brand results update!!

Gloria Stonelake

Jun '25 (edited) • 🗨️General Discussion

the difference between a $1k/m vs $10k/m UGC Creator is in their thinking.

The terminology, mindset, and the way they move is completely different.

Here's an example of how I communicate using brand owner language:

quick update from a brand who we helped beat their top performing ad.

ugc ad outperformed their best control.

17% higher CTR lowered their CPA by 22% increased CVR by 35%

here’s what i learned:

1. The brand’s top ad was burning out. During our initial brief, the brand owner told me their best-performing ad had “hit a ceiling.” They’d been running it for months. It worked… but it was hitting creative fatigue and performance was plateauing. They needed a new creative angle.

2. Their existing strategy was too bottom-of-funnel. As I audited their existing ads, I noticed most of their creatives were hyper-direct. And i noticed that their competitors were running the same style as well. Lots of: “If you’re struggling with [X], use [Y].” Clear CTA. Direct value proposition. Product-aware targeting. It worked well for people who already knew they had the problem. But here’s the issue: They weren’t tapping into the broader market. No one was speaking to people who didn’t realize they had the problem yet… or who needed to be emotionally pulled in before clicking.

3. So I filled the gap with a curiosity-based narrative. Instead of leading with the product or the pain point… I crafted a video that opened with a soft storytelling hook: “I didn’t realize this tiny change would actually fix something I’ve been silently dealing with for years.” It triggered intrigue. It hinted at transformation. And most importantly — it didn’t feel like an ad. We structured it like a personal journal entry. Voiceover + B-roll. Story → realization → transformation → soft CTA.

4. We came in with a completely different angle. Instead of “selling the product,” we sold the emotional weight of the problem — and the quiet relief of finding a solution. Focused a lot on the actual benefits as opposed to the features of the product. with this, we were able to go broader and create a new market. we went from converting the audience to creating them. also, the brand didn’t shut down the old ad — it complemented it.

The brand now runs both creatives at different stages of their funnel: Their old direct-response video still works for bottom-of-funnel Our story-based creative is now crushing it for cold traffic some side notes: we split tested over 10 different hook variations and creatives and tried multiple angles.

we definitely didn’t beat the brands previous ad on the first try. i had friends who had used the actual product and i asked them questions about what their experiences were like. this allowed me to uncover unspoken objections that the brand wasn’t aware of previously, as well as me being able to ideate new stories, so that i could speak to the consumer as if i was their friend on facetime.

the raw style performed best. we tried multiple versions where i was in my filming room with great lighting. the version that performed the best was when i was in my car, doing my makeup, whilst talking about the story. the results between the two were incomparable.

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brand results update!!