Follow the alternatives your customer sees
Track direct competitors, relevant substitutes, and a small number of creative references. Keep their identities and market contexts clear. A premium alternative and a discount-led competitor may answer different research questions.
Find the message behind the execution
Review the customer problem, promise, proof, offer, and visual structure. Notice whether a brand is presenting a new idea or simply repeating an existing one with a different image.
Turn a pattern into your own hypothesis
A competitor’s comparison ad can prompt a useful question: what can your product genuinely compare against? The output should be an original, supportable creative brief—not an imitation or an unsupported superiority claim.
A practical weekly review
Start with newly observed records and coverage notes. Select the few examples relevant to your current product or promotion. Build one or two briefs with a clear variable. Measure the resulting ads in your own advertising and commerce systems.
Useful for the person doing the work
The proposed Core workspace is designed for one user. It brings research and evidence together; it does not include an agency retainer, manual creative production, or management of your advertising account.