The media buyer and the designer who then make your ads. AI tools do the collecting and the first read; the judgment stays with the team. Nothing is outsourced.

Creative strategy example: Grüns

What you get in days 1 to 3, before the first ad: the research, the angles ranked, the personas and 15 concepts with the evidence behind each. Shown on a brand we picked ourselves. Grüns is not a client, and everything here comes from public data.

What a creative strategy is

A creative strategy is the document that comes before the ads. It says what the brand’s buyers want in their own words, which angles the brand’s ads have already proven, which angles nobody in the category runs, who the ads should speak to, and which concepts to test first, in what order. At AdTribe it takes days 1 to 3 of every plan, it is free, and the media buyer and the designer who make the ads are the ones who build it. Below is one in full, for Grüns, the greens gummies brand.

The research: five files, 5,257 data points

Their longest-running ads
1,168 live ads in the Meta Ad Library. Of the 30 that have run longest (127 to 132 days), none carries a discount, 14 speak to GLP-1 users and 16 are about fiber, bloating or going to the bathroom. 8 of the top 13 are three scripts re-cut with new openings. The offer behind them: a first order at $29.99 that renews at $49.99 every 4 weeks, with seven discount numbers live on the site on one day.
Customer reviews
1,054 reviews of four brands, from Amazon, the brand sites, TikTok Shop, Trustpilot and Reddit. Taste splits the Grüns reviews: 218 of 562 praise it and 127 complain about it. Price and the subscription are the next complaints, 78 and 47. The happiest customers are GLP-1 users: 31 name the drug, 28 of them at 4 or 5 stars.
Competitor ads
1,428 ads from six competitors. Four of the six sell bloat or gut relief and back it with “clinically studied”, 586 ads between them. AG1 runs 513 live ads and has added a gummy line. Live it Up has moved all 33 of its live ads off greens.
Social comments
900 comments under the posts of four brands on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. 96 of the 452 Grüns comments are complaints: taste first (28), then price and customer service (17 each). 42 doubt the product, “is this an ad” or “does it work”, and 69 are questions the ads could answer.
Organic trends
707 posts and threads on TikTok, Instagram, Reddit and YouTube. Most organic talk about Grüns on TikTok comes from creators, 36 videos in 12 months, the biggest a 346,000-view ingredient read by a sports nutritionist. The brand’s own reach is on Instagram, where median reel plays fell from 24,219 in July to 8,664 in September 2026.

Three findings from the 5,257 data points

GLP-1 users love the product.

28 of the 31 reviews that mention a GLP-1 drug give 4 or 5 stars. 14 of Grüns’ 30 longest-running ads are aimed at them, and no other greens brand advertises to them.

Taste is the main reason people love it or hate it.

206 of the 312 reviews with 4 or 5 stars praise the taste, and 111 of the 240 with 1 to 3 stars complain about it. No competitor’s greens ad leads with taste.

After taste, people complain about the price and the subscription.

78 reviews say it costs too much and 47 are about the subscription and billing. The first order is $29.99, then it renews at $49.99 every 4 weeks.

12 angles, ranked for two personas

Four angle types: Emotional (how it feels), Practical (what it does and what it costs), Identity (who it is for) and Critical (the objections). Proven means the angle already runs in the brand’s 30 longest-running ads or in 3 or more competitor ads. Untapped means it is strong in what buyers say and missing from the ads. For each persona a proven angle goes first, then the untapped ones with the most customer voice behind them.

P1: The backed-up GLP-1 user

ProvenEmotionalOnce a week, now every day. The relief of going daily.
5 of the 30 long-runners. Reviews: regularity improved in 34 of 562, 16 of them from GLP-1 users.
ProvenPracticalEating less is not eating better. One pack fills the gap on a small plate.
5 of the 30. 44 of 562 reviews talk about eating less or a GLP-1. No greens competitor sells it.
ProvenPracticalProof in the buyer’s words. Three public reviews in one ad.
The brand’s one review static has run 127 days. 112 reviews describe a change, usually within days.
UntappedIdentityTold by a friend on the same shot.
0 of the 30 use a referral frame, and 0 competitor ads do. A friend or a nurse practitioner is the trigger in 6 reviews.
UntappedCriticalWhat to expect in the first weeks.
Critical is 1 of the 30, and that one is about a gene variant. 9 comments ask “does it work, any update?” and 33 reviews felt no effect.
UntappedCriticalHere is the label, here is the test.
0 of the 30. Competitors print badges, none opens on a test. Comments ask about the Prop 65 warning, and a 182-upvote Reddit thread is about a greens powder with no third-party certification.

P2: The greens-powder quitter

UntappedEmotionalThe tub you stopped scooping.
0 of the 30. Daily routine and habit in 67 of 562 reviews. Reddit: “I buy a tub, use it for a week or two, then slowly stop”, 25 upvotes.
ProvenPracticalNo powder or shaker.
Close to the brand’s own site line. 2 of the 30. Reviews: easy and convenient 72, replaces a powder 22.
UntappedIdentityI don’t eat vegetables. The confession as the headline.
0 of the 30 say it about the viewer. The word “vegetables” is in 0 of the 1,240 live competitor ads. Reviews: hates vegetables 13, picky eater 7.
ProvenIdentityThe pack in her bag. Car line, gate, desk drawer.
The 130-day car-selfie ad. Reviews: packaging 37, travel 13, a flight attendant, a night-shift worker.
UntappedCriticalTastes like a treat, so is it real? Flip the pack.
0 of the 30. No competitor draws the line between a gummy and a multivitamin. A comment: “they are really good so I’m scared they are bad for you”.
UntappedCriticalThe price, all of it. First order, renewal, cancel, guarantee, on one card.
0 of the 30 show a price. Five competitors run price per day, 102 ads, and none shows the renewal. 17 price comments, most about the jump at checkout.

Angles we leave alone

“Clinically studied”. What most of the category uses as proof: 4 competitors, 586 ads. Leading with it adds nothing.
Gut health as the headline. 4 competitors, 505 ads, and 16 of Grüns’ own 30. One more gut ad tests nothing new.
Bloat gone in an hour. 276 competitor ads. Time-boxed promises are what the regulator watches.
Energy and the afternoon slump. AG1’s biggest cluster, 206 ads across 4 competitors. Energy is a brand claim, so it stays in the body copy.
Percent off, cold. 492 of Grüns’ 829 newest ads lead with it. Not one of the 30 long-runners does.

Six personas. Two get the budget.

A persona is someone we can write an ad to. Every field is in the buyer’s words where we have them. P1 is the buyer the brand’s longest-running ads already reach, 14 of 30. P2 is the buyer behind the biggest desire in the reviews, a vitamin habit that finally sticks, 152 of 562, and no ad tells her story.

P1: The backed-up GLP-1 user

A woman on a GLP-1 who eats a small plate, cannot go, and watches her hair come out in the brush. A friend on the same shot told her about the gummy bears.

Who: Mostly 35 to 60. 31 of 562 reviews name the drug, 28 of them at 4 or 5 stars.
Wants: Going every day. Hair and nails that stay in. Nutrients into a body that eats half of what it used to.
Fears: That this is one more thing that does nothing, at $1.78 a day.
Objects to: Does it actually work, or is it just a laxative. Then the price per pack.
Trigger: The third day without going. A friend on the same shot who says it worked. A nurse practitioner who says her patients take it.
Stage: Problem aware. She knows the problem has a name; she has not decided a greens gummy is the fix.

P2: The greens-powder quitter

She bought the tub, drank it for two weeks holding her nose, and the scoop stayed in the drawer. She sees the gummy bears everywhere and wonders if this is another thing she will stop taking.

Who: Most often a woman 25 to 55 who has tried at least one greens powder. 50 of 562 reviews say they replaced a powder or pills, tried many greens or hate vegetables; 44 of the 50 are at 4 or 5 stars.
Wants: A greens habit she will still have in March. Nothing to mix or measure. Permission to believe a gummy counts.
Fears: Paying $30 to find out it goes in the same drawer as the tub. That if it tastes good it is candy.
Objects to: Is this an ad. Can it be real nutrition if it tastes like this. What does it really cost at checkout.
Trigger: The tub’s best-before date. An honest review on TikTok. A nutritionist reading the label on camera.
Stage: Solution aware. She knows greens supplements exist and has failed with one. She is choosing a form.

P3 The household feeder. A wife or mother who buys for herself and ends up feeding the husband and the kids. 47 of 562 reviews. One concept, C13.
P4 The midlife energy seeker. A woman of 46 to 80 whose energy changed. 60 reviews, and nobody over 45 on screen in the brand’s 30 long-runners. Reached by casting a woman over 45 in C12.
P5 The verdict seeker. Will not buy until someone with no stake says it is real. 88 reviews and 42 skeptical comments. C14, plus every Critical concept.
P6 The reluctant husband. Will eat a gummy bear before a vegetable. 16 reviews, all written by wives. On screen in C13.

Competitors miss the same people. Across the 1,240 live competitor ads, no ad calls out men over 40, dads or couples, nobody shows a parent or a man over 45, and the word “vegetables” appears in none.

15 concepts in five batches of three

Ranked in the order we would run them. Six are proven, nine are big swings. Eight would be statics, one a carousel and six videos, each in its own format. Every concept is an angle, the one thing it tests, a hypothesis with a number in it, and the evidence behind it. Five are shown in full below. No ad was made: Grüns is not a client, and these are directions to test, not creatives.

#	Concept	Persona	Stage	Format	Label
C01	Once a week, now every day	P1 GLP-1 user	Problem aware	Static	Proven
C02	No shaker needed	P2 Powder quitter	Solution aware	Video	Proven
C03	Tastes like a treat. Read the back.	P2 Powder quitter	Solution aware	Video	Big swing
C04	I don’t eat vegetables	P2 Powder quitter	Unaware	Static	Big swing
C05	Three reviews, no edits	P1 GLP-1 user	Product aware	Static	Proven
C06	Give it a week	P1 GLP-1 user	Solution aware	Video	Big swing
C07	The tub you stopped scooping	P2 Powder quitter	Problem aware	Static	Big swing
C08	Eating less is not eating better	P1 GLP-1 user	Unaware	Carousel	Proven
C09	The pack in her bag	P2 Powder quitter	Product aware	Static	Proven
C10	The price, all of it	P2 Powder quitter	Most aware	Static	Big swing
C11	Here is the label, here is the test	P1 GLP-1 user	Product aware	Static	Big swing
C12	What I tell every friend who’s eating less	P1 GLP-1 user	Solution aware	Video	Big swing
C13	My husband is actually taking his vitamins	P3 Household feeder	Problem aware	Video	Proven
C14	Try it with your money back	P5 Verdict seeker	Product aware	Static	Big swing
C15	What are the benefits?	P2 Powder quitter	Unaware	Video	Big swing

ProvenC01, batch 1, staticP1, Emotional, problem aware

Once a week, now every day

The angle. The relief of going every day, told as a count on a calendar instead of a bathroom vlog.

What we test. The visual: a wall calendar with the days ticked replaces a 25-year-old’s selfie vlog.

Hypothesis. If the proven regularity story is told with a calendar instead of a bathroom vlog, it reaches P1 at a cost per first order at or below the vlogs, on 10 or more first orders.

Why this angle. The “Day 12” vlog runs as 4 ads at 127 to 130 days and the review static at 127 days. Seed runs “Backed up? Going too often?” in 46 ads. The selfie vlog is overused.

The evidence

“I went from being irregular to being able to go twice a day.”
Grüns, Amazon, 5 stars, 2026-02-05, source
“Within 3 days, I was having normal bowel movements”
Grüns, Amazon, 5 stars, 2026-03-21, source

Big swingC04, batch 2, staticP2, Identity, unaware

I don’t eat vegetables

The angle. The buyer’s own confession as the headline: for adults who do not eat vegetables.

What we test. The angle: an identity call-out in the buyer’s words against a benefit promise.

Hypothesis. If the ad calls out the vegetable-hater by name instead of promising a benefit, it reaches people who have never searched for greens at a cost per first order within 1.5 times the account’s problem-aware ads, on 10 or more first orders.

Why this angle. 0 of the 30 long-runners say it about the viewer, and the word “vegetables” appears in 0 of 1,240 competitor ads. The brand’s second-biggest collab post, 187,086 plays, is a “Daily vegetables” joke over raw meat, so its own audience already laughs at it.

The evidence

“I tried these because I hate vegetables. I am surprised at how good they taste and how much I look forward to taking them.”
Grüns, TikTok Shop, 5 stars, 2024-07-25, source
“does anyone else still eat gummy vitamins as an adult?? if anyone has any recs”
TikTok, 868 views, 2026-09-22, source

Big swingC07, batch 3, staticP2, Emotional, problem aware

The tub you stopped scooping

The angle. Open on the greens tub she gave up on, then show the pack.

What we test. The hook: opening on the failed habit instead of the product.

Hypothesis. If the ad opens on the failed habit instead of the gummy, it reaches powder quitters at a cost per first order within 1.3 times C02, on 10 or more first orders.

Why this angle. 0 of the 30 long-runners show the abandoned habit. AG1’s “90 Days of AG1. Lock In.” is the only habit promise in the 1,240 live competitor ads, and it shows a woman mixing the drink in a kitchen.

The evidence

“I’ve tried getting into greens powders so many times and it never sticks. I buy a tub, use it for a week or two, then slowly stop because making another drink every morning starts feeling like a chore.”
Reddit r/Supplements, 25 upvotes, 2026-02-26, source
“I tried the drink powders but wasn’t consistent. I have no problem taking the Gruin gummies!”
Grüns, TikTok Shop, 5 stars, 2025-05-27, source

Big swingC10, batch 4, staticP2, Critical, most aware

The price, all of it

The angle. The price before checkout: first order, renewal, cancel anytime and the guarantee, on one card.

What we test. The angle: the renewal price in the ad, against the account’s “61% off” offer ads.

Hypothesis. If the renewal price is in the ad, it converts ready buyers at a cost per first order within 1.3 times the “61% off” ads and gets fewer “price jumped at checkout” complaints, on 10 or more first orders.

Why this angle. 0 of the 30 long-runners show a price. The September wave shows “61% off” with the renewal in a footnote. “Cancel anytime” is on competitor sites but in 0 competitor ads.

The evidence

“Why does one price show up ($32.79) but when I go to check out the price jumps to over $56?”
Grüns, Facebook comment, 2026-09-01, source
“You should come out with some sort of sample pack that’s cheap. I can’t afford $100+ to see if I like/dislike it!”
AG1, TikTok comment, 103 likes, 2022-11-01, source

Big swingC11, batch 4, staticP1, Critical, product aware

Here is the label, here is the test

The angle. The doubt about what is in it, answered with the third-party test and the panel.

What we test. The angle: leading with the test instead of a benefit.

Hypothesis. If the ad leads with the third-party test instead of a benefit, it converts people who have seen Grüns ads and doubted them, at a cost per first order within 1.5 times the proof statics, on 10 or more first orders.

Why this angle. 0 of the 30 long-runners open on a test. Competitors print badges on the pack, but none leads with the result. The 182-upvote thread on r/Supplements is about a greens powder with no third-party certification.

The evidence

“why do they have a prop 65 warning on them?”
Grüns, TikTok comment, 2025-11-06, source
“If the ingredients are so quality and from the highest quality sources, why not advertise the sources?”
AG1, TikTok comment, 156 likes, 2022-10-23, source

Nothing on this page was made for or approved by Grüns. The concepts are directions written from the public data above, with no ad behind them. Every quote is word for word, typos kept, with its source.

How the batch gets tested

One testing campaign, cold and broad, beside the scaling and retargeting campaigns. One ad set per concept with equal budgets, because an account with 1,168 live ads can give each concept the 50 purchases a week a clean read needs. Every ad is named by its concept, C01-v1, C01-v2, so the weekly read matches each ad to its concept.

Day 0: The whole batch goes live at once: three ad sets, one per concept, equal budgets set at the ad set.
Days 1 to 3: Hands off. No edits, pauses or budget moves. A big edit sends the ad set back into learning.
Days 4 to 7: Health checks only, no verdicts: outbound CTR 0.8% or more, CPM at most 1.5 times the account average, frequency under 2. An ad comes off early only when low CTR and high CPM land on the same ad.
Days 8 to 14: Purchases decide. At day 14 every ad gets a call: winner (target CPA or better on 10 or more purchases), keep watching (fewer than 10 purchases, or CPA just above target) or pause. Under 10 purchases, no judgment.
After day 14: Winners move to the scaling campaign, and budget goes up in steps of 15 to 25% after a second good week there. New versions start right away: a new opening visual first, then a new person on screen, then a tighter script. Losers get logged, so nobody retests them.

Questions about the example

Why Grüns, and is this real?

We picked a brand with enough public data to show the method: 1,168 live ads, reviews on five platforms, six competitors with active ad accounts.
Grüns is not a client and did not ask for this. Every number comes from public sources: the Meta Ad Library, Amazon, TikTok Shop, Trustpilot, Reddit, the brand’s own site and social accounts.
No ad was made for the brand. The concepts are directions to test, written from that data.

Is this what a client gets?

Yes, the same structure, in a private Notion hub: the five research files, the angle grid, the personas, every concept with its evidence, and the test plan. A client’s concepts also carry hooks and a visual direction, because the ads get made.
A client’s version also reads the ad account itself: spend, click rates and sales per ad, which public data cannot show.
This page shows the summary and five of the 15 concepts in full. The hub holds all 15 and 60 customer quotes.

How long does it take, and what does it cost?

Days 1 to 3 after the call, before any ad is made.
It is free and comes with every plan, so you pay only for the creatives: $799 a month for 15 statics or 5 videos, $1,499 for 30 statics or 10 videos. You see the creative strategy before you pick a plan.

Who builds it?

The media buyer and the designer who then make your ads. AI tools do the collecting and the first read; the judgment stays with the team.
Nothing is outsourced.

What happens after I pick the angles?

The first batch is briefed from your picks, starting with iterations of your current top performers.
Every batch is named by concept, read weekly against target CPA, and winners get new versions before they tire.
Your first batch on a plan has a money-back guarantee.