Ad Creative Intelligence

Ad Creative Intelligence

Scrape competitor ads from Meta and Google, then analyze creative patterns — hooks, formats, angles, CTAs — to find directions you haven't tried and identify what's resonating in the market.

Core principle: The best ad creative teams don't guess. They start with evidence from what's already working, then differentiate.

When to Use

• "What ads are my competitors running?"
• "Find new creative angles for our paid campaigns"
• "What hooks are working in [our space]?"
• "I want to audit the ad landscape before we launch"
• "What format — video, image, carousel — is dominant in our category?"

Phase 0: Intake

1. Competitor names and website domains (e.g., apollo.io, clay.run)
2. Your own domain (to optionally include for self-audit comparison)
3. Channels to cover: Meta only, Google only, or both? (default: both)
4. Time range: active ads only (default) or historical?
5. What's your product category? (helps with analysis framing)

Phase 1: Scrape Meta Ads

Run meta-ad-scraper for each competitor:

python3 skills/meta-ad-scraper/scripts/scrape_meta_ads.py \
  --domain <competitor_domain> \
  --output json

Collect per ad:

• Ad copy (headline + body text)
• Visual description / media type (image, video, carousel)
• CTA button text
• Landing page URL
• Estimated run time (active duration proxy)
• Platforms (Facebook, Instagram, etc.)

Phase 2: Scrape Google Ads

Run google-ad-scraper for each competitor:

python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/scrape_google_ads.py \
  --domain <competitor_domain> \
  --output json

Collect per ad:

• Headline variants (up to 3)
• Description lines
• Ad type (search, display, YouTube)
• Landing page URL

Phase 3: Cluster & Analyze

After collecting all ads, perform structured analysis:

Hook Pattern Clustering

Group all ad headlines/openers by hook type:

Count how many ads per competitor use each hook type. This reveals their primary messaging strategy.

Format Distribution

CTA Taxonomy

List all unique CTAs found. Common patterns:

• Urgency: "Start free", "Try now", "Get started today"
• Low-friction: "See how it works", "Watch demo", "Learn more"
• Outcome: "Book a demo", "Get your free audit", "Calculate your ROI"

Landing Page Analysis

For top-traffic ads (those running longest), note:

• What angle does the landing page reinforce?
• Is the LP general or campaign-specific?
• What's the primary conversion goal?

Phase 4: Gap Analysis & Recommendations

Identify:

1. Angles nobody is running — Hook types absent from competitor ads = white space
2. Overcrowded angles — If everyone leads with "save time", avoid it or be more specific
3. Format opportunities — If no one is running video in your space, it may stand out
4. Underutilized proof — Are competitors avoiding specific proof points you could own?
5. CTA patterns to test — What CTAs do the longest-running ads use?

Phase 5: Output Format

# Ad Creative Intelligence Report — [DATE]

## Coverage
- Competitors analyzed: [list]
- Meta ads collected: [N]
- Google ads collected: [N]

---

## Meta Ad Analysis

### Hook Distribution
| Hook Type | [Comp1] | [Comp2] | [Comp3] |
|-----------|---------|---------|---------|
| Fear/Loss | 40% | 10% | 0% |
| Outcome | 30% | 50% | 60% |
...

### Top Performing Ads (Longest Running)
**[Competitor] — [Ad Title/Hook]**
> [Ad copy excerpt]
- Format: [type]
- CTA: [text]
- Running since: [date]
- Why it likely works: [analysis]

---

## Google Ad Analysis

### Headline Patterns
[Top headline structures with examples]

### Most Common CTAs
[ranked list]

---

## Creative Gap Analysis

### Angles Nobody Is Running
1. [Angle] — Why it could work for you: [reasoning]
2. [Angle] — ...

### Overcrowded Angles (Avoid or Differentiate)
- [Angle] — [N] of [N] competitors use this

### Format White Space
- [Format] is not being used by competitors on [platform]

---

## Recommended Creative Experiments

### Experiment 1: [Name]
- Platform: [Meta/Google]
- Format: [type]
- Hook angle: [type]
- Proposed headline: "[headline]"
- Proposed body: "[copy]"
- Why test this: [rationale]

### Experiment 2: ...

Save to clients/<client-name>/intelligence/ad-creative-intel-[YYYY-MM-DD].md.

Cost

Tools Required

• Apify API token — APIFY_API_TOKEN env var
• Upstream skills: meta-ad-scraper, google-ad-scraper

Trigger Phrases

• "What ads are [competitor] running?"
• "Audit the ad landscape for [product category]"
• "Run ad creative intel for [client]"
• "Find new paid ad angles we haven't tried"