Creative Strategist

We're a performance marketing agency running Meta Ads and creative strategy for 10+ DTC/ecommerce brands. We produce 50+ ad concepts per month across supplements, pet care, prop trading, cleaning, and more. We need a Creative Strategist who can own the entire creative process — from research to brief to script to review — so the founder can stop doing it. This is not a junior role. You'll be the brain behind what gets made, why it gets made, and whether it's good enough to run. What you'll own: - Research new clients: deep-dive their product, competitors, customer reviews, Reddit threads, ad libraries. Produce the foundational docs that power every downstream creative. - Write the Big Idea, the Necessary Beliefs, the Avatar Sheet, and the Offer Brief for each client. If you don't know what those are, this isn't for you yet. - Ideate 8+ ad concepts per client per week — each one anchored to a specific belief, using a specific hook formula, targeting a specific persona. Not vibes. Strategy. - Write or direct long-form advertorials (3,000-4,000 words, GroundingWell/native ad style). We have a locked framework and AI-assisted workflow. You own the final voice pass. - Write talking-head UGC scripts (30-60s) for Meta/TikTok. Direct response structure: hook, problem, mechanism, product, CTA. 10+ per client per batch. - Review every brief before it goes to the design team. Nothing ships without your eye on it. - Analyze ad performance weekly. Which ads won, which died, which beliefs are converting. Feed that data back into the next creative cycle. - Get on client creative calls. Present the direction. Handle pushback. Defend strategy when the client wants to water it down. - Run competitor intelligence. Watch what competitors are running. Pull ad libraries. Spot patterns. Build swipe files. What you won't own: - Media buying (we have account managers for that) - Design/video editing (we have designers and an editor) - Admin/coordination (we have a VA for that) - You think. They execute. The founder approves. You're a great fit if: - You've spent 2-4+ years in DTC performance marketing, DR copywriting, or creative strategy at an agency or brand - You've written ads that actually ran on Meta/TikTok with real spend behind them - You can write a 3,000-word advertorial in a day and it doesn't read like a robot wrote it - You understand direct response principles — Schwartz awareness levels, Cialdini, belief chains, hook formulas. Not just the buzzwords — the application. - You can present creative strategy to a client on a Zoom call without the founder holding your hand - You're comfortable using AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT) as part of your workflow — not as a crutch, but as an accelerator - You can produce 10 ad briefs in a morning, not 2 in a day - You read ad libraries for fun. You screenshot competitor ads on your phone. You notice when a brand changes their hook. You're NOT a fit if: - You've only done brand marketing (awareness, reach, impressions) and never performance (CPA, ROAS, conversion) - You need a week to write one ad concept - You think "creative strategy" means picking fonts and colours - You can't explain why an ad worked without looking at the data - You've never had a client push back on your creative direction and held your ground To apply, do these 3 things (applications without all 3 will be ignored): 1. Start your proposal with the word "FRAMEWORK" so I know you read this 2. Show me one ad you wrote or directed that ran on Meta with real spend. Tell me: what was the hook, what belief did it install, what was the result (CPA, ROAS, or spend level). If you can't answer all three, you're not ready for this role. 3. Pick any DTC brand you've never worked with. In 3-4 sentences, give me: the Big Idea, the #1 customer belief that blocks the sale, and one headline you'd test first. This is the job. Show me you can do it cold.