What ad creative production is
Paid social rewards brands that feed it a steady supply of new, varied creative. Ad platforms now do most of the targeting on their own; the creative is what decides who stops, who watches and who clicks. That makes creative production the main lever a marketing team still controls.
We produce video ads for premium brands that spend seriously on Meta, TikTok and YouTube and have grown tired of choosing between ads that perform and ads that look like them. Our clients are usually growth or performance leads working alongside a brand team, and our job is to give both of them something they can approve.
How we approach it
Plan the variables, not just the ads
A testing programme needs ads that differ in one thing at a time: the hook, the message, the format, the person on camera, the offer framing. We plan those variables before the shoot so the footage supports clean comparisons. Our guide to ad creative testing sets out the framework we use.
Build ads in modules
We shoot openings, product moments, proof points and endings as interchangeable modules. In the edit they combine into many distinct ads, each coherent on its own. It is the most efficient way to produce volume without it looking assembled.
Keep the brand in the frame
Performance creative is often loud because loud is easy. We find the hook in the product itself: a texture, a reveal, a gesture, a line that sounds like your brand. Typography, colour and pace follow your guidelines, so a viewer recognises you in the first second.
- 01 Hook
The first second or two. A visual or line that earns attention without shouting.
- 02 Build
The product in use, the texture, the reason to care.
- 03 Proof
Detail, demonstration or a credible voice that makes the claim believable.
- 04 Close
The brand, the product name and a clear next step.
Proportions are indicative. Each module is shot so it can be swapped independently.
Formats and placements
We deliver every ad in the ratios its placements need, usually 9:16 for Reels, Stories, TikTok and Shorts, 4:5 for feeds and 16:9 for YouTube. Each is framed on set for safe areas, so product and text never sit under platform buttons. Lengths vary from a few seconds for bumpers to longer pieces for consideration. Our guide to video aspect ratios lists the details.
- First contact
Short, visual, sound-optional pieces that introduce the product and brand.
- Consideration
Longer demonstrations, detail and use, answering the questions buyers ask.
- Conversion
Clear product, clear benefit, clear next step, often with a trusted face.
- Return
Care, routine and new-arrival pieces for people who already know you.
What is included
- A creative matrix: hooks, messages, formats and faces mapped before production.
- Scripts and shot lists written in modules.
- Casting, styling and set design, with talent released for paid use in your markets.
- Production days planned for volume and variety.
- Editing into a batch of distinct ads, with captions, supers and end frames in your brand type.
- Delivery sized and named for each placement, ready to upload.
Many clients combine ad creative with a creator content strand, testing studio pieces against creator-style pieces from the same brief.
Working with your performance team
Creative and media work best as one loop. We ask for a plain-language read-out of each batch once it has run: which openings held attention, which products or messages drew clicks, which faces viewers responded to. That feedback shapes the next matrix, so each round of production is informed by the last rather than starting from a blank page.
We also keep a library of every module we have shot for you, labelled by product, hook and look. When a winning ad starts to tire, we can often build fresh variations from existing footage and a few new pick-up shots, instead of booking a full production day.
What drives the budget
The number of distinct concepts matters more than the number of final files. A few strong concepts with many variations are efficient; many unrelated concepts each need their own setup. Talent usage for paid media, especially across several countries, is the other significant factor, followed by shoot days and the depth of editing per variation. We quote per project or as a monthly retainer for teams that need a new batch of creative on a fixed rhythm.
How to brief us
Tell us which platforms you run on, which products or offers are the priority, and what you have learnt from past creative: which hooks worked, which faces, which lengths. You do not need to share figures; a plain description is enough. Add the brand rules that cannot bend and the ones that can. We will come back with a matrix of concepts and a production plan.
Ad creative is a regular part of our work for beauty and skincare and wellness brands, where new creative needs to arrive often and still feel premium.