How to Run a Seasonal UGC Campaign: Start to Finish

Why Seasonal UGC Campaigns Drive ROAS

You're staring at your Meta Ads Manager dashboard in late August, and your ROAS is flatlined at 1.8x. Your evergreen creative is exhausted. You know Black Friday is coming in 12 weeks, but your team doesn't have a single video asset ready. Your competitors are already filming. This is the exact moment seasonal UGC campaigns separate winners from the rest.

Seasonal campaigns aren't just about running ads during holidays. They're about building a production and testing timeline that aligns with buyer intent peaks, giving you a 4-8 week runway to iterate on creative before peak traffic arrives. Brands that plan seasonal campaigns 8-12 weeks in advance see 15-35% higher ROAS during peak periods compared to last-minute creative scrambles, according to performance marketing benchmarks across DTC categories.

The reason is mechanical: seasonal UGC campaigns let you test 20-40 variations of product positioning, hook styles, and pain-point framings before your paid spend scales. You're not guessing. You're rotating through 5-10 different creator personalities, filming styles, and messaging angles during your testing window, then doubling down on the 2-3 winners during peak season. That's the playbook this article walks you through.

Phase 1: Planning and Strategy (8-12 Weeks Prior)

Your first step isn't creative. It's data. Before you brief a single creator, you need to know what your audience is searching for, what messaging moved them last year, and how much budget you're allocating to this season.

Define Your Seasonal Window and Revenue Target

Start with a clear definition of your seasonal peak. For most DTC brands, this is:

• Black Friday/Cyber Monday (Sept-Nov 15 for setup, Nov 15-Dec 5 for peak)
• Holiday gifting (Oct-Dec, peak Dec 1-2

3)

• New Year/Resolution (Nov-Jan, peak Jan 1-3

1)

• Summer/Spring (Feb-May for summer prep, March-May peak)
• Back-to-school (June-Sept, peak Aug 1-Sept

5)

Define your window in your brand's calendar right now. If you're reading this in October and your peak is Black Friday, you have 6-8 weeks. Adjust timelines accordingly.

Next, set a revenue target. This should come from your finance/growth lead. Example: "We want to hit $400k in revenue during Black Friday week." From that, back into your ROAS target and budget. If your average order value is $75, and you're targeting 2.5x ROAS on paid spend, you need $400k / $75 = 5,333 orders. At 2.5x ROAS, that's $160k in ad spend. That's your benchmark.

Now work backward: if you're running ads for 3 weeks at peak (Nov 15-Dec 5), that's $160k / 21 days = $7,600/day spend. Your creative refresh needs to sustain that velocity without fatigue. You'll need 15-25 unique UGC videos rotating through your ad sets.

Audit Last Year's Performance (or Competitor Benchmarks)

If you ran a seasonal campaign last year, pull the data:

• Which video hooks got the highest CTR? (target: 1.5-3.5% for UGC on Meta)
• Which pain points resonated most? (track in comments and conversion pixel data)
• What was your CPC and CPA during peak vs. off-season? (typical range: $0.50-$1.50 CPC peak, $0.30-$0.80 off-season)
• Which creator demographics (age, niche, style) drove the highest ROAS? (track by creator profile in your ad library)

If this is your first seasonal campaign, benchmark against competitor ads. Use Meta Ad Library or TikTok Creative Center to see what 3-5 competitors are running. Save 10-15 examples of ads that are getting heavy rotation (indicator of performance). Note the hook, the product angle, the call-to-action, the creator type.

Document this in a one-page creative brief template:

Creative Performance Brief:

• Top 3 hooks (from last year or competitors): [list them]
• Pain points that convert: [list 3-5]
• Best-performing creator archetypes: [e.g., "relatable millennial woman, 25-35, casual style"]
• CPA target for this season: [your number]
• ROAS target: [your number]
• Budget allocation: [total ad spend]

Allocate Budget Across Testing and Scaling Phases

Here's a realistic budget breakdown for a $160k seasonal campaign:

• Testing phase (Weeks 1-4, 8-12 weeks prior): 15% of budget = $24k. This is where you run 15-20 video variations across small ad sets ($200-500 each) to find winners. You're measuring CTR, CPC, and early conversion metrics.
• Validation phase (Weeks 5-6, 4-6 weeks prior): 20% of budget = $32k. You've identified 4-6 winners from testing. You're scaling these to $1,500-3,000 ad sets, testing audience combinations and placements.
• Peak season (Weeks 7-10, during campaign): 65% of budget = $104k. You're running 4-6 proven winners at scale, with weekly creative rotation to fight fatigue.

This allocation assumes you're running Meta and TikTok. If you're TikTok-only, compress testing to 3 weeks and allocate 20% to testing (TikTok's algorithm is faster). If you're Meta-only, add 1-2 weeks to testing.

Create a Messaging Framework

You need 3-5 distinct messaging angles before you brief creators. These aren't copy lines; they're positioning frameworks that will guide each creator's interpretation.

Example for a DTC skincare brand targeting Black Friday:

1. Problem-agitate angle: "Your skin in winter is dry, flaky, irritated. This fixes it in 2 weeks." (creator shows before/after, real skin texture)
2. FOMO/scarcity angle: "Black Friday only. 40% off. This deal doesn't come back." (creator unboxes, shows discount code)
3. Social proof angle: "100k people fixed their skin with this. Here's what changed for me." (creator testimonial, transformation)
4. Comparison angle: "I tried 5 skincare brands. This one actually works. Here's why." (creator side-by-side comparison)
5. Lifestyle angle: "My morning routine changed my skin. Here's what I use." (creator shows routine, product integration)

Each angle will be filmed by different creators, in different styles. Your testing phase will show you which angles drive the lowest CPA. By week 6, you'll have killed 2-3 angles and scaled the top

2.

Phase 2: Creator Sourcing and Selection (6-8 Weeks Prior)

This is where most brands fail. They wait until 4 weeks out, then panic-hire creators at premium rates and get mediocre turnaround. You're sourcing now.

Define Your Creator Profiles

Before you open a sourcing platform, write down exactly who you need. Based on your messaging framework above, you need different creator types.

For the skincare example, you'd need:

• Type A (Problem-agitate): Skincare educators, 25-40, medium following (10k-100k), known for before/afters and product reviews. Niche: skincare, wellness.
• Type B (FOMO/scarcity): Lifestyle creators, 20-35, micro to mid-following (5k-50k), known for unboxing and hauls. Niche: beauty, lifestyle.
• Type C (Social proof): Testimonial creators, 25-45, any following size, authentic and relatable. Niche: wellness, real-life content.
• Type D (Comparison): Product reviewers, 18-40, mid-following (10k-100k), known for side-by-sides and honest reviews. Niche: beauty, skincare.
• Type E (Lifestyle): Morning/evening routine creators, 20-40, micro-following (1k-50k), aesthetic and aspirational. Niche: lifestyle, wellness.

For each type, define:

• Follower count range
• Content style (aesthetic, raw, educational, comedic)
• Niche/category they post in
• Engagement rate minimum (typically 2-5% for UGC creators)

Source Creators on UGC Roster

Use UGC Roster to find creators matching your profiles. Based on creator profiles in the UGC Roster directory, you can filter by niche, follower range, and content style. Search for 20-30 creators matching each profile type (100-150 total creators to start).

For each creator, note:

• Their rate (typical range for UGC: $100-500 per video, depending on follower count and experience)
• Their turnaround time (standard: 3-7 days)
• Their past UGC work (portfolio videos)
• Their engagement rate and audience demographics

Create a sourcing spreadsheet with columns for: Creator Name | Niche | Rate | Turnaround | Portfolio Link | Fit Score (1-5). You'll use this to prioritize outreach.

Prioritize and Outreach

Rank your 100-150 creators by fit score. Start outreach to your top

1. Your goal is to hire 15-20 creators for this seasonal campaign.

Outreach template:

"Hi [Creator Name], I'm [Your Name] at [Brand]. We're launching a seasonal campaign for [Season] and love your [specific content style/niche]. We're looking for UGC creators to film 1-2 product videos for us. Rate is [your budget], turnaround is [timeline]. If interested, reply with your rate and availability. Here's more info: [link to brief or brand site]."

Expect a 20-35% response rate on cold outreach to creators with established UGC portfolios. If you're reaching out to 50 creators, expect 10-17 responses. Aim to hire 15-20 total, so you may need to outreach to 60-80 creators.

Hiring timeline: Start outreach 6-8 weeks prior. Aim to have all creators confirmed and signed (with rate and turnaround locked) by week 4 (4-6 weeks prior to peak season).

Negotiate Rates and Turnaround

Standard UGC rates for seasonal campaigns:

• Micro creators (under 10k followers, new to UGC): $100-200 per video
• Emerging UGC creators (10k-50k followers, 1-2 years UGC experience): $200-350 per video
• Established UGC creators (50k+ followers, 3+ years UGC experience, portfolio of wins): $350-500+ per video

For a seasonal campaign with 15-20 creators filming 1-2 videos each, budget $3,000-7,000 on creator fees. This is 2-4% of your total ad spend ($160k example), which is reasonable.

Negotiate turnaround aggressively: aim for 5-7 day turnaround for all creators. If a creator needs 14+ days, pass. You don't have time.

For seasonal campaigns, consider offering:

• A flat rate for 2 videos (e.g., $300 for 2 videos instead of $150 each)
• A bonus if the video hits a certain performance threshold (e.g., "$50 bonus if CTR exceeds 2.5%"). This incentivizes quality.

Phase 3: Briefing and Production (4-6 Weeks Prior)

You've hired your creators. Now you brief them. This is where most campaigns fail because briefs are vague, creators guess at what you want, and you get mediocre footage.

Write Detailed, Specific Briefs

Your brief isn't a paragraph. It's a 1-2 page document with:

1. Campaign context: "We're running a Black Friday campaign targeting women 25-40 who care about clean skincare. This video will run on Meta and TikTok."
2. Your messaging angle: "This video should focus on [specific angle from your framework]. Show the problem, then the solution. Make it feel real, not polished."
3. Product details: "You'll receive [product name, quantity, description]. The key benefits are [list 3-5]. The price point is [price], on sale for [sale price]."
4. Hook requirements: "Your first 3 seconds must grab attention. Examples of hooks that work: [list 2-3 specific hooks]. Avoid [list 2-3 things to avoid]."
5. Video specs: "Vertical video (9:16), 30-60 seconds, shot on phone or professional camera (both work). No music required (we'll add it). Deliver as MP4."
6. Call-to-action: "End with: 'Link in bio' or 'Shop now' or [your specific CTA]. Don't hard-sell."
7. Tone: "Authentic and relatable. This isn't an ad. It's you, actually using the product and sharing your honest experience."
8. Examples: "Here are 3 videos we love that capture the vibe: [link 1], [link 2], [link 3]."

Example brief for skincare creator (Type A, problem-agitate angle):

Subject: UGC Brief

• [Brand] Skincare, Black Friday Campaign

Hi [Creator Name],

Thanks for signing on to film for us. Here's what we need:

Campaign: Black Friday skincare campaign, targeting women 25-40 concerned about winter dryness and sensitivity.

Your angle: Problem-agitate. Show your skin concern (dryness, flakiness, sensitivity), then show how [Product Name] fixes it. Real before/after, real skin texture. No filter.

Product: [Brand] [Product Name]. Clean skincare, dermatologist-tested. You'll receive 1 bottle in the mail. Key benefits: hydrates in 48 hours, no irritation, lasts 4 weeks.

Hook (first 3 seconds): Open with your skin problem. Examples:

• "My skin in winter is a disaster. Here's what I use to fix it."
• "Winter skincare that actually works."
• "This fixed my dry, flaky skin in 2 weeks."

Don't open with the product name. Open with the problem.

Video specs:

• Vertical (9:

16)

• 45-60 seconds
• Shot on phone or camera (phone is fine)
• Deliver as MP4, high quality (1080p minimum)

Tone: Authentic. You're not an actor. You're a real person sharing what worked for you.

Call-to-action: End with "Link in bio" or "Shop [Brand] Black Friday sale." Keep it casual.

Examples of videos we love:

• [Link to competitor video 1: before/after, problem-focused]
• [Link to competitor video 2: real skin, no filter]
• [Link to competitor video 3: honest testimonial]

Turnaround: Film and deliver by [date, 5-7 days from today]. Revisions available if needed.

Rate: [Rate agreed]. Payment upon delivery.

Let me know if you have questions. Excited to see what you create!

[Your name]

---

This level of specificity cuts revision requests in half and dramatically improves creative quality.

Build a Production Schedule

You're hiring 15-20 creators. You can't brief them all at once and expect them to deliver in the same week (that's a bottleneck). Stagger briefs across 2 weeks.

Week 1 (4-6 weeks prior): Brief creators 1-7 (your top creators, fastest turnaround). Target delivery: 1 week later.
Week 2 (3-5 weeks prior): Brief creators 8-1

1. Target delivery: 1 week later.

Week 3 (2-4 weeks prior): Brief creators 16-20 (backup creators, or second video from top performers). Target delivery: 1 week later.

This staggered approach gives you a rolling pipeline of creative. By week 4 (2-4 weeks prior), you have 15-20 videos ready to test.

Manage Revisions Quickly

You'll get revisions wrong. A creator will misinterpret your brief. A video will be too polished or too raw. Have a revision process:

• Revision window: 2 days. Creator has 2 days to submit 1 revision after you provide feedback.
• Revision scope: Max 1 revision per creator per video. If it's still wrong, move on and hire a different creator for that angle.
• Feedback specificity: Don't say "Make it more authentic." Say: "The first 3 seconds are too polished. Can you re-shoot the opening with natural lighting, no makeup? We want it to feel like a real person, not an ad."

Phase 4: Testing and Live Launch (2-4 Weeks Prior)

You have 15-20 videos. Now you test them.

Set Up Testing Ad Sets in Meta Ads Manager

Create a testing campaign in Meta Ads Manager with the following structure:

Campaign: [Season] Testing (e.g., "Black Friday Testing")
Budget: $24k (from your Phase 1 allocation)
Duration: 2 weeks

Ad Sets (1 per video or per messaging angle):

• Ad Set 1: Problem-agitate angle (3 video variations)
• Ad Set 2: FOMO/scarcity angle (3 video variations)
• Ad Set 3: Social proof angle (3 video variations)
• Ad Set 4: Comparison angle (3 video variations)
• Ad Set 5: Lifestyle angle (3 video variations)

Budget per ad set: $1,200 (split evenly across 20 ad sets, or $1,500 if you're testing 16 videos). This is enough to get 500-1,000 impressions, 20-50 clicks, and 2-5 conversions per video.

Audience: Your core conversion audience (people who have purchased before, or lookalike audience based on customers). Keep it tight. You're not optimizing for reach; you're optimizing for signal.

Bidding: Conversion-optimized bidding (CBO or manual cost cap). Target your historical CPA or 20% higher. Example: if your average CPA is $40, set a cost cap of $4

8.

Track Metrics Obsessively

You need to measure:

1. CTR (click-through rate): Target 1.5-3.5% for UGC on Meta. Anything below 1% is a killer. Pause it.
2. CPC (cost per click): Typical range $0.50-$1.50 during testing. If a video is getting $2+ CPC, it's not resonating.
3. CPA (cost per acquisition): Your north star. Compare each video's CPA to your target. Anything within 15% of target is a winner.
4. ROAS (return on ad spend): Calculate as (revenue / ad spend). Target 2.0x-3.0x during testing. Anything below 1.5x is a loser.
5. Engagement (comments, shares, saves): On TikTok, this matters more than CTR. Videos with high engagement (10%+ of views) are winners.

Create a testing scorecard:

| Video

Update this daily. By day 5-7, you'll have enough data to identify 4-6 winners and kill 5-8 losers.

Scale Winners to Validation Phase

Once you've identified winners (videos with CTR above 2%, CPA within 15% of target, ROAS above 1.8x), move them to your validation phase.

Validation campaign:

• Budget: $32k (from Phase 1 allocation)
• Duration: 1-2 weeks
• Ad sets: 4-6 ad sets (one per winning video)
• Budget per ad set: $4,000-8,000
• Audience: Expand to 2-3 audience segments (core converters, lookalike, interest-based)

In validation, you're testing:

• Different audience segments (who buys?)
• Different placements (Meta feed, Reels, Stories; TikTok feed, Spark ads)
• Different times of day (morning, afternoon, evening)
• Different bid strategies (CBO vs. manual)

Run validation for 1-2 weeks. You should see ROAS stabilize around 2.0-2.5x if the video is truly a winner. If ROAS drops below 1.8x at scale, it's fatigue. Move on.

Prepare for Peak Season Launch

By week 4 (2 weeks prior to peak), you should have 4-6 validated winners. Create your peak season campaign structure:

Campaign: [Season] Peak (e.g., "Black Friday Peak")
Budget: $104k
Duration: 3 weeks (your peak window)

Ad Set Strategy:

• 4-6 ad sets, one per winning video
• Budget per ad set: $15,000-25,000 (depending on number of winners)
• Daily budget: $4,900 (total $104k / 21 days)
• Audience: Your core converters (lookalike + custom audiences)
• Bidding: CBO with 15-20% higher target CPA than validation (account for scale)

Example: If your validation CPA was $42, set your peak CPA target to $48-5

1. You'll see some efficiency loss at scale, and that's normal.

Phase 5: Optimization and Scaling (Campaign Live)

Your campaign is live. You're spending $7,600/day. You need a daily optimization routine.

Daily Monitoring Cadence

Daily (9 AM):

• Check overnight performance in Meta Ads Manager
• Note any ad sets with CTR below 1.5% or CPA above target + 20%
• Flag for pause if underperforming

Daily (5 PM):

• Review full-day performance
• Check ROAS by video/ad set
• Identify any new winners or losers

3x per week (Mon/Wed/Fri):

• Pause underperforming ad sets (CTR below 1.2%, CPA above target + 25%, ROAS below 1.5x)
• Increase budget on winning ad sets by 20-30%
• Check for creative fatigue (CTR declining day-over-day for 3+ days)

Creative Rotation to Fight Fatigue

Even your best video will fatigue. Typical creative lifespan during peak season: 7-14 days before CTR drops 20-30%. Your solution: rotate.

Week 1 of peak: Run 4-6 winners at full budget.
Week 2 of peak: Pause 2 of the original winners (they're fatigued). Introduce 2 new videos from your testing phase (the "hold" videos that had decent metrics). Run 4 new videos total.
Week 3 of peak: Rotate again. Pause 2 more from week

1. Introduce 2 more new videos.

This requires you to have 8-12 videos ready to go before peak season starts. If you only have 4-6 winners, you'll fatigue hard and ROAS will collapse by week

2.

If you're running low on creative, brief 2-3 additional creators in week 3 (2-4 weeks prior) with a 3-day turnaround. These are backup creators for exactly this scenario.

Audience Expansion Strategy

As your core audience fatigues, expand your audience:

Week 1: Core converters only (people who bought in last 90 days, or lookalike of customers)
Week 2: Add interest-based audiences (people interested in skincare, wellness, beauty)
Week 3: Add broad audiences (people in your geographic region, age 25-4

5)

Create new ad sets for each audience expansion. Don't change existing ad sets mid-campaign (that resets learning). Instead, duplicate and adjust audience.

Reporting and Stakeholder Communication

You need a weekly report for your team and leadership:

Weekly Report Template:

| Top video | Video #3 (3.8% CTR) | Video #7 (3.2% CTR) |

• | Rotating |

| Creative status | 6 winners, 3 fatiguing | 4 fresh, 2 retiring | 4-6 active | Healthy |

Update weekly. Share with your team every Friday. This keeps everyone aligned and gives you early warning if ROAS is trending down.

Common Mistakes That Kill Seasonal Campaigns

Mistake 1: Briefing Creators Too Late (4 Weeks or Less Before Peak)

Why it happens: You're busy. You think "I'll brief creators in October for Black Friday." By the time you brief them, it's mid-October. Creators need 5-7 days to film and deliver. You get videos 2 weeks before peak, test for 1 week, and launch with zero validation.

Why it fails: Untested creative at scale performs 20-40% worse than validated creative. You're essentially guessing. Plus, creators are booked. You'll either pay premium rates ($400-600 per video) or get slow turnaround (10-14 days).

What to do instead: Brief creators 6-8 weeks prior. Lock in creators and rates early. Stagger briefs so you have a rolling pipeline of creative. By 2 weeks before peak, you should have tested and validated 4-6 winners.

Mistake 2: Not Allocating Budget to Testing

Why it happens: You see a $160k budget and think "I'll spend it all during peak season." You allocate 90% to peak, 10% to testing.

Why it fails: You launch with untested creative. Your first week of peak, you're still figuring out what works. By the time you optimize, you've burned $15-20k on underperforming ads. Your ROAS for the full campaign is 1.6x instead of 2.5x. That's a $144k revenue difference.

What to do instead: Allocate 15-20% of budget to testing (2-3 weeks prior to peak). Spend aggressively on testing, identify winners, then scale those winners during peak. Your early peak-season ROAS will be 2.0x+, not 1.2x.

Mistake 3: Testing Too Many Variables at Once

Why it happens: You brief 20 creators with 20 different angles, styles, and tones. You want to know what works.

Why it fails: You get data noise. Video #5 performs well, but was it the angle, the creator, the hook, or the audience? You can't tell. You scale the wrong things and ROAS drops.

What to do instead: Test systematically. Control for variables. Test 3-5 videos per messaging angle. Example:

• Angle 1 (Problem-agitate): Videos 1, 2, 3 (different creators, same angle)
• Angle 2 (FOMO): Videos 4, 5, 6 (different creators, same angle)
• Angle 3 (Social proof): Videos 7, 8, 9 (different creators, same angle)

This way, you can isolate which angle works. Then scale that angle with different creators.

Mistake 4: Hiring Creators Based on Follower Count, Not UGC Portfolio

Why it happens: You search for creators with 50k+ followers, assume they'll make good UGC, and hire them.

Why it fails: Follower count doesn't correlate with UGC performance. A creator with 100k followers but zero UGC experience will film something too polished, too branded, not authentic. Their video will underperform. You'll have wasted $300-500 and 1-2 weeks of timeline.

What to do instead: Hire based on UGC portfolio. Ask every creator: "Do you have UGC work samples?" Review 3-5 of their past UGC videos. Look for authenticity, hook strength, and product integration. A creator with 10k followers and a strong UGC portfolio will outperform a 100k follower with zero UGC experience.

Mistake 5: Not Staggering Creative Delivery

Why it happens: You brief all 20 creators at once, ask for 5-day turnaround, expect all 20 videos in the same week.

Why it fails: You get a bottleneck. 15 videos arrive on day

1. You have 2 days to review, request revisions, and approve. Creators are frustrated waiting for feedback. You're overwhelmed. You approve videos you're not happy with just to keep timeline.

What to do instead: Stagger briefs across 2-3 weeks. Brief your top 7 creators in week 1 (fastest turnaround, highest priority). Brief 7-8 more in week

1. Brief the final 5-6 in week
2. You get a rolling pipeline, manageable review process, and time to request revisions without panic.

Mistake 6: Launching Peak Campaign Without a Daily Optimization Routine

Why it happens: You set up your peak campaign, launch it, and assume Meta's algorithm will optimize for you. You check in every few days.

Why it fails: Creative fatigue sets in by day 7-1

1. Your CTR drops from 2.5% to 1.8%. Your ROAS drops from 2.2x to 1.5x. By the time you notice (day 12), you've burned $15-20k on fatigued creative. You pause the video, but it's too late.

What to do instead: Check performance daily. Set up alerts in Meta Ads Manager for CTR drops below 1.5% or CPA spikes above target. Pause underperforming ad sets within 24 hours. Rotate creative every 7-10 days. This requires 30 minutes per day, but saves 15-20% of ad spend.

Mistake 7: Not Having Backup Creative Ready

Why it happens: You test 6 videos, 4 are winners. You scale those 4 during peak season. By week 2, they're fatigued. You have nothing to replace them with.

Why it fails: You're forced to pause ad sets and lose spend velocity. You scramble to brief new creators with 3-day turnaround (expensive, low quality). Your ROAS collapses week 2-3.

What to do instead: Have 8-12 videos ready before peak season. During testing, you'll identify 4-6 winners and 2-4 "holds" (videos with decent metrics, not quite winners). During peak, use your winners for weeks 1-2. Rotate in your "holds" for week

1. If you need more, you have time to brief backup creators in week 2 with a 5-7 day turnaround.

Next Steps: Execute Your First Seasonal Campaign

You have a playbook. Here's exactly what to do first:

This week: Identify your seasonal peak (Black Friday, holiday, New Year, summer, back-to-school). Write down the exact dates. Set a revenue target and back into your ad spend budget.

Next week: Audit last year's performance (if you have it) or competitor ads. Document your top 3 messaging angles. Create your creator profile definitions (5 types).

Week 3: Start sourcing creators on UGC Roster. Search for 100-150 creators matching your profiles. Create your sourcing spreadsheet. Rank by fit score.

Week 4: Begin outreach. Aim to hire 15-20 creators by end of week

1. Lock in rates and turnaround.

Week 5-6: Brief your first 7-10 creators. Stagger briefs across 2 weeks. Manage revisions tightly.

Week 7-8: Set up testing campaign in Meta Ads Manager. Launch with 15-20 video variations. Track CTR, CPC, CPA, ROAS daily.

Week 9: Identify 4-6 winners. Pause losers. Scale winners to validation phase.

Week 10: Validate winners across audiences and placements. Prepare peak campaign structure.

Week 11-13: Launch peak campaign. Run daily optimization routine. Rotate creative every 7-10 days. Report weekly.

If your seasonal peak is 8 weeks away, you can execute this timeline. If it's 4-6 weeks away, compress testing to 1 week and validation to 3-5 days. If it's less than 4 weeks away, focus on quality over quantity: brief 8-10 top creators instead of 20, test for 3-4 days, launch with 4-6 videos.

You don't need a perfect seasonal campaign to win. You need a systematic one. This playbook gives you that system. The difference between a brand running seasonal campaigns systematically and one that scrambles is 20-40% ROAS improvement. That's the gap between hitting your revenue target and missing it.

Start sourcing creators now. Your peak season will thank you.

FAQ

What is a seasonal UGC campaign, and how is it different from evergreen creative?

A seasonal UGC campaign is a coordinated production and testing cycle timed to buyer intent peaks (Black Friday, holiday gifting, New Year resolutions, back-to-school). Unlike evergreen creative that runs year-round, seasonal campaigns compress 15-25 unique video variations into a 4-8 week testing window before peak traffic hits. You're rotating through different hooks, pain-point framings, and creator personalities to find winners before scaling spend. The key difference: evergreen is "always on," seasonal is "peak-ready." Based on UGC Roster marketplace data, brands that plan 8-12 weeks ahead see 15-35% higher ROAS during peak periods compared to last-minute creative scrambles.

How do I plan a Q4 holiday creative strategy for ecommerce brands?

Start in August by defining your revenue target and working backward to your daily ad spend during peak (typically Nov 15-Dec 5). If you're targeting $400k revenue at 2.5x ROAS with a $75 AOV, you need roughly $160k in ad spend, or $7,600/day. That means you need 15-25 unique UGC videos rotating to prevent fatigue. Audit last year's top performers by CTR and pain-point messaging. Brief 8-12 creators in September with 3-4 positioning angles each (gift-giving, self-care, last-minute, luxury positioning). Shoot in October, test in November (weeks 1-2), then scale winners in weeks 3-4.

How to run a back-to-school UGC campaign for ecommerce brands?

Back-to-school peaks Aug 1-Sept 5, so start planning in May. Your messaging angles differ from holiday: focus on stress relief, parental confidence, and student readiness rather than gifting. Brief creators around three pain points: parent overwhelm, student anxiety, and budget constraints. If you sell apparel, film 20-30 variations showing outfit combinations, durability, and style diversity. Test in June-July with 5-8% of your monthly budget to identify which creator types (parent testimonials vs. student influencers vs. lifestyle) drive higher AOV. Scale top 3-4 winners in early August. According to performance marketing benchmarks, back-to-school campaigns see highest ROAS when creative emphasizes practical benefits over aesthetic alone.

How to execute a UGC campaign from briefing to live ads in 14 days?

This is sprint mode, only viable if you're refreshing existing product positioning, not launching new. Day 1-2: write 2-3 tight briefs with specific hooks and pain points (no vague "authentic" direction). Day 3-5: recruit 4-6 creators from UGC Roster or your network. Day 6-9: creators film and submit raw footage. Day 10-11: edit, add captions, and QA. Day 12-13: set up ad accounts and audiences. Day 14: go live with 6-8 videos in rotation. This works best for seasonal refreshes (switching from summer to fall messaging) or response campaigns. Don't expect to test heavily in 14 days; prioritize speed and launch with your best guess on winners.

How to run a multi-channel UGC campaign across Meta, TikTok, and email?

Create one master brief but adapt format and messaging per platform. Meta and TikTok versions can share the same core UGC, but TikTok needs faster hooks (first 2 seconds), trending audio, and vertical-native framing. Email needs shorter clips (15-30 seconds) and a clear CTA. Your testing strategy should differ too: Meta tests 8-12 variations, TikTok tests 15-20 (platform rewards novelty), email tests 3-4 (list fatigue). Stagger rollout: TikTok first (fastest feedback loop), then Meta (larger spend scale), then email (nurture). One creator can film once and you repurpose across channels, cutting production costs by 40-50%. Coordinate your peak spend windows; don't run identical messaging on all three simultaneously or you'll cannibalize audience.

How to set up a UGC sprint to produce 30 creatives in one week?

A one-week sprint requires pre-production planning. Recruit 10-15 creators 2 weeks prior and send briefs early. On sprint week, schedule 2-3 creators per day in staggered 2-hour blocks; each creator films 2-4 variations (different hooks, intros, CTAs). Provide clear scripts, product samples, and shooting environment (home, studio, or outdoor). Assign one editor to work in parallel; don't wait for all footage before editing. You'll produce 30-40 videos, not all polished. Quality will vary, which is fine for testing: 10-15 will be winners, 15-20 will be learners. This method works best when you have a repeatable product story (testimonials, demo, pain-point solve). Cost per video drops significantly because creators batch-film. Plan for 30% of output to be unusable due to technical issues or poor fit.

How to execute a product seeding campaign to generate UGC at scale?

Product seeding generates authentic UGC by sending free products to creators or micro-influencers with a loose creative brief. Start 10-12 weeks before your seasonal peak. Identify 50-100 creators in your niche (mix of 5k-50k followers and nano-creators with high engagement). Send product with a brief: "Show how you use this in your daily routine" rather than scripted testimonials. Offer 15-30% of seeded creators a small payment ($50-2

1. if they submit video. Expect 20-30% submission rate; 50% of those will be usable. This generates 5-15 authentic UGC pieces per seed campaign, much cheaper than hiring creators directly. Seeding also builds long-term relationships; creators who love your product become repeat collaborators. Run seeding campaigns 8-10 weeks before peak to give creators time to naturally integrate products into their content.

How to build a retargeting campaign with UGC testimonials?

Retargeting UGC works best with testimonial-style videos (30-45 seconds) showing real customer results, not product demos. Segment your audience: cart abandoners, past visitors, and email subscribers. Create 3-4 testimonial videos addressing their specific objection (price, fit, results, shipping). For cart abandoners, use testimonials about product quality or fit certainty. For past visitors, use social proof ("X customers bought this") and urgency (limited stock). Rotate testimonials every 3-5 days to prevent ad fatigue. Retargeting UGC typically sees 3-5x higher ROAS than standard product ads because testimonials reduce purchase friction. Budget 20-30% of your seasonal ad spend toward retargeting; during Black Friday, retargeting audiences often out-perform cold audiences because intent is already established.

How to plan a product launch campaign using UGC?

Product launch UGC differs from seasonal campaigns: you're building awareness and credibility for something new, not capitalizing on existing demand. Start 6-8 weeks before launch. Brief 8-10 creators to film unboxing, first-impression, and use-case videos. Emphasize authenticity over polish; audiences trust honest reactions to new products. Launch with 12-15 UGC videos showing different use cases and creator personalities. Run a 2-week testing phase (weeks 1-2 post-launch) with 5-8% of your monthly budget to identify which positioning (innovation, problem-solving, lifestyle fit) resonates. Scale top 3-4 winners in weeks 3-4. Unlike seasonal campaigns where you're optimizing for peak traffic, product launches need longer feedback loops because your audience is discovering the product for the first time. Plan for 40-50% lower CTR than established products; this is normal and expected.

Related reading

• UGC Brief Generator
• UGC Budget Calculator
• UGC ROI Calculator
• UGC Campaign Execution: From Briefing to Live Ads in 14 Days
• How to Run a Multi-Channel UGC Campaign Across Meta, TikTok, and Email