8 Figure UGC Case Study: Peeking behind the scenes on Curology’s $42M/year UGC-based creative juggernaut

8 Figure UGC Case Study: Peeking behind the scenes on Curology’s $42M/year UGC-based creative juggernaut

Last year Curology generated an estimated $42.5 M usd in revenue. ^source

Most of their ads are entirely UGC-based.

So if you want to see the inside scoop on how to not only build individual direct response UGC ads that convert…

…But also how to build a Direct Response UGC “Factory” to continuously ideate, source, generate (and iterate) new UGC-based ads to keep your brand & offers scaling?

Pay very close attention to what Curology is doing.

Ready? Let’s dive in…

Taking a Closer Look at Curology’s 8-Figure UGC Success

Here’s our VidTao 2.0 Advertiser View on Curology:

Notice that’s over $5 million estimated adspend in the past year, just on YouTube.

Let’s take a closer look at one of their recent best UGC-based ads, with $250k+ total adspend:

Curology UGC YouTube Ad Breakdown:

Let’s take a close look at some of what this ad does so well, as well as a few points where it could improve:

1. Understand the Problem State: The ad does well in identifying the problem - the need for a prescription-grade anti-aging skincare ingredient and the inconvenience of obtaining it through traditional dermatologist visits. However, it could do more to educate the audience about the problem, especially those who may not yet be aware of it.

2. Unique Promise: The ad successfully communicates Curology's unique promise - an online platform where users can chat with licensed dermatology providers and get a custom skincare formula delivered to their door.

3. Unquestionable Proof: The ad provides proof through the personal testimony of the speaker, who has been using Curology for a few years and has seen positive results. However, it could potentially include more varied forms of proof, such as before-and-after photos or testimonials from other users. (Think SHOW AND TELL vs. just “SHOW”)

4. User-friendly Proposition: The ad presents a user-friendly proposition - a simple skincare routine that only requires a face wash, moisturizer, and the Curology product. This is clearly communicated and easy to understand.

5. Emphasize Education and Entertainment: The ad is educational, explaining the benefits of Curology's service. However, it's not particularly entertaining, which could potentially limit its ability to engage the audience. Adding elements of storytelling or humor could make the ad more engaging.

6. Addressing Gary Bencivenga’s Five Universal Objections:

   • No Time: The ad counters this objection by emphasizing the convenience of Curology's service - everything is done online and the product is delivered to your door.

   • No Interest: The ad addresses this by focusing on a problem that is likely to be of high interest to the target audience - the need for effective anti-aging skincare.

   • No Perceived Difference: The ad counters this by highlighting the unique aspects of Curology's service - online access to licensed dermatology providers and custom skincare formulas.

   • No Belief: The ad counters this by providing the personal testimony of the speaker, who has seen positive results from using Curology.

   • No Decision: The ad counters this by making it clear how easy it is to incorporate Curology into one's skincare routine.

A Peek into Curology’s UGC Direct Response UGC “Factory”

Now here’s what’s even more interesting about Curology:

When we look at Curology’s Brand Testing Volume tab from inside VidTao 2.0, we can see they’ve tested hundreds of ads:

And when we check out their “Creatives” tab from inside our VidTao 2.0 library:

…You can see that most of these ads are completely UGC-based.

Clearly Curology has built a rock-solid UGC FACTORY for generating UGC-based ads that generate results.

What does a Direct Response UGC Factory look like?

1. Research: Curology’s ads show they definitely hasa process for doing thorough market research to understand their target audience's needs, pain points, and preferences, probably ia forums, social media platforms, and conducting customer interviews. The insights gained from this research inform their ad messaging and help them better connect with their audience. This is the quality control in their UGC factory, ensuring their ads meet the needs and preferences of their target audience. It's also the first step in their process, providing the necessary data and insights to fuel their ideation stage.

2. Ideation: Armed with insights from their market research, Curology likely has a dedicated team or process for brainstorming and developing ad concepts. This could involve creative brainstorming sessions based on customer insights. The high number of unique ads suggests that they are continuously coming up with new ideas and are not afraid to experiment with different approaches. This is the second step in their UGC factory, generating the raw material of ideas.

3. Sourcing Talent: In their UGC factory, talent sourcing is a crucial step. Curology likely has a robust process for identifying and recruiting suitable content creators. This could involve reaching out to influencers, actors, actresses, or even their own customers across various platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, as well as casting platforms or Facebook groups. This ensures a steady supply of authentic voices to represent their brand.

4. Detailed Instructions and Storyboarding: All the above steps don’t matter if you don’t clearly show your creators exactly what you want them to create. To ensure consistency and quality across their numerous ads, Curology likely provides detailed instructions to their content creators. This could be in the form of scripts, storyboards, or specific guidelines about the message they want to convey, the scenes they want to capture, and the overall tone and style of the ad. This is akin to the blueprint in their UGC factory, guiding the production process.

5. Production: Curology likely has a streamlined process for producing and editing their ads. This could involve a dedicated in-house team or a partnership with a production company. They may also provide detailed instructions and guidelines to their content creators to ensure consistency and quality in their ads. This is the manufacturing stage in their UGC factory, where the raw materials of ideas and talent are transformed into the final product of high-quality ads.

6. Distribution: Curology distributes their ads across various platforms like Meta/FB/IG/TikTok/YouTube, reaching their audience where they are and are leveraging the unique strengths of each platform. This is the logistics and distribution arm of their UGC factory, ensuring their ads reach their intended audience.

7. Testing and Iteration: The variety of ads suggests that Curology is continuously testing and iterating on their ads, using performance data to inform their decisions and continuously refine their ads based on what works best. This is the R&D department of their UGC factory, constantly working to improve the product.

How to Build Your Own Direct Response UGC “Factory”

It’s clear that Curology’s Direct Response UGC “Factory” is working wonders for them…

And if you’re a brand owner or agency owner yourself, maybe you’re wondering at this point: “How can I build my own Direct Response UGC Factory?”

Because when you think about:

• How much money you’d save by no longer having to hire external content agencies (whose ads often don’t even perform that great)

• How many more scaling opportunities you’d get - with your very own always-on UGC machine constantly churning out new high quality performance creatives

…Which means your ad volume + ad win rate gives you opportunities for you to scale to 100k/mo, 500k/mo and beyond…

Having this kind of performance content generating machine inside your company gives you a massive advantage over your competition.

And that’s exactly what we’re going to be talking about this coming Thursday (July 13) @ 10am US Eastern…

…On a free live Q&A call all about how to build a Direct Response UGC “Factory” inside your company or agency.

Go here to claim your spot:

👉 https://vidtao.com/ugc-factory

We’ll be going into detail on how to build a Direct Response UGC “Factory” inside your company or agency…

…To eliminate the headache of trying to “duct tape” together random UGC that stumbles across your plate.

…and how to build a robust, scalable system that churns out a steady stream of entirely new high-performing UGC material to test in your ads, each designed from scratch with Direct Response performance in mind.

Again, we’ll be joined by Sacha Bouhamidi, THE top consultant who specializes in helping companies build & optimize their very own Direct Response UGC Factory.

He steps into companies, builds out the systems and processes for ideating, sourcing and producing high-performance UGC ads on Meta/FB/IG/TikTok/YouTube…

…So that they can massively increase the volume of high quality output, leading to a higher “win rate” & more winning ads.

So if you have questions about ANY step in the UGC process? Join us on the live training here:

👉 https://vidtao.com/ugc-factory

See you on the call!

(And if you have any questions you’d like us to cover on the call? Just hit REPLY and let us know)

Have a great Monday,

The VidTao Team

PS - Here is more from our interview with Sacha last week, all about building high-performance direct response UGC:

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Yesterday we did an info-packed podcast with Direct Response User Generated Content (UGC) expert Sacha Bouhamidi, one of THE top practitioners when it comes to building (and scaling) high performance UGC for Direct Response companies.

Watch the replay here:

Here’s a few of the many highlights we covered on the call (with timestamps):

• The 2 Biggest Mistakes Brands make with UGC: how to eliminate them & as a result discover & tap into your market’s biggest “stage of awareness” opportunity.

• How to Master the Art of UGC Ad Segmentation: Yes, ad segmentation can be a game-changer, when done right. Discover how to guide your audience through their journey with tailored ads for each stage.

• UGC Talent Sourcing Secrets: Steps to find and engage the best talent for user-generated content (without breaking the bank and without wasting time dealing with flaky talent).

• Crucial Clear Communication Keys for UGC: How to guarantee what your order is what your talent produces.

• How to Systemize Your UGC Ad Creation Process: Find out how to streamline your process for consistent, effective user-generated content ads.

• How to Conduct a UGC-Specific Deep Dive into Market Research: Learn to uncover your market’s next mega-hit “big idea” by connecting with your audience on a deeper level, understanding their needs, pain points, and desires.

• The Performance-boosting Magic of “Edutainment” Why blending education and entertainment in your ads is crucial for successful UGC, and how to do it.

• UGC Storyboarding for Success: The often overlooked CRITICAL step for nailing large volumes of on-point UGC creative from your distributed creative team.

• UGC & Unique Mechanisms: Uncover how to highlight your product's unique features to resonate with your audience and differentiate from competitors.

(And a whole lot more)

Now this was just a 45 min chat, and we got A LOT of questions from you on this, for example…

…Questions about going deeper into the specifics of how to build a team to run this kind of system:

…How to execute UGC creation en masse along with media buying to actually test & scale it:

(Those were just a couple)

So guess what?

We’re going to do a LIVE Q&A call with Sacha & the VidTao team, all about Direct Response UGC, this coming Thursday (July 13) @ 10am US Eastern.

Go here to claim your spot:

👉 https://vidtao.com/ugc-factory

On this call specifically Sacha is going to be talking all about how to build a Direct Response UGC “Factory” inside your company or agency…

…To eliminate the headache of trying to “duct tape” together random UGC that stumbles across your plate.

…and how to build a robust, scalable system that churns out a steady stream of entirely new high-performing UGC material to test in your ads, each designed from scratch with Direct Response performance in mind.

Again, Sacha is THE top consultant who specializes in helping companies build & optimize their very own Direct Response UGC Factory.

He steps into companies, builds out the systems and processes for ideating, sourcing and producing high-performance UGC ads on Meta/FB/IG/TikTok/YouTube…

…So that they can massively increase the volume of high quality output, leading to a higher “win rate” & more winning ads.

So if you have questions about ANY step in the UGC process? Join us on the live training here:

👉 https://vidtao.com/ugc-factory

See you on the call and have a great weekend!

And btw in case you missed this week’s earlier email all about The Promise (and the Problem) with Direct Response User Generated Content…

it’s attached below:

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The Promise (and the Problem) with Direct Response User Generated Content…

User Generated Content (UGC) is everywhere, on every ad platform right now.

And done right UGC can be a massive asset to any direct response campaign.

But there’s a big problem with it.

(and we’ll dive into that problem & its implications in just a moment...)

But first, for context…

Let’s step back in time and re-visit some material from one of our favorite marketing heros, David Ogilvy.

Ogilvy would have loved User Generated Content (UGC).

Why?

Have you seen his “How to Create Advertising that Sells” ad?

(Probably the most amazing ad agency ad ever - which is a story for another email...)

Here it is, so first, check it out… (Read it & you’ll definitely pick up some nuggets of wisdom)

If you read Ogilvy’s rules here, you’ll notice how UGC as an ad format checks a lot of these boxes, like:

1. Large Promise: Ogilvy emphasized the importance of making a big promise to grab attention. UGC inherently does this by showcasing real-life experiences. When a customer shares how a product remarkably improved their life, it serves as a promise to potential buyers that they can experience the same benefits.

2. Brand Image: Ogilvy knew the power of a strong brand image. UGC contributes to this by providing authentic and relatable content. When consumers see real people vouching for a product, it enhances the brand's credibility and creates a positive image.

3. Big Ideas: According to Ogilvy, advertising should be built around a big idea. UGC can be centered around impactful themes or stories. For example, a brand can launch a campaign where users share their stories of personal transformation using the product. This creates a narrative around the brand and makes the campaign memorable.

4. Don’t be a Bore: Ogilvy believed in keeping the audience engaged. UGC is often created by enthusiastic customers, making it inherently engaging and far from boring. It's real, it's raw, and it's relatable.

5. Innovate: Ogilvy was a proponent of innovation. With UGC, brands have an opportunity to tap into the creativity of their user base. This leads to diverse and innovative content that can capture attention in ways that traditional advertising might not.

6. Psychological Segmentation: Ogilvy talked about tailoring content to specific psychological segments. UGC does this naturally as it comes from a diverse set of individuals, each with different perspectives and values, ensuring that the content resonates with various segments.

7. Don’t Bury News: Ogilvy believed in highlighting the newsworthy aspects. UGC is often the first to highlight new uses or benefits of a product. Brands can leverage this by promoting UGC that sheds light on something new and exciting.

8. Factual vs. Emotional: Ogilvy knew the power of both factual and emotional content. UGC excels in this area, as it can range from factual product reviews to emotional stories of how a product impacted someone's life.

9. “Burr of Singularity”: Ogilvy believed in the power of uniqueness. UGC is inherently unique; each piece is a one-of-a-kind perspective from an individual user. This uniqueness makes it memorable and impactful.

10. Editorial Layout: Ogilvy found that ads resembling editorial content were more effective. UGC often has this quality. It doesn’t look like an ad, which makes it more trustworthy and engaging.

11. Repeat Your Winners: Ogilvy advised repeating what works. When a piece of UGC proves particularly effective, brands can encourage more of the same kind of content, creating a snowball effect.

12. Use Captions to Sell: Ogilvy knew the power of captions. In UGC, especially visual content, captions can provide context and highlight the key selling points of a product. (Kudos to Ryan Magin for defining & continually re-inventing the vertical video / UGC caption game)

Direct Response UGC - when it’s done right - is authentic, relatable, and can deliver insane results.

Want an example?

Case Study: Performance UGC in Action

Again: When you do UGC, the right way? MAGIC happens.

Want proof?

Here’s an example UGC from skincare brand Peter Thomas Roth that led to the brand completely selling out 6 months of product in just one week.¹  

Here is the UGC from Trinidad Sandoval, a happy Peter Thomas Roth eyecream customer:

What made this UGC video so successful?

Let's analyze this UGC video in light of Ogilvy's rules:

1. Large Promise: Never the forget the power of showing a transformation. Trinidad's video implicitly promises viewers that they can achieve instant results using the eye tightener. Her before/after visual transformation serves as a powerful promise.

2. Brand Image: Although Trinidad didn't mention the brand, the viral video positively impacted Peter Thomas Roth's brand image. The product selling out is a testament to the trust and desire it created among viewers.

3. Big Ideas: The big idea here is instant transformation. Trinidad's video revolves around this central theme, which is simple yet highly impactful.

4. Don’t be a Bore: The video is anything but boring. It's short, to the point, and shows a real-life, relatable experience that keeps viewers hooked.

5. Innovate: The video is innovative in its simplicity. It doesn't use flashy graphics or a scripted pitch. It's just a genuine user showing a product in action.

6. Psychological Segmentation: The video appeals to a specific segment: individuals looking for instant skincare solutions. It addresses their pain points directly.

7. Don’t Bury News: The video doesn't bury the lead. It gets straight to the point, showing the product's effect in real-time.

8. Factual vs. Emotional: The video combines both. The factual aspect is the visible effect of the product, while the emotional aspect is the excitement and authenticity Trinidad brings.

9. Burr of Singularity: The video stands out because of its authenticity and the dramatic results it showcases. It's not a typical ad, and that's what makes it memorable.

10. Editorial Layout: The video doesn't look like an ad. It looks like someone sharing a favorite product. This editorial style makes it more engaging and trustworthy.

To sum up, Trinidad Sandoval's TikTok video is a prime example of how UGC, when aligned with Ogilvy's principles, can be incredibly powerful in direct response advertising.

It's authentic, engaging, and showcases the product's benefits in a real and relatable way. This kind of UGC can drive tremendous engagement and conversions, as evidenced by the product selling out.

But with all that said, there’s still a huge problem with UGC - even this specific UGC that did so amazing…

Direct Response UGC: The Big Problem

Believe it or not, this UGC above is actually a great example of the problem with UGC in general:

The team at Peter Thomas Roth did NOT engineer this piece of content. It was 100% a happy accident.

And for 99% of companies & agencies out there, good UGC is left completely to chance.

They don’t have an in-house system to reliably generate NEW, high-performing UGC.

I’m talking about a full-fledged, scalable system for:

• Coming up with hypothesis / specific UGC ad ideas to test

• Building the right set of instructions that UGC creator can easily follow

• Putting these instructions in front of the right kind of creator who delivers quality content, on time and following instructions

…So that you have a continual stream of new, high-performing UGC creatives to test, iterate and scale with.

Building a Direct Response UGC “Factory”?

But what if you could “implant” a Direct Response UGC “Factory” directly into your company…

…To eliminate the headache of trying to piece together random UGC that stumbles across your plate.

…So you have a system that churns out a steady stream of entirely new high-performing UGC material to test in your ads, each designed from scratch with performance in mind.

That’s what we’re going to be talking about this Thursday.

We’re interviewing the top consultant who specialist on helping companies build & optimize their very own Direct Response UGC Factory.

He steps into companies, builds out the systems and processes for ideating, sourcing and producing high-performance UGC ads on Meta/FB/IG/TikTok/YouTube…

…So that they can massively increase the volume of high quality output, leading to a higher “win rate” & more winning ads.

So if you have questions about ANY step in the UGC process, like…

• Knowing what to ask creators for - and how to make sure they deliver it

• How to reliably generate UGC-based ads that can withstand $100k+ scale on FB/IG/TikTok/YouTube

• The SOPs/processes to use to get faster lead time, less hassle & less wasted money from UGC creators

(Or if you have questions on anything else related to User Generated Content (UGC)…)

Join us for this LIVE UGC training call: 👉 https://vidtao.com/ugc-factory

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