Scalability School

Sarah Levinger, a creative strategist who blends performance marketing with behavioral science, explains how top strategists build repeatable ideation systems and stay close to customers. She digs into framing, anchoring, loss aversion, social proof versus bandwagon effects, and when to use System 1 versus System 2 thinking. The conversation stresses respectful, psychology-rooted messaging over trend-chasing.

Andrew Faris, media buyer and marketer behind AJF Growth and The Andrew Faris Podcast, brings agency growth and performance marketing chops. They unpack the Foxwell Founders 2026 report. Short takes on AI as both top opportunity and biggest threat. Quick notes on agency margins, in-housing risks, and why some founders grow for ego not strategy.

A deep dive into how AI is changing DTC creative teams and the rise of full-stack creative strategists. The idea of thinking like an allocator of AI tokens and running agent workforces comes up repeatedly. Practical use cases include using swarms of agents to analyze conversations, repurpose footage at scale, and build iterative ad variations. Hooks and creative strategy are framed as the core drivers of performance.

In this episode of Scalability School, host Andrew Foxwell is joined by Phil Kiel of Taikun Digital and co-host Brad Ploch to tackle the single most-asked question in the Foxwell Founders community: how do you actually test creative on Meta in 2026? The question was asked over 160 times in just 45 days, making it the undisputed #1 topic among media buyers and brand operators in the community. The conversation digs into two distinct camps of creative testing, forced spend (ABO) versus letting ads earn spend (CBO) and unpacks the real-world pros, cons, and trade-offs of each. Phil, who runs accounts at significant scale, makes a compelling case for the CBO-first, content-centric approach, arguing that the role of Meta's algorithm is to allocate spend to the best creative, not for buyers to manually dictate it. The episode also confronts the volume trap: the pressure media buyers feel to launch massive quantities of ads every month. Phil's take is refreshing and practical, 8 to 10 solid concepts per month (roughly 40–50 assets) is a solid starting point for most brands, built around strong creative briefs rather than raw volume. The hosts challenge the Twitter/X culture of flex-posting ad launch numbers, arguing the real metric that matters is creative quality and concept diversity. Key Takeaways: Are you forcing spend into creative tests and accidentally funding your worst ads? Is the ad set structure in your Meta account actually doing anything, or is it just an expensive folder? How many new creative concepts should you be launching per month? CBO vs. ABO for creative testing: which one is actually right for your account right now? Why launching too many ads may be training your account to spend on losers. What does it actually mean to 'let ads earn spend' and how to know when a creative concept has really failed versus just not getting a fair shot. Why creative volume is the wrong metric to optimize and what you should be tracking instead. What's the difference between a creative concept and an ad asset? The one thing you should do today if you're a brand owner paralyzed by creative output pressure. This episode of the Scalability School podcast is sponsored by NorthBeam and they just launched Northbeam Incrementality. Northbeam Incrementality gives you easy, automated, self-service incrementality tests, while protecting you from the major mistakes so many people make while running incrementality tests. Your MTA handles the daily tactics, your MMM guides the long-term planning, and Incrementality provides the causal truth. It's a closed loop that allows you to scale what works and cut what doesn't. Right now when you head over to northbeam.io/incrementality, they're offering Scalability School listeners 50% off unlimited tests for a year when you join. Just tell them we sent you! To learn more about Phil Kiel and the Taikun Digital team you can follow him on X https://x.com/PhilKiel or head to https://www.taikundigital.com/ To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at https://foxwellfounders.com/ Learn More about the The Hive Haus Creators Community at http://HiveHausUGC.com

This episode is like a Meta scaling "early warning system" masterclass. Andrew, Brad, and guest Kurt Bullock break down why so many media buyers hit a plateau (even when ROAS looks "fine") and how to diagnose it before performance rolls over. The core idea: Understanding CPMR to give you a clearer view of whether you're actually expanding into new pockets of the market or just recycling the same people harder and harder. They walk through how Meta's rolling reach report works, a sliding-window version that's more useful for ongoing decision-making, how to interpret overlap, and what to do when the numbers signal saturation (creative diversity, different angles/personas, bidding/exclusions tests, quiz-style funnels, etc.).Kurt also shares on the tool he's developed with the Foxwell Founders Community that automates these reports. Key takeaways - What's actually happing if your scaling spend while your rolling reach is flat. What comes next when ROAS looks stable… but your net new reach % is dropping The difference between rolling reach vs net new reach… and which one will predict your ad fatigue. How tracking this metric will help you spot when delivery is getting expensive due to audience fatigue. Are your "winning" campaigns winning because they're good… or because they're overlapping like crazy with what's already working? The overlap % is the "uh oh" zone of death for reaching Net New Customers How you might be leaning too hard on one motivator/angle and keeping Meta from finding new pockets even when launching fresh ads. Why whitelisting is known for lowering CPMR and unlocking different ad distribution. - Why testing with exclusions is still a good practice for your campaigns. If you had one report to tell you "you're fine today, but cooked next month," would you be running it weekly? To Get the Net New Reach Reporting Tool, head to https://tools.producedept.co/ This episode of the Scalability School podcast is sponsored by NorthBeam and they just launched Northbeam Incrementality. Northbeam Incrementality gives you easy, automated, self-service incrementality tests, while protecting you from the major mistakes so many people make while running incrementality tests. Your MTA handles the daily tactics, your MMM guides the long-term planning, and Incrementality provides the causal truth. It's a closed loop that allows you to scale what works and cut what doesn't. Right now when you head over to https://northbeam.io/incrementality, they're offering Scalability School listeners 50% off unlimited tests for a year when you join. Just tell them we sent you! To learn more about Kurt Bullock, you can follow him on X https://x.com/KurtBullock To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at https://foxwellfounders.com/ Learn More about the The Hive Haus Creators Community at http://HiveHausUGC.com

In this episode of Scalability School, Andrew and Brad are joined by Daniel Okon, CEO of ACTIV, a growing digital first agency that has also moved to incubating/growing multiple 7 figure brands in the health & wellness space, to decode Meta's "Andromeda" update. Andromeda has created a huge shift in the ad ecosystem where the algorithm (via systems like GEM and Lattice) now aggressively favor true creative diversity over simple iterations. Daniel breaks down why old scaling methods like duplicating winners or making minor tweaks are yielding diminishing returns. Instead, he introduces a research heavy framework focused on identifying "sub-avatars" (specific customer behaviors or pain points, like "bloating after pizza") rather than broad demographics. The conversation covers the tactical "pull forward" method for extending winning angles into new formats, how to conduct manual research that AI can't replicate, and why your creator briefs should focus on trust and niche authority over brand aesthetics. If you've been stumped by Andromeda, Daniel and the Scalability team do a great job sucinctly explaining the changes and what advertisers need to do to be successful on the platform once again. Key Takeaways: Is your ad account suffering because you're confusing "creative volume" with actual "creative diversity"? Why Meta's new "GEM" system penalizes ads that look different but mean the same thing. How most advertisers are capping their own scale by targeting broad demographics over specific "sub-avatars". How the "Spray and Pray" testing method has all but ran out of ink and the "Exploration vs. Expansion" framework that is replacing it? How a simple "Q&A" static image can easily outperform a high-production video ad in the new world of Andromeda. This episode of the Scalability School podcast is sponsored by NorthBeam and they just launched Northbeam Incrementality. Northbeam Incrementality gives you easy, automated, self-service incrementality tests, while protecting you from the major mistakes so many people make while running incrementality tests. Your MTA handles the daily tactics, your MMM guides the long-term planning, and Incrementality provides the causal truth. It's a closed loop that allows you to scale what works and cut what doesn't. Right now when you head over to northbeam.io/incrementality, they're offering Scalability School listeners 50% off unlimited tests for a year when you join. Just tell them we sent you! To learn more about Daniel Okon and his team you can follow him on X https://x.com/thedanielokon or head to www.weareactiv.com To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at https://foxwellfounders.com/ Learn More about the The Hive Haus Creators Community at http://HiveHausUGC.com

Walks through grounding growth forecasts in historical data and mapping revenue and ad spend month-by-month. Explains spotting a brand's ad-spend ceiling and planning for CAC degradation when scaling. Covers the two machines model: raise customer value or boost operational efficiency to fund more ads. Emphasizes monthly forecast vs actual reviews, cashflow and inventory limits, and avoiding hire and retail bloat.

This episode is a tactical breakdown of AppLovin as a scaled acquisition channel—what's actually different vs Meta, what you should change in creative + campaign structure, and how to think about incrementality + reporting so you don't judge it with the wrong yardstick. Miranda Pettinger, Performance Marketing Manager at 365 Holdings explains how they onboarded to the platform when Meta was underperforming and AppLovin started popping off in buyer circles. They used a Triple Whale onboarding credit to test with low risk, and at the time it wasn't even self-serve (you had to Slack the rep for changes). The short on "why AppLovin works" is AppLovin's rewarded inventory creates an opt-in attention trade ("watch this 30s ad, get coins"), which changes the psychology from "I'm annoyed by ads" to "I'm choosing to watch this." That makes the creative game feel closer to a 30-second TV spot: you've got time to explain, objection-handle, and sell in one sitting. From there it turns into a playbook with these Keytakeaways: 18:30 Bidding / structure: ROAS vs cost-per-purchase, why value doesn't work for some catalogs and how to structure campaigns 19:40 DPAs + catalog control: Why DPAs can help if you've got lots of variants and the importance of controlling what products show up. 25:50 Measurement reality: AppLovin tends to under-report purchases, especially at scale, so you want to validate with post-purchase survey, MER/traffic lift and/or a 3rd party data tool. 29:30 Incrementality / overlap: The Meta+AppLovin overlap and how Meta+Google overlap is likely way bigger. 33:55 Creative testing: unlike Meta where "testing vs scaling" can feel walled off, AppLovin can allow new winners to climb fast inside the same campaign, without dumping spend on junk. 38:30 End cards: offers matter a lot. How animation helps, and showing variants (colors/metal types) can lift clicks To connect with Miranda, you can follow her on x at https://x.com/mirandpettinger To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at https://foxwellfounders.com/

This episode is basically a tactical hands-on walkthrough for using AI in creative, without turning your ad account into generic "AI slop." Will Sartourious, owner of Selfmade.co, an agency that focuses on AI personas and AI performance creatives, joins us to lead us through his AI creative process and the importance of AI adoption in the social creative space. He primarily lumps current AI creative usage into two buckets: Type 1: "Clone this ad for me." Fast volume, but you drift into sameness. Type 2: Use AI to do the thinking work (research, synthesis, structure), then let humans do the "mushy middle" that differentiates. He's big on building PAM clusters (Persona–Angle–Motivation) so strategists aren't winging it and you can see where your creative gaps are before you ship more ads. From here we get into the nitty gritty of his current workflows: Static → GIF/video: why GIFs often beat statics in clean A/Bs, and how to generate animated variants fast. Tool split: Will uses Claude for more "creative" thinking, but uses ChatGPT specifically because it reads on-ad copy more reliably critical when your prompt needs to include every word that appears on the creative. Prompt iteration loop: generate → inspect output → feed output back in → ask for prompt correction (ex: "the copy disappears—fix it so it stays on screen"). Midjourney reality check: great for vibes/backdrops and motion experiments, but "sucks at product rendering," so you generate the scene and then swap in the real product using other tools. We also dive into these Key takeaways How to find the missing creative angles in your account before spending another dollar. Cut out the Middle man: How you can stop using stock photos entirely with AI, without the brand even noticing. The fastest way to turn a winning static into a GIF without opening any editing software. Why including every word of on-ad copy in the prompt matters more than being a "prompt genius". Why this AI tool is a secret weapon for AI creativity (It's literally 10X better than ChatGPT). The feedback-loop method to improve prompts without manually tweaking yourself into madness (we've all been here). The 1 tip that will make your AI people look less "plastic" and more realistic (texture/pores/realism) How Will used Sore to close a client live mid-call and how you can too. Grab Will's notes and see the final products produced during the episode, here. This episode is sponsored by Northbeam, the marketing attribution platform that we love here at Scalability School. If you're ready to cut through the noise, stop guessing, and actually see which ads are driving your business, book a demo at www.northbeam.io/demo, and tell them Scalability School sent you. Join the club. To connect with Will Sartorious, you can follow him on x at https://x.com/will_sartorius or www.Selfmade.co To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at https://foxwellfounders.com/

*]:pointer-events-auto [content-visibility:auto] supports-[content-visibility:auto]:[contain-intrinsic-size:auto_100lvh] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" tabindex="-1" data-turn-id= "039e736c-4eb5-4502-a0c0-eae8ef56dab4" data-testid= "conversation-turn-4" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn= "assistant"> This bonus BFCM episode is a full debrief on what actually worked over Black Friday/Cyber Monday with real numbers, not theory. Zach Stuck comes out of paternity leave to break down his most recent Twitter "Beef" on why most Google agencies have their incentives completely misaligned (especially when they're charging % of spend on branded search). He also goes over how his team engineered a BFCM weekend that drove huge revenue without torching margin. We walk through this offer that took hourly revenue from ~$50k to $142k and then again to $172k while still holding around 9x MER. We cover the exact structure of the offer, how it affected AOV, and why time-boxing the offer beat running a gift-with-purchase the entire weekend. You'll also hear how they built daily and hourly pacing models out of Shopify and ad platform data so they knew by midday whether they were ahead, behind, or needed to push harder. From there, we get into the channel and creative side: how much budget actually went into BFCM-specific ads vs evergreen, the retention structure that printed 10x+ ROAS and the specific ad concepts that spent over Black Friday and held strong through Cyber Monday. We even talk about total amount of emails and sms messages that went out on Black Friday alone, and why the list didn't revolt. If you're a media buyer or e-com operator looking to turn BFCM from "hope and vibes" into a repeatable system, this episode is basically the playbook you'd normally only get inside a private Slack group (like the Foxwell Founders Community). Key Takeaways: What actually happens when you time-box an offer to a single hour on Black Friday. How many emails and texts you can really send on Black Friday before you burn your list The importance of building a BFCM pacing sheet to know if you're behind and need to push. How much budget actually went into BFCM-specific creative vs evergreen ads. What a "creative diversity" roadmap for BFCM actually looks like in practice. How you can structure a Meta retention campaign that prints a 10x+ ROAS without lying to yourself (or clients) about incrementality. How to let creative do the targeting and still keep accounts manageable through the BFCM chaos The specific BFCM ad concepts that actually spent $90k+ and worked. To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at https://foxwellfounders.com/ Learn more about Andromeda and GEM as Andrew breaks them down on the Perpetual Traffic Podcast. https://www.foxwelldigital.com/blog/the-new-meta-gem-era-how-andromeda-creative-diversification-amp-organic-signals-are-reshaping-performance-marketing