Blind spots Killing Your Funnel

🧩 Creative Stack Mapping: which psychological states are we not addressing?, Reddit’s New Ad Tools Target SMB Growth, and more!

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In this newsletter, you’ll find:

🧩 Creative Stack Mapping: The Psychological Blind Spot Killing Your Funnel

👥 Reddit’s New Ad Tools Target SMB Growth

🏆 Ad of the Day

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🧩 Creative Stack Mapping: The Psychological Blind Spot Killing Your Funnel

Most marketers treat their creative stack like a toolbox—ads for awareness, landing pages for conversion, emails for nurture. But few treat it like a cognitive journey. That’s where the funnel breaks.

Creative Stack Mapping isn’t about “what touchpoints do we have?” It’s about “which psychological states are we not addressing?”

The Hidden Layers Between Click and Convert

Each buyer moves through 3 invisible but critical psychological checkpoints:

  1. Curiosity to Clarity
  2. Doubt to Trust
  3. Inertia to Intent

Fail to cover even one, and your conversions stall—not because of product-market fit, but because of cognitive friction.

Creative Stack Mapping means auditing each layer of your funnel through these lenses. It’s not channel-by-channel analysis—it’s emotion-state auditing.

Step 1: Map Assets to Psychological States, Not Stages

Instead of mapping “TOFU, MOFU, BOFU,” map:

  • Which creative sparks curiosity but doesn’t resolve clarity?
  • Which piece neutralizes doubt but fails to create urgency?
  • Which part makes the product desirable, but doesn’t make action feel easy or obvious?

Example: A product demo may create clarity, but does it build trust? A testimonial might build trust, but does it break inertia?

If the answer is no—you’ve found a creative gap, not a funnel gap.

Step 2: Look for Emotional Mismatches, Not Just Format Gaps

Marketers often think they need “another ad format.” More carousels. More emails. More UGC.

What they actually need is an emotional bridge:

  • A silent, B-roll-based retargeting ad might perform better than your high-production UGC—because it makes the product feel effortlessly real.
  • A simple “we know this feels risky” headline might outperform 10 trust badges—because it names the friction.

It’s not about adding assets. It’s about precision-engineering what’s missing psychologically.

Step 3: Design Creative Stacks Like a Story Arc

Imagine your funnel as a narrative:

  • Curiosity is your hook
  • Clarity is your plot
  • Trust is your conflict resolution
  • Urgency is your climax
  • Simplicity is your final nudge

If your story has holes, people drop out—not because they’re not interested, but because the emotional arc didn’t land.

Funnels don’t fail from lack of touchpoints. They fail from lack of emotional sequence. Map your stack like a story. Fill the psychological gaps. And watch your conversions stop leaking.

👥 Reddit’s New Ad Tools Target SMB Growth

Reddit is doubling down on advertising tools for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), aiming to simplify campaign setup, improve measurement, and expand placement opportunities across the platform.

The Breakdown:

1. Meta Campaign Import Simplified – Reddit Ads Manager now allows SMBs to import campaigns directly from Meta in just three steps giving advertisers a jumpstart by transforming top-performing Meta ads into Reddit-ready creatives, supporting objectives like traffic, leads, and app installs.

2. Smarter Setup and Tracking Tools – A revamped campaign review page helps advertisers spot setup issues before publishing. Plus, a new Reddit Pixel integration with Google Tag Manager and an upgraded Events Overview enhance tracking, troubleshooting, and funnel performance validation.

3. Conversation Ads Go Deeper – Reddit is expanding its Conversation Ads to appear further down comment threads, increasing reach while users are highly engaged. All advertisers are now opted into placements that meet brand safety standards, amplifying discovery moments.

4. Verified Impact and Third-Party Measurement – Through partnerships with DoubleVerify and IAS, Reddit now offers audience and performance verification. Notably, retail brands saw a $1.97 ROAS, and Nielsen predicts a 24% spend increase on Reddit could drive up to +11% in revenue.

With over 101M daily users and rising trust in real human insights, Reddit is becoming a valuable frontier for advertisers. These new tools streamline the process and prove Reddit can drive meaningful results—especially for brands looking to engage passionate communities.

🎥 Ad of the Day

What Works:

The infographic-like layout visually emphasizes key product features, like the stretchy waistband, super soft modal fabric, and built-in pocket guard. By highlighting functional benefits with simple illustrations, the ad ensures effortless comprehension.

The brand uses a bright blue and red contrast that grabs attention. The soft purple background adds a relaxing vibe, subtly connecting to the comfort-focused messaging. The Jambys logo at the bottom and the tagline “Performance Inactivewear” is a clever play on words.

The Glossy Glaze Tips logo at the bottom provides subtle but clear branding. The minimalist style prevents clutter, maintaining the luxurious feel of the ad.

What Could be Better:

Featuring multiple color options or styles could appeal to a broader audience. Including a line like “Available in colors for every mood” would add a layer of product personalization.

Broader Insights:

This ad is well-suited for platforms like Instagram Stories, Pinterest, or TikTok. Using interactive elements like a “Swipe Up” feature or an “Add to Cart” button would boost conversions.

For Meta Ads, consider a carousel format with slides dedicated to each product feature for a deeper storytelling approach.

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