What "creative is the new targeting" actually means
Everyone says it, but nobody shows how to use creative for targeting in the Andromeda era. This issue breaks down persona-driven ads, skeptical-buyer hooks, Aloha’s 6-hook UGC format, and why mispronouncing your brand name can actually lower CPMs.
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BIG INSIGHT
Persona-Driven Creatives are Winning
"Your creative is your targeting." Every marketer has heard this by now, but nobody explains what it actually means.
Since the rollout of Andromeda, Meta's ad delivery system reads your creative: hook, imagery, copy, and finds the right audience on its own. The old playbook was one ad, many audiences. The new playbook is one broad audience, many ads. The campaign runs broad: no interests, no lookalikes, just a wide audience. But the creatives are narrow — each ad speaks to a specific persona, so only the right people stop scrolling. Andromeda sees who engages and finds more people like them.
So, how do you pull this off? We analyzed 600+ ads this week to show you how three brands use creative to target specific life situations, identity segments, and belief states.
Grüns is the most aggressive example we've seen. They sell superfood gummies — one product, but their ads look like they sell five different things. One ad targets GLP-1 side effects like dry mouth or sensitive teeth. Another speaks to the TTC (trying to conceive) community. Another focuses on hair loss. And another on perimenopause. None of these are audience settings in Ads Manager. The campaigns run broad but the creative itself is the filter. A woman on Ozempic dealing with dry mouth stops scrolling because this ad was written for her life, right now. Andromeda sees that signal and finds more people like her.
Gruns
Some people on GLP-1 medications notice increased tooth sensitivity. When appetite drops, important nutrients like vitamin D3, K2, and zinc can fall short. Grüns Superfood Gummies help support daily nutrition with 20+ vitamins and minerals to help fill those gaps.
Gruns
There’s no quick fix for fertility. Sperm development takes around 74 days, and the body relies on nutrients like zinc, selenium, and folate during that process. Grüns helps support those everyday nutritional needs.
Gruns
Grüns makes it easy to stay balanced during perimenopause. With over 20 vitamins, minerals, and prebiotics—including vitamin D3, K2, B vitamins, and antioxidants—these gummies support energy, mood, gut health, and hormone balance.
Bloom uses identity hooks — "Essential nutrients for women over 35," "Now with essential vitamins for women over 40." Bloom runs multiple text overlay variants of the same image for different segments and lets Andromeda match the right variant to the right user.
Bloom Nutrition
No matter your stage of life, Bloom Greens helps women cover nutrient gaps, support gut health, and feel energized—without the crash.
IM8 Health targets a persona that doesn't exist in Ads Manager: people who believe their diet is already good enough. Their headline reads: "I Eat Well. I Don't Need Supplements." When someone who believes they eat well sees their own belief stated as a headline, they stop scrolling. Either they feel validated ("yes, that's me") or they sense the ad is about to challenge them. Both reactions hold attention. You can't build a lookalike for a belief. But you can write a headline that only resonates with the people who hold it, run it broad, and let Andromeda do the matching.
Your move: Open your customer reviews and find the most specific reasons people say they bought: not "great product," but things like "I'm on Ozempic," "I just turned 40," “I'm getting married in three months,” "I didn't think I needed this." Each one is a hook. Pick three, write a headline for each, and run them all broad. Let Andromeda tell you which persona converts.
CREATIVE SPOTLIGHT
The UGC format that hooks viewers 6 times in 60 seconds
Aloha, a plant-based protein bar brand, is running dozens of UGC ads on Meta with the same structure: a creator opens a 6-flavor sampler pack, tries each bar on camera for the first time, reacts “honestly”, and ranks their favorites at the end.
Aloha
Can’t decide which flavor to try first? You don't have to. Watch to see the ultimate rapid-fire taste test of our Best-Selling Sampler Pack. From Chocolate Mint to Coconut Chocolate Almond, find out which one reigns supreme. 👑
It works because it stacks four proven UGC frameworks into one video:
- Objection busting — The #1 barrier to buying food online is taste uncertainty. A creator trying six flavors and loving four of them, while being lukewarm on two, answers the objection more credibly than any scripted testimonial could.
- Unboxing — Opening a multi-item pack creates anticipation. Each new flavor is a reveal.
- Taste test — You can't fake the moment someone bites in and their eyebrows go up. The format forces authenticity because the creator is discovering the product live.
- Comparison — Rankings introduce a subjective opinion that viewers instinctively want to agree or disagree with, which drives comments and extends reach.
Each flavor is a micro-hook that resets the viewer's curiosity to see which flavor the creator picks next and whether they actually like it. On Meta, watch time is the distribution signal. More reaction moments = longer views = wider reach at lower CPMs.
STRATEGY TO STEAL
How to convert people who don't think they need your product
IM8 Health
Many supplements look impressive on the label — until you look at the actual numbers. Low ingredient amounts. Incomplete formulas. Nutrients that are difficult for the body to absorb. IM8 Daily Ultimate Essentials Pro was developed with leading doctors and scientists to deliver 90 clinically dosed, highly bioavailable nutrients designed to support the systems your body relies on every day. Now available in 3 refreshing flavors: Açaí & Mixed Berry 🍓 Lemon + Orange 🍋 Mango + Passionfruit 🥭 🎁 Start with a FREE Welcome Kit when you subscribe, and try it risk-free with a 30-day money-back guarantee. *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
The "Unaware" stage is the graveyard of most DTC brands because it’s nearly impossible to convert someone who isn't looking for a solution. IM8 Health wins here by leaning directly into the skepticism.
Their headline mirrors the prospect's internal monologue: "I eat well. I don’t need supplements."
Instead of trying to convince the viewer otherwise, the ad dismantles this belief with a neutral, agricultural fact: soil mineral depletion. Because this is an external reality not a brand claim, it bypasses the viewer's "they’re just selling me something" filter.
Before IM8 mentions a single ingredient, they've already created a deficit in the viewer's mind. The product becomes the natural resolution to a problem the viewer didn't know they had 5 seconds ago.
Here's the 5-step framework you can adapt this week:
- Mirror the objection. Write down the #1 reason a cold prospect says "I don't need this." Make it your headline, in first person.
- Skincare: "My Skin Is Fine. I Don't Need a Routine."
- Fitness: "I Already Work Out Enough. I Don’t Need to Worry About My Diet."
- Finance: "I'm Too Young to Think About Retirement."
- Introduce an external problem: Validate the viewer’s belief and then shift the frame with evidence that exists independent of your product (e.g environmental factors, industry-wide issues, stress, etc.)
- Educate before you sell. Create the deficit before your product fills it. IM8 explains why even good diets leave gaps before mentioning a single ingredient.
- Front-load credibility: Certifications, guarantees, and authority signals should be called out for cold audiences as they earn you the right to keep talking.
- Match the CTA to the stage. Not "Buy Now." IM8 uses "Fill the Hidden Gaps" — closing the loop on the problem the ad introduced. If your ad is about dehydration, your CTA could be "Hydrate Better."
Read the full IM8 ad breakdown →
WORTH TESTING
Let them butcher your name
Grüns is running a UGC ad where the creator confidently pronounces the brand name "Grons" instead of "Grüns." It seems like an honest mistake, but it’s deliberate.
The "mistake" makes the ad feel like a real person who discovered the product organically, not a paid UGC. After all, nobody mispronounces a brand they were briefed on. Beyond authenticity, the mispronunciation does something more: it baits comments. The internet loves to correct people. So when a creator mispronounces a brand name, viewers will flood the comment section to say, "It's actually pronounced Groons!" This massive spike in comments signals to the Meta or TikTok algorithm that the video is highly engaging, which drastically lowers the ad's CPM and pushes it to a wider audience for cheaper.
This is worth testing if your brand name is foreign or commonly mispronounced: think Vuori, Huel, Ouai, Glossier, Oura, La Croix, Laneige. Skip it if you're a premium brand where the name is the experience, or the pronunciation carries core product meaning.
If you run it: A/B test against a correctly-pronounced version and let CPA decide. Use subtitles that show the correct spelling (e.g. the creator says "Grons," but the text reads "Grüns." And make sure your paid search bids on every phonetic variation of your name, so any one who searches what they heard can find you because the strategy only works if you catch the traffic it generates.
That's a wrap! If you found one thing worth testing, we did our job. Now go do yours — and forward this to someone who needs it too.