Episode 242: The Truth About Creative Volume, Meta's Shift, and What Still Works (Part 2 with Ben Bennett) Episode Description

In this second part of their deep-dive conversation, Molly Pittman sits down with Smart Marketer's Creative Director Ben Bennett to map out the exact creative systems used to produce dozens of high-performing ads every single month.

From team structure to tooling to hook variation strategies, Ben shares how Smart Marketer builds volume without sacrificing quality. You'll hear how they hire and test for the Creative Strategist role, why UGC needs a better incentive model, and how tools like ClickUp help make the whole system run.

"We've figured out how to multiply creative without multiplying chaos and this is how we do it." – Molly Pittman

You Will Learn:

• Why your team could need a Creative Operations Manager

• The 3 creative styles we use: Snack, Impact, Tailored

• How AI is supporting (but not replacing) production

• How to multiply a single hook into 24+ ad variations

• Why ClickUp is the backbone of our creative ops

• How we test and hire for Creative Strategist roles

• Why incentivizing UGC creators is the next big opportunity

Links & Resources

• Smart Marketer – smartmarketer.com

• Smart Marketer Agency – smartmarketeragency.com

• Molly Pittman – mollypittman.com

• Omnisend – smartmarketer.com/omnisend Use code: SMART for 50% off your first 3 months

• Alexander's Talent Agency – gottlnt.com

• Past Episodes Featuring Ben Bennett: • The Truth About Creative Volume, Meta's Shift, and What Still Works • Winning Ad Creative: What Works Now & How to Measure It • How to Make High-Converting UGC Ads • How to Get the Best Possible Creative Help for Your Business • How Flexible Use Content Can Help You With Your Creatives

• ClickUp – clickup.com

• Instagram – @smartmarketer | @mollypittmandigital

Timestamps

00:00 – Anthony intro + Omnisend offer 01:59 – Why creative volume is today's biggest question 03:36 – The underrated role: Creative Operations Manager 07:07 – Step 1: Research and why it still matters 10:29 – What we look for in Creative Strategists (and how we test them) 12:18 – Hiring success through Alexander's Talent Agency 14:02 – The "Creative Prism" framework explained 17:12 – Using AI to expand from 4 to 24 variations 21:07 – Snack, Impact, and Tailored: the 3 styles that work 25:48 – How we use ClickUp to manage high-volume production 31:21 – Reviewing performance data and planning the next round 40:11 – What's next: Creator incentives, agency collaboration, and scaling systems

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