Expected result
By the end of this scenario, you will have a structured collection of 15–20 competitor creatives.
The collection will include:
- product creatives
- promotional offers
- problem-led ads
- materials from several competitors
- static and video formats
- a short summary of the main observations
For the example, we will research ads for healthy meal delivery services in Ukraine.
Step 1. Define the research goal
Imagine that the team is preparing an advertising campaign for a new ready-meals delivery service.
You need to understand:
- which arguments competitors use
- which formats appear most often
- which offers brands promote
- which customer problems are mentioned in the ads
- which approaches repeat
- which communication opportunities are still open
Step 2. Fix the scope
Use the following settings:
- Market — Ukraine
- Category — Ready meals delivery
- Platforms — Facebook and Instagram
- Period — Last three months
- Formats — Images and videos
- Language — Ukrainian
These limits help you get a broad but manageable sample.
Step 3. Start with a broad query
Open search and enter: Healthy meal delivery
At first, do not apply every filter. Review the first results and pay attention to the wording advertisers use.
Possible related queries:
- ready meal
- menu for the day
- proper nutrition
- calorie counting
- meal delivery
- healthy food
- weekly nutrition
Choose two or three queries that best match the research topic.
Step 4. Apply core filters
Select the following filters in order:
- country — Ukraine
- platforms — Facebook and Instagram
- period — Last three months
- formats — Images and Videos
- language — Ukrainian
Review the first 20–30 results.
If most materials are not about meal delivery, make the query more precise, for example ready meal for a day.
Step 5. Identify the main competitors
While reviewing, write down the brands that appear regularly in the results.
For each competitor, pay attention to:
- the number of different creatives
- the main format
- repeating messages
- activity in the selected period
- types of promotional offers
At this stage, choose 3–5 brands for deeper analysis.
Step 6. Create a collection
Create a new collection named:
Healthy meal delivery — competitors
Add this description:
Competitor creatives for healthy meal delivery services in Ukraine. Facebook and Instagram, last three months. A set for preparing a new ad project.
The collection becomes the single place where all selected materials are stored.
Step 7. Analyze the messages
For each creative, define four elements:
- What customer problem does the ad mention?
- What solution does the brand offer?
- What benefit does it emphasize?
- What action should the user take?
Example:
- problem — no time to cook
- solution — a ready meal plan for the whole day
- benefit — calculated calories
- action — order the menu
You do not need to describe every creative in detail. The goal is to notice repeating patterns.
Step 8. Collect product creatives
Add 5–7 materials where the main focus is the product.
Look for examples that show:
- ready meals
- meal composition
- number of meals
- calories
- packaging
- delivery process
- menu variety
- portion size
Save a material if it shows a new approach. Do not add too many almost identical variations of the same ad.
Step 9. Collect offers
Find 5–7 creatives with commercial offers.
These may include:
- first-order discount
- promo code
- free delivery
- a gift meal
- a free day of meals
- a discount on a weekly subscription
- a special price for a new customer
Pay attention not only to the size of the discount, but also to how the offer is presented.
Check:
- where the offer is placed
- how visible it is
- whether there are restrictions
- what action is requested
- whether the value of the product is explained before the price appears
Step 10. Collect problem-led creatives
Add 5–7 creatives that start from a recognizable customer situation.
Examples of problems:
- no time to cook
- hard to count calories
- tired of planning meals
- unable to eat regularly
- healthy food seems repetitive
- too tired to cook after work
- hard to control portion size
See how the brand moves from the problem to its solution.
Step 11. Review the collection as a whole
Open the collection and review all materials together.
At this stage, it may contain more than 20 creatives. That is normal.
Keep a material if it:
- shows a separate communication approach
- has an unusual message structure
- shows an important visual pattern
- contains a strong offer
- represents a separate competitor
- helps explain a concrete observation to the team
Remove a material if it:
- almost fully duplicates another example
- is not relevant to the research topic
- does not add a new observation
- does not contain enough information for analysis
Step 12. Check the balance of the set
The final collection can have this structure:
- Product creatives — 5
- Promotional offers — 5
- Problem-led communication — 5
- Unusual examples — up to 5
Also make sure that:
- at least three brands are represented
- there are static images
- there are videos
- one competitor does not dominate the whole collection
- identical offers are not repeated unnecessarily
If one group is missing, go back to search and refine the query.
For offer-focused creatives, try query terms such as:
- discount
- promo code
- first order
- free delivery
- special offer
Step 13. Formulate observations
After cleaning the collection, write 3–5 conclusions.
Example:
- most brands talk about saving time
- the second main argument is calorie control
- product close-ups dominate the visuals
- the most common offer is a first-order discount
- menu personalization is used less often
- brands often use similar green and beige colors
The conclusions should describe patterns across the whole sample, not one creative.
Step 14. Prepare the collection for the team
Before handing off the result:
- Check the collection name.
- Add the research purpose to the description.
- Remove random materials.
- Check member access.
- Copy the link.
- Add a short summary.
Example message:
The category is dominated by two themes: saving time and calorie control. Most brands show ready meals in close-up shots and use a first-order discount in their offers. The collection also includes a few less typical examples with menu personalization.
Final result
You created a structured set of competitor creatives and completed the full research scenario:
- defined the goal
- limited the sample
- built search queries
- applied filters
- identified competitors
- analyzed the messages
- collected materials
- removed duplicates
- balanced the collection
- formulated conclusions
- prepared the result for the team
The collection can now be used as the basis for discussion and for preparing a creative brief.
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