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Performance Creative in 2026: What We’ve Updated and Why

Marketing Operators · February 17, 2026 · 77 min

Summary

This episode, "Performance Creative in 2026: What We’ve Updated and Why," delves into the evolving landscape of performance creative in the ecommerce space. It highlights the importance of adapting creative strategies to current trends and platform changes to maximize advertising effectiveness and ROAS. Operators will gain insights into optimizing their visual content for better acquisition and conversion in a competitive market.

Key takeaways

Themes

paid acquisitionbrand & contentai & automationanalytics & attribution

Topics covered

performance creative optimizationad creative testingai in marketingmeta ads creative strategycreative benchmarksaudience fatigue

Episode description

This week, the team breaks down how they’re testing creative and scaling systems. Volume still matters, but only when it’s paired with clearer concepts, stronger hypotheses, and better signal quality. Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge), Cody Plofker (CEO, Jones Road Beauty), and Connor Rolain (Global Head of Growth, HexClad) revisit the playbooks they built over the years and walk through what’s working right now. The conversation gets tactical fast. They dig into what actually defines a concept (message × format), how they’re structuring Meta campaigns to balance throughput and learning, and why hybrid CBO setups that blur the line between testing and spending are becoming the new standard. From ABO vs. CBO tradeoffs to pixel consolidation and signal engineering, they unpack how promising ideas get enough budget to generate real data. Then the focus shifts to creator pipelines, coaching feedback loops, and organic-to-paid workflows — including why Jones Road is building a creator-in-residence program to ship content daily, why HexClad is hiring a dedicated freelancer to source assets faster, and why Ridge treats its network of briefed creators as an internal function. A clear theme runs through it all … performance shouldn’t pit quality against quantity. It should focus on infrastructure to produce high output while learning faster and growing with intention. Powered By: Motion Creative Strategy Bootcamp https://motionapp.com/2026-creative-strategy-bootcamp-paid?utm_campaign=marketing-operators&utm_medium=sponsor&utm_content=creative-strategy-bootcamp-2026&utm_source=marketing-operators-podcast

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Frequently asked about this episode

What does this episode say about paid acquisition?
Regularly audit and update your performance creative strategy to align with current platform algorithms and user behavior trends.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Focus on diverse creative formats and iterations to avoid audience fatigue on platforms like Meta, ensuring fresh engagement.
What does this episode say about ai & automation?
Utilize data from creative benchmarks and internal testing to identify high-performing elements and scale successful campaigns.
What does this episode say about analytics & attribution?
Integrate AI-powered tools and analytics to streamline creative production and optimize ad spend more efficiently.
What does this episode say about paid acquisition?
Prioritize mobile-first creative development, considering how content appears and performs on various devices.

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