
    3. Healthy margin but slow cash payback → paid engine stalls.
  • Targeting problems
    1. Unclear target market.
    2. Exploring new, unproven segments.
    3. Copying competitors without understanding why they work
  • Messaging and story problems
    1. Messaging mismatch: features instead of benefits, wrong value.
    2. "Too‑cute" creative: clever but does not convert.

    • Mapping bottleneck → creative job

  • Awareness issue → ads that stop the scroll and grab cold attention.
  • Conversion issue → ads that overcome objections or build trust.
  • Audience alignment issue → ads that tighten persona targeting and clarify positioning.
  • Retention / activation / PMF issues → product problems first. Creative cannot save a product people do not want.
  • Unit economics issue → creative can help by attracting higher‑intent, higher‑LTV users.
  • Unclear target market or new markets → use creative as discovery tests with narrow persona callouts.
  • Messaging mismatch → ads that educate and persuade.

    • Part 2: Choose the Right Hook (Decision Tree)

    Step 1 — One ad, one job

    Pick the primary job of the ad:

    A. Stop the scroll / cold attention

    B. Educate or persuade people who already know you

    C. Overcome objections for high‑intent buyers

    D. Retarget and push people to convert

    E. Build trust in high‑consideration categories

    Then go to the matching step below.

    Step 2A — Goal: Stop the scroll (TOF awareness)

    Top of funnel = get a thumb to pause.

    Use:

  • Pattern Interrupt
    • Lo‑fi, "wrong" visuals
    • Unusual framing, ugly on purpose, odd compositions
    • Bar: "Did this look out of place enough to steal a glance?"
  • Curiosity Gap
    • "Nobody talks about this part of [X]…"
    • Blur, censor, or partially hide the key detail
    • Show the "after" first, then rewind
  • Persona Callout
    • "If you are a [specific identity], this is for you."
    • Narrow persona, very clear who it is for
  • POV
    • "POV: you finally sleep through the night."
    • "POV: your team ships without you slacking them at 11pm."

    • If unsure where to start: Pattern Interrupt and Curiosity Gap are solid defaults for cold traffic.

    Step 2B — Goal: Educate or persuade (MOF consideration)

    Move people from "What is this?" → "Why this instead of something else?"

    Use:

  • Us vs. Them
    • Side‑by‑side comparison
    • "Old way vs new way", "10 tools vs 1 platform"
  • Contrarian
    • "Everyone tells you to do X. That is why you are stuck."
    • Replace the old mental model with a new one
  • Listicle
    • "3 reasons your sleep is wrecked"
    • "5 things sabotaging your CAC"
  • POV
    • Show the future state or day‑in‑the‑life with the product embedded

    • If stuck, Listicle is a safe starting hook.

    Step 2C — Goal: Overcome objections (high‑intent)

    Here people already care. They are just hesitating.

    Map objection → hook:

  • "I do not fully trust this brand" → Social Proof
    • Reviews, screenshots, before / afters
    • "10,000+ customers", specific outcomes
  • "I do not think it works" → Authority
    • Credentials, data, experiments
    • "We have done X 1,000 times"
  • "Not sure it is worth the money" → Us vs. Them
    • Current costs vs costs with you
    • Hidden costs of the old method
  • "This looks complicated" → Listicle
    • "3 reasons this is actually simpler than what you do today"

    • Step 2D — Goal: Retarget and convert

    Retargeting = close gaps, not "same ad + 10% off".

    Use:

  • Social Proof when they need proof they are choosing correctly
  • Authority when they need reassurance and expertise
  • POV when they need to picture using the product
  • Problem‑Agitate or Contrarian when they need a reason to act now

    • Step 2E — Goal: Build trust (high‑consideration)

    Applies to SaaS, health, money, coaching, or any high‑risk choice.

    Use:

  • Authority if the main hurdle is "Are you legit?"
  • Social Proof (category‑specific) if the hurdle is "Do people like me use this?"
  • Listicle if the hurdle is complexity → break into 3–5 chunks
  • POV if the hurdle is "I cannot picture this in my life"

    • Part 3: Static vs UGC vs Video

    Two key questions:

  • What is the cheapest way to test if this angle is good?
  • Once it works, which format will make it land harder?

    • Format Step 1 — Can the offer be understood in one frame?

  • Yes → start with statics. Fast to produce, cheap to test, ruthless on clarity.
  • No (needs sequence, workflow, step‑by‑step) → lean earlier into video or UGC.

    • Format Step 2 — Is the issue clarity or belief?

  • Clarity problem → start with statics to sharpen the value prop.
  • Belief problem → bring UGC / video in earlier (faces, tone, narrative).

    • Rule of thumb:

  • B2B / SaaS → usually clarity problems.
  • Health / supplements / coaching → usually belief problems.

    • Format Step 3 — Production reality check

  • No editor, no one comfortable on camera, cannot ship weekly video → do not build a strategy that depends on video. Use statics to test hooks, then upgrade winners.
  • Have strong video capability → run hybrid: statics as probes, UGC / video as deeper versions of winners.

    • Format Step 4 — Match format to channel

  • TikTok / Reels / Shorts → motion and faces. UGC, POV, short stories. Statics as slides.
  • Meta Feed / Stories → statics work when angle is good; layer UGC / video for trust.
  • LinkedIn → clean statics and carousels with sharp copy; simple talking‑head video.
  • YouTube In‑Stream → video only with higher scripting expectations.

    • Quick format guide by business type

  • B2B / SaaS
    • Start with statics to solve clarity.
    • Then add UGC expert explainers for proven angles.
  • Ecom / consumer
    • Lean into UGC and video to solve belief.
    • Use before / afters, stats, day‑in‑the‑life content.
  • Subscriptions, apps, info products
    • Start with statics to nail the value prop.
    • Upgrade winners to UGC storytelling that shows transformation.

    • Part 4: Combine Hook + Format (Practical Examples)

    Workflow:

  • Pick the job of the ad.
  • Choose one or two hook types from the decision tree.
  • Decide the starting format (static vs UGC vs video).
  • Build meaningfully different hook + format combinations.

    • Example: B2B SaaS

  • Cold traffic
    • Static: Pattern Interrupt + Problem‑Agitate.
    • Static: Us vs Them.
  • Warm traffic
    • Static Listicle: "3 reasons your reporting is lying to you".
    • UGC Authority: founder / expert explains the new approach.
  • Hot traffic
    • Static Social Proof: case study tiles.
    • UGC POV: "POV: your weekly metrics meeting takes 10 minutes now."

    • Example: Sleep supplement

  • Cold traffic
    • UGC Contrarian: "Why your nightly melatonin is keeping you up."
  • Warm traffic
    • Static Social Proof: reviews, before / afters, "10,000+ sleepers".
    • UGC Problem‑Agitate: "Still waking up at 3am? Here is why."
  • Hot traffic
    • Static Authority: "Formulated with sleep doctors, used by X patients."
    • UGC testimonial POV.

    • Part 5: The Point of the Creative Decision Matrix

    Most founders treat creative like a lottery: make a bunch of ads, hope something sticks.

    The winners treat creative like an engineering system:

  • Every ad has a clear job, for a clear persona, at a clear stage.
  • Hooks are chosen deliberately to solve a specific problem.
  • Formats are chosen to test cheaply first, then scale what works.

    • When you open Figma next time, you should know:

  • Which problem you are solving
  • Which hook family solves it best
  • Which format proves it fastest

    • So you can stop staring at the blank screen and start running structured creative experiments.