We wanted a data-driven way to optimize UGC across markets, so we built a small cross-market benchmark set pulled from the bilingual hub: VTR, landing-page CTR, add-to-cart rate, and creative-level CAC. A few practical lessons:
- Compare formats, not creators first. 15s demo vs 30s testimonial gave clearer signals than creator-to-creator variance.
- Normalize for traffic source (organic vs paid) — the same clip often performs differently when boosted.
- Set relative thresholds: e.g., a creative with VTR 10% above market median and landing CTR 5% above median moves to a scale bucket.
Once we had these benchmarks, optimizing was faster: we retired formats that consistently underperformed and doubled down on those that exceeded median benchmarks in multiple markets.
How do others pick benchmarks when markets have different baseline behaviors?
I recommend starting with simple, comparable KPIs (VTR, CTR, and add-to-cart). Keep the list short so teams actually report consistently. How many KPIs are you tracking now?
Also, include a qualitative benchmark: creator authenticity rating (peer review). Sometimes a clip with lower CTR but high authenticity predicts long-term uplift. Do you use qualitative scores?
From analytics, normalize by channel and device. We used percentiles (top 25%, median, bottom 25%) per market to avoid raw-number bias. That made cross-market decisions less noisy. Have you tried percentile-based benchmarks?
Our markets had different purchase cycles, so we used leading indicators (VTR, landing CTR) rather than conversions alone for early decisions. That saved time and cash. Which leading indicators worked for you?
Create a simple dashboard that shows benchmark bands per market and flags creatives outside the band. Teams act on flags faster than raw spreadsheets. Do you have a dashboard?
As a creator, I appreciate knowing target benchmarks — it helps me tailor pacing and CTA placement. Share the benchmarks with creators before briefs so they aim for the same outcomes. Do you share benchmarks with creators?
I treat benchmarks as directional, not absolute. Use them to prioritize experiments, then validate with incrementality tests. If a creative beats benchmarks but fails incrementality, don’t scale. Do you run incrementality checks?
Also consider cohorting creatives by theme and origin market; some themes generalize better. Track theme-level benchmarks to find scalable formats. Which themes have you found most portable?