Vertical playbooks

Hook + clarity + CTA all heavy. Brand-fit lighter — DTC ads cap at mid-tier brand chrome before native feel suffers.

• Rubric preset: Ecommerce / DTC
• Compliance posture: Standard (or Strict if claims-heavy)
• Hook formulas that work: problem-agitate-solution, social proof, before/after reveals
• Avoid: generic studio talking-head, slow logo intros, voiceover with no captions
• Common pitfall: heavy brand chrome (logos, lower-thirds) hurts native feel by ~20 points

Hook and brand-fit both heavy. Native-feel high. Beauty ads can carry more brand chrome than DTC overall — beautifully shot product inserts work — but the opening 2 seconds still has to scroll-stop.

• Rubric preset: Beauty / fashion
• Compliance posture: FTC if you're running creator partnerships
• Hook formulas that work: reveal, transformation, controversial-take, side-by-side comparison
• Avoid: lookbook-style edits with no on-camera presence, sound-on-only routines
• Common pitfall: forgetting #ad / #partner disclosures on creator content (FTC + TikTok policy)

UGC-organic preset. Native feel maxed. Caution on claim language — this is the vertical where banned-word lists pay for themselves.

• Rubric preset: UGC / creator-organic
• Compliance posture: Strict
• Banned words to add: "cure," "guaranteed," "FDA-approved," "clinical," specific medical terms
• Hook formulas that work: pattern interrupt (gym setting), problem-agitate, before/after
• Avoid: studio-style ads with paid VO, lookalike actors, before/after timelines that aren't time-stamped
• Common pitfall: implied medical claims ("helps you sleep," "reduces inflammation") without substantiation

The outlier. Clarity is heaviest, native-feel intentionally dialed back — a clear demo can beat a pattern-interrupt opener for B2B audiences who came in via search intent.

• Rubric preset: SaaS / B2B
• Compliance posture: Standard
• Hook formulas that work: question-hook, pain-point callouts, time-saved framing, "here's what your team is doing wrong"
• Avoid: Gen-Z slang, "raw" UGC framing for enterprise audiences, dance trends
• Common pitfall: chasing virality metrics. SaaS ad performance is judged on demo-request rate, not view count

The most-regulated vertical TikTok allows. Compliance posture matters more than rubric tuning. Most B2C fintech ads on TikTok are creator-led with the brand featured as a tool, not the hero.

• Rubric preset: Balanced with clarity bumped to 140
• Compliance posture: Strict
• Banned words: "guaranteed returns," "risk-free," "double your money," specific yield numbers
• Hook formulas that work: educational ("here's what most people don't know"), demystification
• Avoid: aspirational lifestyle ads, anything implying past performance predicts future returns

Different rubric than brand-direct ads — affiliate detection tilts the analyzer toward FTC disclosure timing, code clarity, save-bait, comment-bait CTA, and Spark-Ad suitability. Native execution is non-negotiable.

• Rubric preset: Affiliate / TikTok Shop
• Compliance posture: TikTok Shop
• Hook formulas that work: review-style, "I bought this so you don't have to," haul, comparison
• Avoid: studio polish (caps native feel at 50), corporate VO, branded lower-thirds
• Common pitfall: missing #ad before the first product mention; ambiguous "use code TIK" without a clear deal
• For deeper detail, read the affiliate-rubric article at /affiliate

UGC-organic preset works. Hook is everything — the first frame has to convey "this is interesting" without explaining what the game is. Gameplay footage in the first 3 seconds works when it's either visually striking or showcases a moment of tension.

• Rubric preset: UGC / creator-organic
• Hook formulas that work: gameplay mid-action, reaction shot, "watch what happens," controversial gameplay opinion
• Avoid: title-card intros, slow zooms, splash screens
• Common pitfall: relying on VO for stakes; mute-friendly text overlays carry the tension

Educational hook + creator authority. The best-performing course ads are creator-led talking-head with strong on-screen text, shot in a real (not studio) setting.

• Rubric preset: Balanced with hook + clarity at 140
• Compliance posture: FTC
• Hook formulas that work: contrarian-take, "everything you know is wrong," specific-stat opener
• Avoid: testimonial walls, vague outcome promises ("change your life"), motivational fluff
• Common pitfall: implying income outcomes that aren't backed by typical-results data

Set the Brand Kit vertical preset to your industry once at /account/team/brand-kit. Every team analysis from then on is automatically tuned to your vertical's realities — no per-run prompt-injection, no manual override.