Work · Renato Linares, Fractional Creative Strategist

Creative that earns its spend.

8 years in performance marketing, the last stretch as lead creative strategist for a music-tech subscription app. Below: the problem, the angle I chose, the ads, and what the numbers said.

1.31 → 3.15ROAS, Pickup Music
before vs. after
$50K+Spent behind a single
creative I built
−51%Cost per lead,
Kala Capital Partners
$45K → $90KMonthly influencer spend
scaled, Geologie

Worked with

Pickup Music
Geologie
Sunrise
Independent Music Awards
Nite Owl
01 · MUSIC TECH

Pickup Music

ROAS 1.31 → 3.15 02 · FINANCE

Kala Capital Partners

Cost per lead $26.43 → $13.01 03 · TELEHEALTH

FindSunrise

$36,400+ tracked revenue 04 · DTC SKINCARE

Geologie

Influencer spend 2x in 3 months
Case study 01

Pickup Music

Hi-fi videos look amazing, but they don't always convert.

Role
Lead creative strategist
Category
Music-tech subscription: structured lessons for intermediate guitarists
Channel
Meta (Facebook + Instagram)
Scope
Angles, hooks, scripts, creator briefs, testing roadmap, reporting
The problem

A working creative system that needed more winners and a voice musicians recognize.

When I joined, Pickup Music already had a creative engine in place. What it needed was more output, more winning ads, and creative direction grounded in how guitarists actually think about practice. Polished, studio-quality video was getting attention but challenging to scale.

Before → after · comparable spend

Native, lo-fi creative beat learning-focused creatives.

Before Video file pending
$1,650.62Spend
22Purchases
1.31ROAS
$75.03CPA
After · "Keep it simple" Video file pending
$1,792.22Spend
38Purchases
3.15ROAS
$47.16CPA
+140%ROAS
+73%Purchases
−37%CPA
What I implemented

Five moves that changed the account.

  • Doubled down on native video formats and delivered 3 net-new winning creatives in the first 30 days.
  • Built a copy framework that stayed profitable for 6+ months, with $50,000+ spent behind a single top creative.
  • Shifted from creative volume to creative quality, aligning with Meta's Andromeda signals to produce more consistent winners.
  • Validated concepts organically first. One top creative hit 2,267 likes before it scaled through paid.
  • Built a system for multiple hook variations, holding a 20–30% hook rate across tests.
Winners at scale · press play

Three concepts, three repeatable structures.

Scaled Video file pending

"Keep it simple, brother"

Coach-like clarity for the stuck intermediate player: you don't need more tabs, you need a system.

$7,023.64Spend
125Purchases
2.68ROAS
$56.19CPA
Scaled Video file pending

Handwritten confession cards

Handwritten cards read as organic and stopped the scroll. A confession-style hook blamed lack of structure, and "It turns out I wasn't a bad guitarist" closed the loop into the CTA.

$17,988Spend
205Purchases
1.54ROAS
$87.74CPA
Scaled Video file pending

The 12-week promise

Locked in a Hook → Agitate → Animation → Body sequence, with a time-bound promise that opens and closes the loop. The week-by-week animation cards became a reusable asset for new concepts.

$28,159Spend
367Purchases
1.74ROAS
$76.73CPA
When Meta's Andromeda update hit

Delivery collapsed. The testing campaign was rebuilt from scratch.

Meta deprioritized the account's existing creative mix, and delivery dropped hard before and during September. I reworked statics, tested new personas, and doubled down on the USP stack that already had proof of concept.

−25.38%

Reach

The diagnosis: too little diversity between static and video in the mix.

−20.51%

Impressions

The fix: reintroduced statics, retested ads that had failed before the update (several became winners), and expanded messaging with new variations and net-new concepts.

−33.6%

Outbound clicks

The result: reach, impressions and outbound clicks rebounded immediately, and purchases rose 10%+ month over month.

VideoVideo file pending
StaticStatic ad: practice tracker, one day a week last year versus every day this year with Pickup Music
VideoVideo file pending
StaticStatic ad: your guitar journey, random lessons leading to stuck, versus a structured path leading to progress
Iteration · press play

"Stick to the plan": a new hook on a proven body.

Every winner gets iterated, not just re-run. This version keeps the 12-week plan and the promise, but opens on a new scene, so I can isolate what the first three seconds are worth.

Iteration Video file pending
Brief sample · "Keep it simple"

One clip, three angles, three audiences.

The brief behind the winning ad. Same footage across all three variants, so the test isolates the message.

PickupMusic_Keep it Simple3 text-overlay variants · same clip

V1 · Problem–agitation

For the overwhelmed learner

  1. "Still jumping between random guitar tutorials?"
  2. "12 weeks. 1 clear path. 30 min x 3 days a week."
  3. "By August, you'll actually sound like you know what you're doing."
  4. "Start today. Try it free for 14 days."

V2 · Coach-like clarity

For the stuck intermediate player

  1. "Keep it simple brother"
  2. "1 step-by-step course. 10 weeks. 30 min/day."
  3. "You don't need more tabs. You need a system."
  4. "Start today. Try it free for 14 days."

V3 · Structured & results-driven

For the goal-oriented learner

  1. "Want to actually get better at your playing by August?"
  2. "Do this: ✓ 10-week guided plan ✓ Daily 30-min sessions ✓ Expert feedback + progress tracking"
  3. "Built for real results, not endless noodling."
  4. "Start today. Try it free for 14 days."
Case study 02

Kala Capital Partners

Sometimes video isn't best.

Role
Paid media + creative strategist
Category
Financial services: wealth-building for high-income professionals
Channel
Meta and Google lead generation
Scope
Creative, offer, landing page, email nurture
The problem

Jargon-heavy explainer videos weren't turning into booked calls.

The audience was overwhelmed. They didn't need a full pitch in the feed. They needed a clear, low-risk first step. So I simplified the message, swapped the format, and tightened every step between the ad and the call.

Video vs. static · head to head
VideoVideo file pending
Static · winnerKCP static ad: easy-to-use system for smart spending and saving, free
VideoStatic
Leads1065
Cost per lead$26.43$13.01
Reach3,1843,652
Impressions6,0629,041
CPC$2.54$5.56

CPC went up; cost per lead halved. The static pre-qualified the click, so fewer, better visitors converted at 6.5x the volume.

What I implemented

New format, new offer, new funnel.

  • Swapped explainer videos for clean statics with outcome-driven messaging: "Build a long-term wealth plan in 15 minutes or less."
  • Rebuilt the landing page in GoHighLevel: faster load, better mobile UX, CRM integration.
  • Launched a new lead funnel, The True Wealth Bundle: a downloadable lead magnet paired with a free strategy call.
  • Added a segmented email drip that rolls into a weekly financial newsletter.
  • Next: split messaging by persona: high-income earners, entrepreneurs, social-proof seekers.
Results
−51%Cost per lead
$26.43 → $13.01
70% → 88%Landing page view rate
70.18% → 87.50%
2.47% → 2.80%Click-through rate
+40%Qualified leads, with
better close rates
The full working file · Figma

The rebuilt landing page.

The full page, top to bottom. Scroll, zoom, or open it full screen.

Case study 03

FindSunrise

Finding the audience the brand didn't know it had.

Role
Influencer + creative strategist
Category
Telehealth: doctor-led GLP-1 weight-loss programs, subscription
Channel
Instagram + TikTok creators, Meta retargeting
Timeline
Under 90 days
The problem

Lots of creators, lots of niches, inconsistent sales.

The program had tested mukbang, fitness, gaming, parenting, food reviews and more, mostly top-of-funnel content from smaller accounts, mostly on TikTok and Instagram. Reach was there; conversions weren't consistent.

The insight

The buyers clustered somewhere unexpected.

Rapid testing showed the highest-converting audiences overlapped on faith-based content, family lifestyle, country music and rural living, and PCOS and weight-loss-surgery topics, concentrated in the Southern U.S., especially Texas.

What I implemented
  • Re-sourced creators into those verticals: transformation stories, educational GLP-1 content, "glow-up" journeys.
  • Set platform floors: 10K+ followers on Instagram, 50K+ on TikTok, already making mid-funnel content.
  • Negotiated on average CPM and monthly reach, with make-good clauses to protect budget.
  • Briefed conversion-first: strong CTAs, UTM-tracked landing pages, and creator content fed into Meta retargeting.
Creator spotlightVideo file pending

Kolby Shae · Instagram

U.S. South, women 25–45, weight loss and family lifestyle. Her results validated the segmentation and shaped every partnership after.

~80Sales / month, sustained
1,651UTM page views
Results · under 90 days
$36,400+Tracked revenue
91Tracked sales
$400Average order value
4–5Creators activated
per month
Case study 04

Geologie

From outreach support to a program twice the size.

Role
Influencer program lead
Category
DTC men's skincare subscription
Audience
Men in their 30s and early 40s improving their routine
Timeline
3 months
The problem

Early influencer wins, no way to scale them.

Geologie came to me for outreach help. The real gap was a system: brand guidelines creators could follow, a pipeline to vet and track partners, contracts that covered rights and usage, and measurement that showed which partners actually paid back.

  • Built the funnel: style guides and talking points, a tracking system for vetting and follow-up, and contract templates covering creative control, rights and usage, and payment.
  • Sourced through talent agencies, marketplaces (Grin, Upfluence, MiniSocial) and direct DMs from the brand's own channels.
  • Vetted on engagement rate, content quality and market fit; measured every partner with UTMs and unique promo codes.
  • Briefed every creator for performance-ready UGC, reused across paid ads, landing pages and email.
Creator Robin James holding Geologie products

Robin James · YouTube

Fashion and skincare creator, 376K subscribers, ~20K average views. Evergreen content that kept compounding month after month.

3xReturn
376KSubscribers
Results · 3 months
$45K → $90KMonthly influencer spend
3xReturn from top
creator partnership
3New audiences opened:
fashion, gaming, fitness
40+Person team supported
through the scale-up
How I work

Research, brief, test, iterate. On repeat.

01 · Research

Find the real objection

Ad library, competitor teardowns, Reddit and community threads, onboarding data, reviews. I'm looking for the language the customer already uses.

02 · Brief

One angle per concept

Persona, awareness stage, core angle, 3+ hook variants and scene-by-scene direction, so a creator or editor can ship it without a call.

03 · Test

Isolate the variable

Same body, new hook. Same clip, new message. Isolated ad sets, fixed budgets and a clear kill rule: hook rate, CPA, ROAS.

04 · Iterate

Scale what earned it

Weekly read-outs on hook rate, CPA and ROAS. Winners get new hooks and formats; losers get retired, or retested when the algorithm changes.

Tool stack MotionForeplayMeta Ads ManagerTikTokInstagramRedditSEMRushClaudeGeminiFigmaCanvafal.aiNano Banana
Work samples

How I read an ad account before I touch it.

Excerpts from a creative audit for Musiversal, a platform that connects producers with session musicians. Each ad gets a persona, awareness stage, core angle, a prediction and specific fixes.

Video file pending

Ad: "STVN V4"

PersonaProducers: "the pragmatists" and "money makers"
AwarenessProblem-aware → solution-aware
AngleCost compression; access to world-class musicians
ReadGood script, passive voice. Cuts outpace the creator's delivery. Slow pacing 10–20% to lift hold rate.
FixesMove the callout up front ("Producers, listen up"). Keep comparisons linear: "Instead of 1 session for $200, I got 10 sessions for the same price."
Prediction: good performer
Video file pending

Ad: "London"

PersonaBroad hobbyist / pragmatist
AwarenessLikely problem-unaware
AngleMusic has lost its human touch; this brings it back
ReadBeautiful, grainy and analog, but cinematic, not performance. Better for brand or YouTube than Meta. No persona callouts for Andromeda to read.
FixesReframe the shot 80/20 on the person, full face. Change "collaborating with people" to "collaborating with musicians" for a clearer signal.
Prediction: low performer
More results

Nite Owl

Nightlife app launch: built the social, creator and paid program to drive beta sign-ups among 21–45-year-olds.

896Beta users
0 → 2K+Followers in 3 months
5.54%CTR, winning ad

Independent Music Awards

Event-entry campaign on a $1,000/month budget, targeting musicians, labels and publishers with retargeting and email.

10xSales, Dec → Jan
$7,964Gross return
$1KMonthly budget
Let's talk

Looking for a creative strategist who reports in numbers?

Book a call rl@purplenotestudios.co

Motion Certified Creative Strategist · June 2026