Challenge
In high-growth DTC ecommerce, creative fatigue is the silent killer of ROAS. Manual competitor research is often subjective and slow. I wanted to move away from "gut feeling" creative briefs and instead use a data-first approach to identify the exact messaging gaps between our brand and the market leaders.
Solution
I built a systematic pipeline to scrape, analyze, and synthesize competitor strategies using a mix of traditional research and AI-driven synthesis.
1. Data Extraction & Filtering
- I indexed our top five competitors and audited their Meta Ad Libraries.
- Instead of looking at new ads, I specifically isolated long-running video creatives (active for 3+ months). In paid media, longevity is a high-confidence proxy for profitability.
- I paired this with Google Search ad copy and a deep dive into their primary landing page structures to understand the full funnel.
2. Unstructured Data Processing (NotebookLM)
I utilized NotebookLM to process the raw data (video transcripts, ad copy, and landing page text). This allowed me to:
- Extract core value propositions and emotional hooks.
- Identify recurring "proof points" (e.g., "Dermatologist Recommended" vs. "Sustainable Sourcing").
- Summary-level outputs for each brand’s market positioning.
3. The Competitive Messaging Matrix
Using a secondary LLM, I fed in our brand’s messaging alongside the competitor summaries to generate a Similarity & Difference Matrix. This visualized:
- Red Oceans: Messaging angles that every competitor was using (and thus, where we were "noise").
- Blue Oceans: High-value pain points that competitors were ignoring.
4. From Data to Production
The final output wasn't just a spreadsheet; it was a Strategic Creative Roadmap. I prompted the LLM to generate distinct "New Angles" based on the gaps identified in the matrix. These recommendations were translated into creative briefs and forwarded to the production team. Every new creative brief was backed by proof of what was already working in the market. The creative team was provided with a clear "Why" behind every request, fostering better alignment between the data and creative departments.
