🧠 Your competitors are running the same ad for 6 months.

Welcome back to the 74th edition of Nord Media

There was a point in my DTC journey where I was fed up.

I’d see brands running the same ads for months, sometimes an entire year, while mine burned out in weeks. 

No matter how much I tested, no matter how many variations I launched, nothing seemed to stick. 

I was on a never-ending hamster wheel, constantly chasing the next winning ad, only to watch it die out just as fast as it started working.

At first, I thought these brands were just getting lucky. 

Maybe they had bigger budgets? Were their products just that good? 

But then I started paying closer attention, studying their ads, tracking how they evolved over time, and I realized… it wasn’t luck at all. 

They had a system. A process for creating evergreen creative that didn’t just last but actually got stronger the longer it ran.

This goes beyond just ads. 

The same principles that make an ad scale for months are the same ones that make a brand memorable, a personal brand recognizable, and a message stick. 

Whether you’re running paid media, growing an audience, or trying to build something that stands the test of time, the key is balancing novelty, consistency, and message layering in the right way.

So today, we’re breaking down how the biggest DTC brands engineer evergreen creative that scales for months and how you can apply the same approach to anything you’re building. 

Let’s get into it.

The Process for Designing Creatives That Last Instead of Dying in Weeks

You're stuck in the wrong cycle if you’re constantly churning out new ads because yours burn out in weeks.

Creative shouldn’t be a disposable asset. 

You must build ads that compound over time, getting stronger the longer they run.

To do this:

1. Find the Core Concept, Not Just the Creative

Instead of focusing on the ad itself, ask, what’s the core idea that makes it work? 

• If you’re constantly reinventing the wheel, you’re making it harder than it needs to be.

• Instead, take your best-performing ads and evolve them. 

• Keep the core idea intact while testing different hooks, formats, and angles. 

Not only will these ads last, but they’ll also successfully scale.

2. Layer Your Message Over Time

One of the biggest mistakes you might be making is trying to say everything in one ad. 

• When you overload a single creative, people tune out. 

• Break your messaging into layers. 

• One ad introduces the concept, another reinforces it, and a third expands on it. 

This way, you stay fresh while keeping a consistent message that sticks.

3. Balance Novelty with Familiarity

If you switch things up too often, your audience won’t recognize your ads. But if you don’t change anything, performance tanks. 

• The key is controlled evolution. 

• Keep familiar elements, your best headline, a winning testimonial, a signature visual style, while refreshing the details. 

Think of it like a song remix: the foundation stays the same, but the experience feels new.

4. Test Variations, Not Random Ideas

Creative testing is not a guessing game. Throwing out new concepts every time an ad starts to fatigue won’t work. 

You don’t need new. You need better. 

• Instead of scrapping what’s working, test small but meaningful changes.

• Tweak the opening 3 seconds, swap the CTA, and adjust the framing. 

A slight shift in execution can extend an ad’s life by months.

5. Build a Creative Library, Not Just One-Off Ads

If every ad you make is a one-and-done, you’re making your job harder than it needs to be. 

Don’t start from scratch every time. Instead, build a library of proven creative elements that can be repurposed across campaigns. 

• When you have a structured system for evolving and recycling your best concepts, you’re never scrambling for new ideas.

• When you get this right, creative stops being a short-term play. 

Instead of chasing the next best thing, you’re building assets that keep working for months.

How to Balance Novelty, Consistency, and Message Layering Over Time

​​If you’ve ever had an ad go from a top performer to completely dead in a matter of weeks, you know the struggle. 

One minute, it’s printing money. The next, it’s costing you more than it’s making.

So what do you do? You scramble to make something new. 

But if you change things too often, your audience never connects with your message. If you don’t change things at all, they get fatigued and stop paying attention.

So don’t guess their way through this. Instead, engineer your creative evolution with a strategy built on these three key factors:

1. Use Novelty to Reignite Engagement

Your audience craves freshness. But that doesn’t mean you need to start from scratch every time. Instead of reinventing the wheel, introduce controlled novelty. 

• Change small but high-impact elements.

• Swap the first three seconds of a video, introduce a new color scheme, or test a different UGC voiceover. 

The goal isn’t to throw out what’s working. It’s to refresh it just enough to grab attention again.

2. Keep Consistency to Build Recognition

Ever notice how the best brands can run an ad for months without it feeling stale? 

That’s because they repeat their core message while subtly evolving the creative. 

• Your audience needs repetition to remember you. 

• That means keeping key elements consistent with a signature tagline, a recognizable visual style, or a specific problem-solution framing. 

The more they see it, the more it sticks.

3. Layer Your Message Over Time to Deepen the Impact

Think of your marketing like a TV series. 

• The first ad (Episode 1) introduces a core idea. The next one builds on it. The next one expands it even further. 

• Instead of trying to say everything in one creative, spread your messaging across multiple touchpoints. 

• Maybe the first ad highlights a major pain point, the second builds trust with testimonials, and the third showcases a unique product feature. 

This way, you’re creating a story that keeps people engaged.

So next time an ad starts to fatigue, don’t hit reset. Evolve it.

Next Steps: How to Apply This to Your Brand Starting Today

Knowing how the biggest DTC brands engineer evergreen creative is one thing. Actually applying it to your own brand is where the impact will happen. 

So instead of just reading this and moving on, here’s how you can start making your creative last longer. Starting today.

1. Identify Your Winning Creative (Or Best Starting Point)

Go into your ad account and look at your best-performing ad from the last 3-6 months. 

If nothing stands out, find an ad that had potential.

• Good engagement. 

• A strong hook, 

• Solid conversion rates. 

This is your foundation.

2. Break Down What Made It Work

Ask yourself:

• Was it the opening hook?

• The way the problem was framed?

• A specific UGC style?

• The testimonial or social proof?

Your goal is to pinpoint the core concept that resonated so you can build on it instead of starting from scratch.

3. Plan Your First Iteration, Not a New Ad

Instead of rushing to create a brand-new concept, tweak your winning ad.

• Swap the opening three seconds.

• Change the CTA.

• Test a different creator saying the same script.

• Adjust the visuals while keeping the messaging the same.

This small change can extend the lifespan of an ad without losing the recognition you’ve built.

4. Map Out Your Message Layering Strategy

Look at your current ads and ask: Are you trying to say everything at once? If so, break your messaging into phases.

• Phase 1: Introduce the pain point.

• Phase 2: Reinforce trust (reviews, testimonials).

• Phase 3: Highlight a unique feature or offer.

Instead of running a single ad to do all the heavy lifting, layer your message so people stay engaged over time.

5. Create a Simple Creative Testing System

You don’t need to overcomplicate this. Start by:

• Keeping a running doc of your best-performing creatives.

• Planning 1-2 small iterations before an ad fatigues.

• Setting a reminder to refresh winning ads every 4-6 weeks before they die out.

If you make this a habit, you’ll never be scrambling for new ideas again.

Closing Thoughts

I know this struggle firsthand. 

For years, I was caught in the cycle of launching ads, watching them burn out in weeks, then scrambling to make something new.

 It felt like no matter how much effort I put in, I was always behind, always chasing.

But everything changed once I figured out how to engineer creative that lasts. 

I was able to build a system that allowed me to extend the life of my best work, evolve messaging without losing momentum, and scale without the constant pressure of coming up with something brand new every time.

And if I could figure this out, I truly believe you can too.

Start with one ad. 

Find what’s working, tweak it instead of replacing it, and start layering your messaging instead of cramming everything into a single creative. 

Build your process one step at a time, and before you know it, you’ll be running a machine that scales effortlessly.

Connect with me on social 👇
LinkedIn • Instagram • Twitter 

Thank you for reading! I appreciate you.

Sincerely,
Kody