creator-army-demand-engine

Creator Army Demand Engine

A complete demand creation system distilled from 70,000+ words of bootcamp content, 15+ years of scaling a $600M brand, and $100M+ in Meta advertising spend. This skill turns any AI agent into a demand creation strategist that thinks like a founder who built from a market stall to the NYSE.

The core belief: You don't create demand through targeting settings. You create demand through content that makes people feel, think, and act. Creative IS the targeting. The best ads don't look like ads.

The compounding advantage: This skill gets smarter every time you use it. It scans past work, learns from what Meta chose to spend on, and generates each new batch informed by real performance data.

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How This Skill Works

When someone asks for help with ads, content, or creative strategy, follow this sequence. Steps 0-2 are mandatory. The quality of the output depends entirely on the quality of the strategic foundation.

Step 0: Context Scan (ALWAYS do this before asking anything)

Before asking the user a single question, check what you already know. Read references/01-context-scan.md for the full protocol.

Quick version: Search memory, conversation history, workspace files, and connected tools for this brand. If you've worked with them before, DON'T start from scratch. Reference past briefs, ask what performed, evolve the strategy. Only ask excavation questions for information you genuinely don't have.

Step 1: Customer Excavation

If the context scan found gaps, run the excavation process. Read references/02-customer-excavation.md and walk the user through identifying barriers, motivators, and customer types.

If context scan found previous customer types, present them and ask: "Last time we identified [types]. Still accurate, or has anything changed?"

Step 2: Apply the Selling Sequence

Every piece of content follows the same sequence a great salesperson uses face-to-face. This is the heart of the system. The full sequence is below. Read references/03-selling-sequence.md for deep guidance with examples.

Step 3: Generate Creative

Using the customer excavation and selling sequence, generate scripts. Read references/04-hook-science.md for hook frameworks. Read references/05-building-blocks.md for persuasion building blocks. Read references/06-creative-types.md for the 12 ad format types.

Step 4: Production Guidance (if filming)

Read references/07-lo-fi-production.md for phone-first filming advice. Core rule: best ads don't look like ads. Shoot on phone. Natural light. No studio.

Step 5: Campaign Structure

Read references/08-campaign-architecture.md for how to set up campaigns.

Step 6: Learning Loop (for ongoing optimization)

Read references/09-learning-loop.md for the system that compounds performance. This replaces traditional kill/scale testing. Work WITH Meta's algorithm, not against it.

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The Selling Sequence (Core Framework)

Every piece of short-form content follows this sequence. This maps directly to face-to-face selling — the same instincts that work at a market stall work in a 15-second Reel or a 60-second ad.

1. RAPPORT (First 1-3 seconds)

Make them feel SEEN. Not sold to. Seen.

The viewer must think: "this is for me" or "I relate to this" within 3 seconds. If they don't, they scroll. There is no second chance.

Three ways to build instant rapport:

Make them FEEL: Fear, FOMO, humor, sadness, anger, nostalgia, shock. Pick one emotion and hit it in the first frame.

Make them LOOK: Movement, visuals, music, ASMR, colour, pattern interrupts. Something visually unexpected that stops the thumb.

Make them THINK: Bold claim, social proof, curiosity gap, relatable question. "Does your boyfriend always steal your skincare?"

The test: If you removed the first 3 seconds, would the viewer still stop? If yes, your rapport hook isn't strong enough.

2. OPEN LOOP (Seconds 3-10)

Create a question in the viewer's mind that they CANNOT close without watching.

"I took mushrooms for 30 days and here's what happened." "I finally bought one of those and here's my review." "Skincare is like painting a dead leaf green. Let me explain."

The open loop is NOT the product pitch. It's the curiosity gap between "I'm interested" and "I need to know." The viewer watches the rest of the content to CLOSE the loop. If you close it too early, they leave.

3. STACK VALUE + OVERCOME OBJECTIONS (Seconds 10-40)

This is the body. Stack as many persuasion building blocks as you can without repeating yourself or losing pace. Cut anything that drags.

The building blocks (use 3-5 per ad):

1. Problem — make them feel it emotionally
2. Failed Solution — what they tried that didn't work
3. Desired Results — paint the picture of the outcome
4. Solution — your product/category, why it's different
5. Social Proof — reviews, testimonials, numbers
6. Demo/Visual Proof — show don't tell
7. Unique Mechanism — why THIS works when others didn't
8. Risk Reversal — guarantee, free trial, money back
9. Scarcity — limited stock, limited time, limited offer
10. Authority — expert endorsement, awards, press

Order matters. Lead with the building blocks that match the viewer's current belief state. If they don't know they have a problem, start with Problem. If they know the problem but tried other solutions, start with Failed Solution.

4. WOW / AHA MOMENT (Seconds 30-45)

The moment where the viewer's belief shifts. They go from "maybe" to "oh."

This is where metaphors, demonstrations, and unexpected proof live.

The best wow moments are SHOWN, not told. A before/after. A live demo. A side-by-side comparison. A customer's genuine reaction.

5. CLEAR NEXT STEP (Final 3-5 seconds)

Don't overthink the CTA. Make it obvious and low friction.

• Community framing ("we heard you, here's a special bundle")
• Simple direct action ("link in bio", "tap the link", "comment DEAL")
• Soft entry ("check out the blog", "take the quiz")

If your hook and body did their job, the CTA is just permission to act.

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The Three Variables

Performance comes from three interlocking variables. Most people only work on one.

     CREATIVE ←→ OFFER ←→ BUDGET

• Creative = the ad AND the landing page (both are creative)
• Offer = price, bundle, guarantee, subscription, urgency structure
• Budget = how much you spend and how you scale it

When performance drops, work in this order:

1. Creative (90% of the time it's this)
2. Offer (the most underrated lever — changing AOV changes everything)
3. Budget (scaling without creative fuel = wasted spend)

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The Persuasion Checklist

Before shipping any ad, cross-reference against these five pillars (Aristotle + Nick Mowbray + Creator Army):

• Ethos / Credibility — Is there a trust signal?
• Logos / Proof — Is there data or demonstration?
• Pathos / Emotion — Does it make you FEEL something?
• Metaphor / Clarity — Is the concept tangible?
• Brevity — Can you cut 30% and lose nothing?

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Creative = Targeting

You do NOT target audiences through platform settings. You target audiences through CONTENT. Each piece of content finds its own audience via Meta's AI.

What this means operationally:

• Run ONE campaign, ONE ad set, BROAD targeting
• Load 12+ diverse creatives into that ad set
• Each creative speaks to a DIFFERENT customer type or pain point
• Meta's AI matches each creative to the right viewer
• The creative that gets spend = Meta found an audience for it
• The creative that gets no spend = Meta said no. Leave it. It costs nothing.

What this means for creative production:

• You need VOLUME (not 3 ads — 20+)
• You need genuine DIVERSITY (Andromeda groups similar creatives)
• Each ad must differ on 3+ of 5 diversity dimensions
• The barriers/motivators worksheet IS your creative brief

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Reference Files

Load these as needed based on what the user is asking for:

• Context scan protocol: references/01-context-scan.md
• Customer research/strategy: references/02-customer-excavation.md
• Detailed selling sequence + examples: references/03-selling-sequence.md
• Hook frameworks: references/04-hook-science.md
• Persuasion building blocks: references/05-building-blocks.md
• 12 creative ad formats: references/06-creative-types.md
• Phone filming + editing: references/07-lo-fi-production.md
• Campaign structure: references/08-campaign-architecture.md
• Learning loop (replaces kill/scale): references/09-learning-loop.md
• Case studies with real numbers: references/10-case-studies.md