Competitor Ads Analyst

Analyze competitor advertising from public ad libraries to understand what messaging, creative formats, and positioning strategies are working.

Install

git clone https://github.com/thatrebeccarae/claude-marketing.git && cp -r claude-marketing/skills/competitor-ads-analyst ~/.claude/skills/

Core Capabilities

• Extract ads from public ad libraries (Facebook, Google, TikTok, LinkedIn)
• Categorize ad creative by format, message type, and funnel stage
• Identify pain points competitors highlight (with frequency scoring)
• Map competitor positioning and find white space
• Extract headline and copy formulas
• Track creative format trends (UGC, before/after, testimonial, etc.)
• Generate competitive intelligence reports and swipe files

Ad Library Access

Workflow

1. Define Scope

• Competitors: 3-5 companies to analyze
• Timeframe: Last 30, 60, or 90 days
• Platforms: Which ad libraries to search
• Focus: Messaging, creative format, audience targeting, or all

2. Extract Ads

For each competitor, collect:

• Ad copy (headline, primary text, CTA)
• Creative format (image, video, carousel, UGC)
• Landing page URL
• Active date range (if visible)
• Platform and placement

3. Categorize

Classify each ad by:

Message Type:

• Pain point (problem-aware)
• Solution (product-aware)
• Social proof (testimonial, case study, press)
• Offer (discount, free trial, demo)
• Educational (how-to, tip, guide)
• Brand (awareness, positioning)

Funnel Stage:

• Top (awareness, problem education)
• Middle (consideration, comparison)
• Bottom (conversion, offer, urgency)

Creative Format:

• Static image
• Video (short <15s, medium 15-60s, long >60s)
• Carousel
• UGC-style
• Before/after
• Screenshot/product demo
• Testimonial quote card
• Data/stat visualization

4. Analyze Patterns

• Pain point frequency: Which problems appear most across competitors?
• Message clustering: Are competitors saying the same things?
• Format preferences: Which creative types are most used?
• Positioning map: Where does each competitor sit on key dimensions?
• Gaps: What messages/angles are NO competitors using?

5. Generate Output

Choose from: competitive report, swipe file, messaging matrix, or creative brief.

Key Principles

1. Analyze patterns, not individual ads. One ad is an anecdote; 20 ads from 5 competitors is intelligence.
2. Look for gaps, not just patterns. The most valuable finding is what competitors are NOT saying.
3. Separate observation from recommendation. Report what you see, then separately recommend what to do with it.
4. Date everything. Competitive intelligence decays fast.
5. Never copy, always adapt. The goal is informed inspiration, not plagiarism.

For analysis frameworks and output templates, see REFERENCE.md.

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Supporting file: EXAMPLES.md

Competitor Ads Analyst — Examples

Example 1: Competitor Ad Audit

Prompt:

Analyze the Facebook ads of Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Omnisend over the last 60 days. Focus on what pain points they're targeting and which creative formats they're using most.

Expected output: Competitive intelligence report with:

• 30-50 ads reviewed per competitor
• Pain point frequency table (e.g., "complexity" appears in 40% of Klaviyo ads, "price" in 60% of Mailchimp ads)
• Creative format breakdown per competitor
• Messaging clusters: "All three emphasize 'revenue attribution' — table stakes, not differentiator"
• Positioning map: Price vs. E-commerce Depth
• Gap finding: "None are targeting the 'agency' persona — opportunity for white-label messaging"

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Example 2: Messaging Gap Analysis

Prompt:

I sell a project management tool for marketing teams. Analyze how Monday.com, Asana, and ClickUp position themselves in their Google Ads and find messaging gaps I can exploit.

Expected output:

• Messaging matrix: competitor x pain point x frequency
• All three emphasize "collaboration" and "one platform" — saturated angles
• Gaps identified:
  • None target "marketing-specific workflows" (campaign planning, content calendars)
  • None mention "agency/client collaboration" pain point
  • "Reporting to leadership" angle underused
• Creative brief: recommended messaging angles with headline suggestions for each gap
• Competitive positioning map showing white space for "marketing-specific" positioning

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Example 3: Creative Swipe File

Prompt:

Build a swipe file from the top-performing ad formats I can find for DTC skincare brands on TikTok and Meta. I want to see what creative approaches are trending.

Expected output: Organized swipe file with 20-30 ads:

• Categorized by format: UGC (45%), Before/After (25%), Product Demo (15%), Stat Graphics (10%), Other (5%)
• UGC sub-patterns: "unboxing reaction," "get ready with me," "honest review"
• Copy patterns: leading with results ("In just 2 weeks..."), leading with problem ("I tried everything for...")
• Hook analysis: what the first 3 seconds look like in top video ads
• Trend notes: "Raw/authentic outperforming polished studio content 3:1"
• Actionable takeaways: 5 creative concepts to test, each inspired by patterns found

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Supporting file: REFERENCE.md

Competitor Ads Analyst — Reference

Messaging Categorization Taxonomy

Pain Point Categories

Value Proposition Categories

Creative Format Taxonomy

Static Image Formats

Video Formats

Competitive Positioning Template

2x2 Positioning Map

Y-Axis Label (e.g., "Feature Depth")
    ^
    |
    |  [Competitor A]        [Competitor B]
    |
    |         [YOUR BRAND]
    |
    |  [Competitor C]        [Competitor D]
    |
    +---------------------------------> X-Axis Label (e.g., "Price")

Common axis pairs:

• Price vs. Feature depth
• Ease of use vs. Power/flexibility
• SMB focus vs. Enterprise focus
• Specialist vs. Generalist
• Self-serve vs. Managed service

Messaging Matrix

Competitive Intelligence Report Template

# Competitive Ads Analysis: [Industry/Category]
**Period:** [Date range]
**Competitors analyzed:** [Count]
**Total ads reviewed:** [Count]
**Platforms:** [List]

## Executive Summary
- [Top 3 findings]

## Competitor Profiles

### [Competitor A]
- **Primary message:** [One-line summary]
- **Pain points targeted:** [List with frequency]
- **Creative formats:** [Most used formats]
- **Estimated volume:** [# of active ads]
- **Notable:** [Anything unusual or innovative]

### [Competitor B]
...

## Pattern Analysis

### Pain Point Frequency
| Pain Point | Frequency (% of ads) | Top User |
|------------|----------------------|----------|

### Creative Format Distribution
| Format | % of Total | Trend |
|--------|-----------|-------|

### Messaging Clusters
[Which competitors are saying similar things?]

## Gaps & Opportunities
- **Unaddressed pain points:** [What no one is talking about]
- **Underused formats:** [Creative types competitors ignore]
- **Positioning white space:** [Where no competitor sits on the map]

## Recommendations
1. [Specific recommendation with rationale]
2. [Specific recommendation with rationale]
3. [Specific recommendation with rationale]

Swipe File Format

## [Competitor Name] — [Platform]

### Ad #1
- **Headline:** [Text]
- **Primary text:** [Text]
- **CTA:** [Button text]
- **Format:** [Image/Video/Carousel]
- **Message type:** [Pain point/Solution/Social proof/Offer]
- **Funnel stage:** [Top/Middle/Bottom]
- **Landing page:** [URL]
- **Active since:** [Date if available]
- **Notes:** [What makes this ad notable]