Your Ads Don’t Feel Believable

Welcome to a space where every edition delivers insights, strategies, and inspiration to fuel your advertising brilliance. 🤯

🎯 The “I Am” Test

Most marketers judge creative through hooks, pacing, or clarity. Performance buyers use a far simpler filter:

Does this ad let the viewer complete the sentence “I am more…” without forcing them to lie to themselves?

That is the “I Am” Test.

And it is the quickest way to predict whether a creative will scale on paid social. Winning ads don’t convince people to buy a product.

They convince people to upgrade their self definition in a believable micro moment. Every scaling creative triggers an internal completion like:

“I am more capable.”
“I am more put together.”
“I am more consistent.”
“I am more in control.”

If your ad doesn’t activate a believable “I am” identity shift, no CTA or editing polish can save it. The ad will choke in learning.

Why the “I Am” Test Outperforms Feature Led Frameworks

Features make the brain evaluate. Identity makes the brain resolve.

When a viewer instinctively finishes an identity sentence, they stop analyzing the product and start rewriting their internal story. That narrative rewrite is what allows a creative to break CPM gravity and scale spend into the thousands per day.

Identity bypasses friction because it requires:

• No technical comprehension
• No value math
• No competitive comparison
• No cognitive effort

Just a fast emotional moment where the viewer thinks, “Yes, that feels like a truer version of me.”

Identity Led Creatives Follow a Different Rulebook

Identity creative isn’t about storytelling. It’s about self-recognition.

The viewer must see a version of themselves one step above their current baseline, not a fantasy or a leap. This is where creators matter. 

Certain creators speak in identity language naturally, making small upgrades feel authentic and believable. That’s why many brands use Insense to source creators who already trigger “I am more…” moments on camera without coaching. You can book your free demo call here and claim $200 on your first collab.

With the right creator, identity shifts feel organic instead of manufactured.

How to Operationalize the “I Am” Test Inside Your Creative Team

Use a three-step diagnostic:

1️⃣ Identity Claim: What identity does the ad imply the viewer gains?
2️⃣ Identity Believability: Can the viewer accept this shift without rejecting it?
3️⃣ Identity Compression: Does the ad deliver the shift within three seconds?

 If any layer fails, the creative stalls, even if the product is outstanding.

The Real Takeaway

The “I Am” Test isn’t a copy trick. It’s a psychological truth about how people process personal transformation.

If your ad allows the viewer to complete the sentence “I am more…” in a way that feels honest, your CPM drops, your CTR rises, and your scaling ceiling expands. If it doesn’t, no level of production quality can rescue the performance.

Identity determines scale. Your creative’s job is to make that identity unavoidable.

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🧵 Threads

⚡ Why First Frame Retention Matters (And When a Lower Number Is Actually Better)

First Frame Retention is becoming a key Meta metric because it shows how many people actually start watching your video the moment it appears. In a feed where users decide in under a second, this metric reveals whether your opening frame stops the scroll long enough for the ad to do its job.

Why this works: It gives you an immediate quality signal, not about watch time, but about whether your first frame attracts the right people. A “lower” retention rate can be a good thing if you’re intentionally qualifying the audience with your opening shot. The people who bounce early weren’t buyers anyway, and the ones who stay are far more likely to convert.

Where it needs balance: Chasing the highest possible retention number can mislead you into optimizing for broad curiosity rather than buyer alignment. Not every ad benefits from a super-general hook that keeps everyone watching. If retention drops below 90 percent without clear qualification, that’s a sign the opening frame is confusing, boring, or irrelevant, and it’s time to test new angles.

🚀  Reel of the Day

What Works:

1. It flips the “dream job fantasy” into a humor-filled reality check - Opening with “ohhh, what a dream job” hooks viewers because it mirrors what outsiders think. The abrupt cut to chaotic tasks creates a comedic contrast that triggers instant dopamine from the expectation break.

2. They use micro-crisis moments to humanize the brand - Every scene, spilled water, trash bags ripping, buckets stuck, clients rushing orders, exposes the unseen stress. These “relatable fails” make the team feel real, hardworking, and lovable, shifting perception from “flower shop” to “people who hustle.”

3. It reframes the florist job as craftsmanship under pressure, not “pretty flower arranging. - By showing the behind-the-scenes grind, the brand elevates the perceived value of what they do. Customers suddenly see why bouquets cost what they cost. This is a subtle, emotional price justification hidden inside comedy.

This reel wins because it blends humor, chaos, and authenticity to dismantle the myth of the “easy creative job.” It humanizes the brand and gives customers a new respect for the labor behind every bouquet. People don’t just laugh; they walk away valuing the florist more.

Thanks for reading this edition! Keep pushing boundaries, testing ideas, and staying inspired. See you in the next edition with more ways to ignite your marketing success. 🥰