BusinessRnD · draft v2 · built 2026-10-21 06:15 UTC
S3 · Video ad packs: niches and go-to-market
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Go
Go, but only for four niches: apps, mobile games, gadget brands and crowdfunding launches. Ads are cut from their real screens, gameplay and products, never AI people.$600–950 pack + $600/mo refresh · ~10 packs + 8 refresh clients ≈ $10k/mo profit · ~2 h/week once running (est.)
Full report: the complete video ads report, with angles, real-company example pitches and animated previews, is here.
Video is your strongest pipeline, but S3's weak spots are product drift and taste. These four niches are where we can build the ad from the client's own pixels, spot the need legally and find a public email. Everything else waits.
Niches scored
Niche
Hunger
Detect
Inputs
AI fit
Low risk
Price
Reach
Fit
/40
Subscription and utility apps
4
5
5
5
4
3
5
5
36
Mobile games (indie, mid-size)
5
5
4
4
3
3
5
5
34
Home and kitchen gadgets
4
4
4
3
4
4
4
4
31
Pet accessories (not food)
4
4
4
3
3
4
4
4
30
Crowdfunding launches
5
3
4
4
3
4
3
4
30
B2B SaaS explainers
2
2
4
4
5
4
4
3
28
Online courses and coaches
5
3
4
3
2
4
4
3
28
Apparel and accessories
4
4
4
2
4
3
4
3
28
Supplements
5
4
4
3
1
4
4
3
veto
Beauty and skincare
4
4
4
2
2
4
4
3
27
iGaming
5
3
3
4
1
4
2
4
veto
Real estate listings
2
2
5
4
3
2
3
3
24
Restaurants and food brands
2
2
3
3
3
2
3
3
21
Local services
1
2
2
2
2
2
3
2
16
Scores run from 1 to 5 and are my judgement on the evidence in the notes. A 1 for risk vetoes the niche. The hunger scores lean on Meta data (550k ads, $1.3B of spend): small advertisers launch about 3–6 new ads a week in every vertical.
Bench: SaaS (low volume), coaches (sell them S5 clips instead) and apparel (clothes on bodies are where AI video is weakest).
Skip: beauty (TikTok bans before-and-after results ads), supplements, real estate, restaurants, local services.
iGaming: your network only, paid by wire. Payoneer bans gambling payments, Synthesia bans gambling content, and TikTok requires certification.
quadrantChart
title Spend and video hunger vs risk
x-axis High risk --> Low risk
y-axis Low hunger --> High hunger
quadrant-1 Go
quadrant-2 Hungry but risky
quadrant-3 Skip
quadrant-4 Safe but small
Subscription apps: [0.86, 0.72]
Mobile games: [0.64, 0.88]
Home and kitchen: [0.62, 0.70]
Pet products: [0.52, 0.66]
Crowdfunding: [0.58, 0.82]
SaaS explainers: [0.88, 0.30]
Coaches and courses: [0.36, 0.90]
Apparel: [0.46, 0.60]
Beauty: [0.24, 0.76]
Supplements: [0.12, 0.94]
Real estate: [0.68, 0.24]
Restaurants: [0.50, 0.18]
Local services: [0.28, 0.10]
iGaming: [0.06, 0.97]
The chosen niches
V1
Subscription and utility apps
Formats: "3 taps to X" demo on their real screens, text-led problem hook, POV caption, free-trial offer card, a real store review quoted word for word. Raw screen recordings alone win less often, so every screen gets a hook around it.
Inputs: 3–5 screen recordings, logo, the offer. Minimal path: store screenshots only.
Free sample: a 15-second ad with their screenshots animated in a phone frame, plus 5 storyboards. It costs cents to make and needs no AI label.
Where we find them: Google Play pages (subscription apps, 50k–5M installs, US or UK developer; Google publishes the email). Meta's official EU ad library shows who is advertising. Same pipeline as S1.
Watch out: indie budgets are thin. Trial and price must match the store. Skip finance, crypto and social-casino apps.
V2
Mobile games
Formats: gameplay montage cut to the beat (your MontageRnD), a near-miss hook in second one, a "beat level 37?" challenge, satisfying loops, a boss reveal.
Inputs: 10 minutes of gameplay capture, key art, music rights, and whether the game has loot boxes. Minimal path: their public trailer, for the sample only.
Free sample: a 15-second cut from their trailer with a hook and end card, on a private link.
Where we find them: Play game categories, indie and mid-size studios with live ads in the EU. Emails are public.
Watch out: the UK ad regulator (ASA) ruled against fake gameplay (2022) and abuse-bait game ads (2024, 2025), and wants loot boxes disclosed. Check your Vortex agreement for a non-compete.
V3
Home, kitchen and pet gadget brands
Formats: the real product doing its job, unboxing, kitchen sounds (ASMR), offer-first and price-anchor cuts for Black Friday, "POV: your dog hears the drawer", review cards.
Inputs: photos, 3–5 phone clips of the product working, a review export, the offer. Minimal path: the product page only.
Free sample: a 15-second ad for their bestseller, made from their photos plus a real review quote. We add an AI scene only after they reply.
Where we find them: Shopify stores with $20–150 products whose bestseller has no video, a Meta or TikTok pixel, and an email (60% of stores show one).
Watch out: generated products drift. AI may set the scene but never perform the product's function: a faked demo is deceptive under US law (the 1965 Colgate case). No pet health claims; pet food is out.
V4
Crowdfunding launches
Formats: a "Reserve for $1" offer, a "launching on {date}" hook, a render turntable with feature callouts, a founder clip, "final 48 hours" urgency.
Inputs: renders, prototype clips, launch date, early-bird price. Minimal path: renders from the pre-launch page.
Free sample: a 15-second "Reserve for $1" ad from their renders, labelled "prototype render".
Where we find them: Kickstarter and Indiegogo pre-launch pages browsed by hand (Kickstarter blocks bots), a keyword search in Meta's EU ad library, creator sites. Their ad agencies buy too.
Watch out: Kickstarter bans realistic renderings on project pages and wants AI use disclosed. Each client is a 6–10-week burst, and this is the smallest pool.
The result-first experience
flowchart TD
A["Agent spots a brand with few or stale video ads"] --> B["Free 15-second ad from their own screens, gameplay or photos"]
B --> C["Email with a private sample link"]
C --> D{"Reply?"}
D -->|"yes"| E["AI answers and sends a Payoneer link and intake form"]
D -->|"no"| X["Two short follow-ups, then stop"]
E --> F["Client uploads clips, offer and claims to avoid"]
F --> G["Harness makes 8 to 30 variants in 3 sizes"]
G --> H["Automatic checks: product match, safe zones, loudness, claims"]
H --> I["Your 15-minute look"]
I --> J["Delivery page: keep 6 of 10, one revision"]
J --> K["Day 21: refresh offer built on their winners"]
Two-stage samples. Cold samples are rendered by code from the prospect's own pixels and cost cents each. A generated sample costs about $5, and at 150–250 contacts per sale that would eat the whole pack price. So generated shots wait until someone replies.
What we sell
FreeSampleOne 15-second ad from their assets + storyboard for 5 more angles.
$600Pack 88 ads, each in 9:16, 1:1 and 16:9. Captions, one revision, 5 working days.
$950Pack 10×310 ads × 3 hooks = 30 test variants, 3 sizes, a naming sheet for testing.
$600/moMonthly refresh8 new ads built on their top 3 performers. Cancel any time.
$1,400/moWeekly refresh4 new ads every week plus hook swaps.
Each extra language: captions + voice (pairs with S1)
+$150
Games
10 extra intro hooks on one gameplay body
+$300
Gadgets
Product-page videos for the top 5 products (pairs with S4)
+$300
Any
72-hour rush
+$200
Paid by Payoneer link or wire. We make the ads; we never run their ad accounts.
How we reach out
Step
Day
What
1
0
The free ad, one line on why, the price
2
3
A second angle on the same assets
3
7
"Want the pack for {X}, or should I stop? One word is enough."
Niche
Email 1 (subject · core line)
Email 2 angle
Apps
"15-second ad for {App}" · "I made a vertical ad for {App} from your store screenshots: {link}. Free to run. 8 more in all three sizes are $600, 5 days."
Same screens, new feature hook. No AI label needed on TikTok.
Games
"{Game}: 15-second cut" · "I cut a beat-synced ad from {Game}'s trailer: {link}. Real gameplay only, as UK ad rules require. 30 variants are $950."
A near-miss opener on the same gameplay.
Gadgets
"A video for your {Product}" · "Your page has great photos but no video, so I made one: {link}. Your real review from {Name}, no AI actors. 8 more are $600, in time for Black Friday."
An offer-first Black Friday cut.
Crowdfunding
"{Project}: pre-launch ad" · "I turned your renders into a 'Reserve for $1' ad: {link}. Paid ads bring ~41% of pledges across 5,207 campaigns. 18 ads, $1,000."
A "live now" launch-day cut.
Rules for every send:
US businesses and UK limited companies only. Never Germany or Poland.
Plain text with one link and no tracking pixel.
Postal address and a one-word opt-out in every email.
Sample pages stay private and are never indexed by search engines.
Meta's EU ad-library API needs your ID confirmation, which is untested for Ukraine. Without it, the "is advertising" check is done by hand for top leads only.
What clients will ask
These are representative requests I wrote from the rules and formats; none come from real clients yet.
Niche
Request
How we answer
Apps
"Show a real person loving the app."
Real or AI hands with your real screens. Never an AI "customer": the FTC bans fake testimonials. We can quote your real reviews.
Apps
"We need these for Google too."
Every ad comes in 9:16, 1:1 and 16:9. Google takes up to 20 videos per ad group.
Apps
"Can you do Spanish and German?"
+$150 per language. We can also translate your store listing (S1).
Apps
"Our UI changed last week."
Send new recordings and we re-render in hours.
Games
"Do those 'pull the pin' ads everyone runs."
Only if that mechanic is in your game. The ASA rules fake gameplay misleading.
Games
"We only have the trailer."
Fine for the sample. For the pack, here's a 1-page capture checklist.
Games
"Make it edgier, something shocking."
Shocking yes, offensive no. The ASA upheld complaints against abuse-bait game ads in 2024 and 2025.
Games
"Make our hero look like {famous character}."
No borrowed IP or likeness. Platforms reject it.
Gadgets
"Show a happy mom using it in her kitchen."
An AI kitchen as the scene, labelled. The product in action must be your real footage, and she isn't presented as a customer.
Gadgets
"Show it removing the stain in two seconds."
Only if it really does. A faked demo is deceptive, and TikTok rejects exaggerated effects.
Gadgets
"Use our reviews."
Word for word from your review export, names as shown.
Gadgets
"Say our dog shampoo stops itching."
Only claims you can back up and that are on your label. No cure claims.
Crowdfunding
"We only have renders."
Fine for pre-launch ads, labelled "prototype render". Your Kickstarter page still needs the real prototype.
Crowdfunding
"Can you run our ads too?"
No, creative only. We can supply your agency directly.
Crowdfunding
"Can we pay after we fund?"
No. Fixed price up front, or 50/50 for the launch pack.
Crowdfunding
"Make our campaign page video."
It should be your real footage. We can edit your clips as an add-on.
4-week test
gantt
title S3 niche test
dateFormat YYYY-MM-DD
axisFormat %b %d
section Build
Niche templates and detectors :b1, 2026-10-21, 6d
QA gate 30 samples per niche :b2, after b1, 4d
section Inboxes
Warm up sending inboxes D17 :w1, 2026-10-21, 14d
section Send
V3 gadgets Black Friday wave :s1, 2026-11-04, 8d
V1 apps and V2 games :s2, 2026-11-04, 10d
V4 crowdfunding hand-picked list :s3, 2026-11-06, 8d
section Deliver
Paid packs and refresh offers :d1, 2026-11-06, 11d
section Decide
Keep or kill each niche :milestone, m1, 2026-11-17, 0d
Sending starts only once inboxes are warm, so the test measures early signals: about 120–150 contacts per niche. Surviving niches then move to the standard Round-3 gates (1,000 and 3,000 contacts).
Gate
When
Keep if
Otherwise
Quality
Oct 30
≥21 of 30 samples ship as-is, 0 wrong-product shots
That niche doesn't send
Sample cost
Oct 30
≤$0.50 compute per cold sample
Code-rendered samples only
Interest
~150 contacts per niche
≥2% positive replies or ≥25% open the sample
Drop the niche
Sales
Nov 17
≥3 paid packs and ≥1 refresh
S3 back to the bench; app sample becomes an S1 add-on
Delivery
Every job
Client keeps ≥6 of 10; refunds ≤15%; no chargeback
Stop and fix; after any chargeback, wire only
Sources
Notes for this tab: niches, rules, scores, playbooks — research_notes/Round 3 GTM/s3_video_niches_gtm.md