How to actually analyse creative performance

Hey friend!

Welcome back to The Brick-by-Brick Newsletter. Where 7-8 figure brands learn how to scale efficiently.

Before we dive into today’s edition, a quick heads up:

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Today’s edition is more tactical.

Because most brands we start working with don’t actually have a “creative problem.”

They have a creative analysis problem.

They look at ROAS, make a few assumptions, swap a hook… and call it “iteration.”

At Brick, we use a repeatable creative analysis framework that tells us:

• IF a creative is working (performance)

• WHY it’s working (behaviour)

• WHAT to build next (direction)

• WHO it’s actually resonating with (breakdowns)

It’s one of the biggest “unfair advantages” we bring to clients, and today I’m sharing the system.

Why this matters

If you don’t have a framework that connects performance data → creative decisions, you end up:

• Shipping creative based on gut, not behaviour

• Missing obvious opportunities to double down on winners

• Killing ads too early (or scaling ads that shouldn’t scale)

• Repeating the same mistakes every month

The goal isn’t better reporting.

The goal is a system that answers one question every week:

What should we make next to improve results?

Step 1: Split metrics by function, not importance

The first mistake we see brands make is treating all metrics as equal.

They’re not.

At Brick, we divide metrics into two functional categories, each serving a different decision.

Primary metrics → performance validation

These tell you IF a creative is commercially viable:

• Spend

• Purchases

• CPA

These metrics answer: “Is this creative worth more budget?”

Secondary metrics → behavioural diagnosis

These tell you WHY a creative is performing the way it is:

• Scroll Stop Rate

• Hold Rate

• Outbound CTR & Unique Outbound CTR

• Frequency

• CPM

These metrics answer: “Which creative inputs are driving (or limiting) performance?”

This distinction is critical.

Primary metrics decide what survives.
Secondary metrics decide what evolves.

Step 2: Use primary metrics to establish a performance baseline

Primary metrics are not for optimisation.
They’re for qualification.

Our workflow always starts here:

1. Rank creatives by purchases
Not CPM. Not CTR. Not engagement.
Purchases show commercial traction.

2. Cross-check purchases vs spend
We’re looking for misalignment:

• Ads with purchases but insufficient spend (under-scaled)

• Ads with spend but weak purchase density (false positives)

3. Validate efficiency via CPA
This confirms whether volume is sustainable or artificially inflated.

Only once a creative passes all three checks does it earn further analysis.

Everything else is noise.

Step 3: Secondary metrics tell you where the creative is working

Once a creative is commercially validated, secondary metrics explain how it’s doing the work.

This is where most brands stop too early.

The behavioural stack we analyse:

• Scroll Stop Rate → initial attention

• Hold Rate → narrative retention

• Outbound CTR / Unique CTR → intent and motivation

• Frequency → saturation and fatigue

• CPM → auction pressure and category context

This layer allows us to isolate specific creative mechanics instead of guessing.

Most “creative fatigue” is actually:

• weak hooks

• poor pacing

• unclear value articulation

Secondary metrics surface that instantly.

Step 4: Scroll Stop Rate = hook effectiveness

Scroll Stop Rate measures whether your creative earns the right to be watched.

Formula:

(3-second video views ÷ impressions) × 100

Benchmarks we use internally:

• <20% → hook failure

• 20–40% → good

• 40%+ → elite

Low Scroll Stop Rate means:

• The opening frame isn’t pattern-interrupting

• The first line lacks relevance or tension

• The visual doesn’t communicate fast enough

High Scroll Stop Rate earns the creative further scrutiny - not automatic scaling.

Step 5: Hold Rate = storytelling and pacing quality

Hold Rate measures whether attention is maintained after the hook.

Formula:

Thruplays ÷ Impressions

This is where we diagnose:

• pacing issues

• narrative drop-off points

• over-long setups

• weak transitions between sections

Retention curves show us exactly where interest decays, which informs:

• edit changes

• structure adjustments

• message sequencing

High hook + low hold = compelling opener, weak story.
Low hook + high hold = good content nobody sees.

Both require different fixes.

Step 6: Context metrics (Frequency & CPM)

These metrics don’t dictate creative direction - but they frame interpretation.

Frequency guidelines we work to:

• Retargeting: ≤4 (7 days), ≤8 (30 days)

• Prospecting: ≤2–3 (30 days)

Frequency warns us when:

• Creative needs refreshing

• Audience pools are saturating

• Performance decline is structural, not creative

CPMs help contextualise cost - especially when comparing:

• months

• audiences

• geographies

Step 7: Breakdowns reveal who the creative is actually for

Once we understand what works and why, we break it down by:

• Age

• Gender

This is where assumptions get challenged.

Very often:

• The converting audience isn’t the one the brand expected

• Certain creatives over-index with unexpected segments

• Messaging, creators, or pacing need to shift accordingly

These insights directly inform:

• creator briefs

• angle selection

• visual styling

• offer framing

Step 8: Turn analysis into a compounding system

The advantage isn’t doing this once.

It’s running the same loop every week:

1. Validate performance (primary metrics)

2. Diagnose behaviour (secondary metrics)

3. Identify audience patterns (breakdowns)

4. Document insights

5. Build informed iterations

6. Retest

7. Repeat

This is how creative becomes predictable.

Final thought

The brands that scale fastest aren’t just shipping more creative.

They’re more systematic.

They don’t guess what to build next; they derive it from behaviour.

This framework is how we make creative decisions at Brick, and why our accounts compound instead of plateau.

If you have any questions on this, reply to this email, and I’ll come back to you asap!

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We don't just run ads. We diagnose constraints, build systematic testing frameworks, and execute strategies that actually scale.

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Until next week,

Toby.