Ad Study Method

To become great at writing ads, you need to study what's working in the market. Here's how top marketers deliberately study ads.

Why study ads

• Top marketers intentionally keep ads enabled on platforms to study them
• Watching ads provides critical market intelligence about what's working
• Understanding the "lay of the land" is essential for creating effective marketing

Methods for studying ads

• Keep ads enabled on platforms like YouTube

  • Craig Clemens (successful ad writer) refuses to pay for ad-free YouTube
  • Views ads as valuable market research rather than annoyances
  • Would "watch ads all day long" if possible to understand the market

• Change demographic profiles on social media

  • A marketer who made ~$200M from Facebook ads changed his profile to appear as a 45-year-old woman
  • This allows seeing ads targeted to specific customer demographics
  • "Why would I want to see the ads of a 28-year-old dude?" - shows commitment to understanding target audience

• Study emerging trends in niche communities

  • Hang out in biohacker circles to spot trends before they go mainstream
  • Look for products gaining traction in places like Burning Man and Venice Beach
  • Identify when niche products are "ready to go mainstream"
  • Example: mushroom supplements and mushroom coffee were spotted early in these communities

Strategic application

• Sometimes you can "create the wave" with a new trend
• Other times you're "riding the existing wave"
• Avoid trying to "ride the white water" (entering oversaturated markets)
• Look for unique offerings rather than commoditized products
  • Example: Probiotics were successful in 2014 but became commoditized later
  • Celebrity endorsements aren't enough if the product isn't unique