Hooked Co

Performance creative agency for DTC brands
We scale with UGC, paid ads, and strategy
13.5K+ ads | 350+ brands | $100K+/mo spend

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

Let's start with a proper hello 👋

We’re Hooked.

If you’re curious who we are, here’s a quick intro ⬇️

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

@ugcbyniks @httpsean_ca Hi @ugcbyniks can't DM you

[Trishe Sagun | UGC Manager @trishe_sagun]

CANADA & US - UGC OPPORTUNITY ‼️

Looking for creators (ideally toddler moms/dads OR someone you know who has a toddler) to film street interview–style content. Examples will be shared with shortlisted applicants

Product: sling carrier

Reply with your portfolio/best work NO DMs

[SEAN | Creative Strategist | Creator 👩🏻‍🔬 @httpsean_ca]

Most marketers think BFCM is about convincing people they need your product. Wrong. By November, people are already primed to buy.

They’re not asking “do I need this?” They’re asking “is this worth grabbing while it’s discounted?” Your ads should match that. Quick, urgent, proof-driven creatives beat long education every time.

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

Rating how scary agency life really is.. 😨

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

DTC founders love to panic when CTR drops.

“The creative’s dying. Performance fell off a cliff.”

But here’s the truth - most of the time, it’s not the creative.

It’s the context.

Maybe your audience saw the same ad 4 times in 3 days. Maybe you launched a new angle without warming intent. Maybe it’s just a bad time of week.

Instead of “turning off” ads, start auditing feelings.

Ask:
- Did this ad still make people feel something new?
- Is it showing up in the wrong mood moment?
- Are we repeating the same emotion over and over?

Ads don’t die. They just age out of emotion.
Refresh tone. Refresh timing. Refresh context.

You’ll be shocked how many “dead” creatives come back to life with a little therapy instead of surgery.

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We’ve created thousands of creatives for DTC brands - studying what actually makes people stop, watch, and buy.

If you’re ready to test smarter ideas, our DMs are open or you can book a call through the link in bio.

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

PLEASE STOP thinking that good creative speaks to your target audience.

Wrong.

Great creative speaks to the version of them they’re trying to become.

You’re not just selling a product.
You’re selling a future identity upgrade.

Stop saying “for busy people.”
Start saying “for people who finally want to slow down.”

The best brands don’t chase demographics.

They chase desires.

Because at the end of the day, people don’t buy things, they buy who they get to be when they use them.

We had a client who struggled with this exact thing, stuck making “relatable” ads that blended in.
Once we reframed the message around who their customer wanted to become, everything changed.

We’ll be breaking that down in a separate post - how we turned it around, what we changed, and why it worked. Stay tuned. 👀

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

The idea that scares you might be the one that scales you.

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

We once tested 9 hooks for a beauty client.

The one that crushed the rest started with,
“I didn’t realize how bad my old foundation looked until I tried this.”

It worked because it activated ‘loss aversion’ - a psychological bias that makes people 2x more likely to act to avoid pain than to gain pleasure.

Your ad shouldn’t just say “this is good.”
It should say “your current solution is silently failing you.”

If people don’t feel friction with what they currently use, they won’t move.

Every great creative solves a problem that wasn’t consciously bothering them, until your ad made them aware of it.

[SEAN | Creative Strategist | Creator 👩🏻‍🔬 @httpsean_ca]

Had a great call with some of my favourite creators in the space ♥️

We analyzed some top performing ads, gave them feedback and awarded one of them with the commission bonus! 👀

I missed having calls like this, especially when it’s about studying ads — why it performed etc.

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

Tactic: Offer Justification via Reverse Context

Instead of “30% off,” try:
👉“We lowered it so you could stop waiting.”
👉“Half of our price doubts came from us, so we dropped it.”
👉“Use this sale to finally feel like your skin is on your side again.”

We saw a DTC hair brand recently run “Because life’s too short to wait for good hair.”

That kind of emotional justification > numeric discount.

[SEAN | Creative Strategist | Creator 👩🏻‍🔬 @httpsean_ca]

I’m breaking down classic brand stories every marketer, creator, and advertiser should know 🏠

Today’s lesson: Airbnb.
How trust and design turned strangers into hosts.

In 2008, two broke designers in San Francisco couldn’t afford rent.
So they bought a few air mattresses, listed them online, and offered people a place to sleep during a local conference.

They called it Air Bed & Breakfast.

It wasn’t a startup idea. It was a survival idea.

But that experiment revealed something powerful — people were willing to stay in strangers’ homes if the experience felt safe.

So Airbnb built its entire brand around one word: trust.

They added profile photos, reviews, secure payments, and a clean, friendly design that made it feel personal.

You weren’t booking a bed. You were joining a community.

Here’s why it worked 👇🏻
🔑 Design built comfort. The platform made something risky feel familiar.
👥 Social proof created trust. Reviews and profiles made strangers feel like neighbors.
🌍 Community became the brand. Airbnb didn’t sell rooms. It sold belonging.

Airbnb turned the awkwardness of sleeping in a stranger’s home into the comfort of feeling at home anywhere.

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

The brain runs on energy efficiency, it avoids thinking whenever possible.

That’s why friction kills ads. Every micro-second of confusion adds “cognitive cost.”

So ask yourself:
➡️Is my visual instantly clear?
➡️Is my hook readable in motion?
➡️Is my message scannable without sound?

Your ad isn’t competing for attention. It’s competing for mental energy.

The easiest ad to understand is the hardest one to ignore.

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

HAPPY FRIDAY 👋

what’s one win you’re celebrating this week (big or small)?

[SEAN | Creative Strategist | Creator 👩🏻‍🔬 @httpsean_ca]

It’s been a while since I introduced myself here, so here goes.

I’m Sean. Founder. Content Producer. Creative Strategist. But also, dog mom, golf girl, a girl in her fiance era, and someone who will always find a way to turn a random idea into a full campaign deck.

I started my career in fashion retail after graduating from the University of the Philippines. I was managing stores, training staff, and learning what makes people stop and say, “I need that.” That’s where my love for branding and psychology began.

Years later, I went back to school at the University of Lethbridge and earned a second degree in Psychology. It taught me how emotion drives every decision. It taught me that great marketing isn’t about tricking people into buying. It’s about understanding them.

Since then, I’ve built a career that bridges creativity and performance.

I’ve produced over 15,000 ads.
Paid over $150,000 in creator collaborations.
And managed six-figure monthly ad budgets for brands across different industries.

But outside of work, I’m just someone who loves the process of creating. I find inspiration in film, in fashion, in golf, in the quiet moments before an idea becomes something real.

Running my agency, Hooked, has been the most challenging and rewarding chapter yet. I get to lead a team of talented creators and strategists who share the same obsession with storytelling that actually connects with people.

I believe that marketing is just modern storytelling. The best campaigns don’t scream for attention. They make people feel seen.

So if you’re new here, hi. I talk about creative strategy, the business of content creation, and what it’s really like to build an agency from scratch.

And if you’ve been following my journey for a while, thank you for being here. I’m excited for what’s next.

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

BELIEF BREACH > REPAIR > EMPOWER

We tested this framework across 7 DTC brands last quarter. wild how belief breach hooks outperformed “benefit-first” ones by 60%.

when you challenge what people already believe, they have to stop and rethink everything else in your ad.

if you want the full framework + examples, hit us in the DMs 👀

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

‼️CHANGE THE STORY‼️

If you’re only testing visuals and never testing narratives, this one’s for you👇

Take one product and frame it 5 different ways:

💡 the problem-solver → “you didn’t realize how annoying [problem] was until this fixed it.”

💡 the status upgrade → “you can tell who uses it without them saying a word.”

💡 the identity statement → “for people who actually give a damn about [X].”

💡 the ritual maker → “this is how every good day starts.”

💡 the rebellion → “not for everyone. and that’s the point.”

one product = five different entry points into the human brain.

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

Let’s be real… most DTC ads don’t flop because of bad scripts.

they flop because there’s zero conviction.

everyone’s so scared to 'offend' that they end up saying nothing worth remembering.

if your ad could sit on 10 other brand pages without changing a word, you’ve already lost.

the best brands have a point of view.

not everyone has to agree, that’s literally how you get people to care 👍

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

UNPOPULAR OPINION: “Hook-first” culture is killing creative thinking.

Everyone’s obsessed with the first three seconds. Yes, it is important, but the real conversion happens in seconds 4–12.

That’s where curiosity turns into belief.

You can’t just make people stop scrolling.
You have to make them decide to stay.

❌Stop thinking “what’s my hook?”

✅Start asking, “what’s my reward for keeping them hooked?”

We’ve created thousands of creatives for DTC brands - studying what actually makes people stop, watch, and buy.

If you’re ready to test smarter ideas, our DMs are open or you can book a call through the link in bio.

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

Here’s something no one talks about enough: your ads are attention tax.

Every second you ask someone to stay, you have to repay them with novelty, emotion, or reward.

The moment your creative becomes predictable, you’re in debt.

Every frame gives them something back. Not just “watch time,” but dopamine for staying.

[Hooked Co @wearehookedco]

@creatordamon why does management always gotta be right 😩