UGC Creative Refresh: Lower CAC in Paid Social

Context (what was happening)

Paid social performance softened as the top UGC ads hit frequency ceilings. CTR dipped and CAC drifted upward over three consecutive weeks.

Constraints (budget, timeline, what couldn’t change)

Spend had to stay flat and no new landing page work was available. The team had two weeks to deliver fresh creative without reshooting core product footage.

Hypothesis (what you believed + why)

We believed that new angles, tighter hooks, and improved creator diversity would reset audience attention and lift CTR, leading to lower CAC.

What We Changed (bulleted list)

• Produced six UGC variants across three new hooks.
• Re-cut best-performing footage into 15-second edits.
• Added captions emphasizing the top two proof points.
• Shifted budget to advantage+ with creative testing enabled.
• Introduced a weekly rotation schedule for top spenders.

The Experiment Plan (5–7 steps)

1. Benchmark CTR, CPM, and CAC across top three ads.
2. Launch new UGC set into a 20% test budget allocation.
3. Review thumb-stop rate at day 3 to prune low hooks.
4. Scale the top two winners by day 7.
5. Rotate new hook variations into the control at day 10.
6. Compare blended CAC at day 14 before full rollout.

Results (table with before/after; use reasonable placeholder metrics)

What Worked / What Didn’t

Creator diversity and shorter edits drove the biggest CTR gains. Captions highlighting proof points also lifted engagement on mobile.

One hook focused on price performed well but attracted lower-quality traffic, so we limited its spend.

Repeatable Takeaways (bullets)

• Refresh hooks before audiences hit frequency fatigue.
• Shorten edits to win the first 2 seconds of attention.
• Rotate creators to avoid repetition in high-spend accounts.
• Balance CAC wins with quality checks on conversion rate.