If you are trying to figure out how to choose a Meta ads creative agency, you are probably stuck. Your ads are getting tired. Your team cannot make new ones fast enough. And you have maybe been burned by an agency before. This guide shows you what to ask, what to watch for, and how to test an agency before you lock in.
We run creative for brands on Meta every day. More than $15M has been spent on ads we made, and those ads have driven 280,000+ purchases across 19 brand ad accounts. Here is what we would want to know if we were the ones hiring.
What does a Meta ads creative agency do?
A Meta ads creative agency makes the ads. Not just one ad. A steady flow of new ideas, scripts, videos and statics that your media buyer can test every week.
A good one does four jobs:
- Strategy. It finds the angles: the pain, the promise, the person who buys.
- Production. It turns those angles into finished ads, in many formats.
- Testing. It ships new concepts on a schedule, so you always have fresh bets in the account.
- Learning. It reads the results and makes the next batch smarter.
Some agencies also buy the media. Some only make creative. Either can work. Just know which one you are hiring.
Why creative matters more on Meta now
Meta's ad system does most of the targeting for you now. Its retrieval engine, called Andromeda, picks from tens of millions of possible ads down to a few thousand for each person, according to Meta's engineering team.
So what does that mean for you? Your creative is your targeting. Different ads find different buyers. If you run ten ads that all say the same thing, Meta sees one idea, not ten. We wrote more about this in our post on Meta Andromeda and creative diversity.
On Meta today, the ad is the targeting. The agency you pick decides how many real swings you get.
That is why so many brands we talk to have the same problem. Spend goes up. The team cannot keep up. Most new ads miss, and the account leans on a few old winners until they wear out.
How to choose a Meta ads creative agency: 7 questions to ask
Most "how to pick an agency" guides talk about media buying. Ask these instead. They are about the ads.
- How many new concepts do you ship each month? Ask for concepts, not "assets." Ten sizes of the same ad is one concept. At BNGR we aim for 25+ new concepts a month for a brand.
- What counts as a new concept? A new hook on an old video is a variation. A new angle, new person or new format is a concept. You want both, but you need to know the mix.
- Which formats can you make? Creator UGC, AI animation, statics, founder videos, mashups. One format is a risk. If it stops working, you have nothing else.
- How do you decide what to make next? Listen for a real loop: look at what won, ask why, then make the next batch. "We just get creative" is not a process.
- Who writes the briefs? Find out if a senior strategist plans the ideas or if a junior person passes notes to editors.
- Can I see live ads you made? Not mockups. Real ads that ran in real accounts.
- Who owns the files and the raw footage? Get this in writing before you start.
Retainer, per concept or performance: how do agencies charge?
Price is one of the first things brands ask about. Here is how the common models compare. We are not listing prices, since they change a lot by scope.
| Model | How it works | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly retainer | Flat fee for a set amount of work each month | Brands that want steady volume | Vague scope. Get the concept count in writing. |
| Per concept | You pay for each new idea, often with a few versions | Testing a new agency or a new format | Volume can drop if no one plans ahead |
| Performance or hybrid | Part of the fee is tied to results or ad spend | Bigger brands with clean data | Tracking fights. Agree on the numbers first. |
A lot of brands ask for a pure performance deal on day one. Most good agencies will not do that until they have seen your data, your product page and your margins. That is fair. Bad tracking or a weak product page can sink great ads.
Should you start with a short trial?
Many brands want a trial, and we get why. If you have been burned before, a small first step feels safer.
A trial can work. Just set it up so it tells you something real:
- Agree on the goal. Is it new winners, a lower cost per purchase, or a format you have never tried?
- Give the ads time to spend. One week of data is noise. Meta needs enough spend on each concept to judge it.
- Share access early. The agency needs to see your ad account and past winners on day one.
- Judge the process, not just the results. Did they ship on time? Did they explain what they learned?
The worst trial is one where nothing gets tested because onboarding took too long.
Red flags when you hire a creative agency
- They cannot tell you how many concepts you will get.
- Every sample looks the same.
- They promise a ROAS number before they see your account.
- They never ask about your product page, offer or margins.
- You only ever talk to a sales rep.
- They lock you into a long contract with no way out.
What should a Meta ads creative agency need from you?
A good agency will ask for things. That is a good sign. Expect to share view access to your ad account, your best and worst ads, customer reviews, your offer, and any product claims you can and cannot make. The more they know, the faster they find winners.
If your brand is in food, drink, supplements or beauty, see how we work on our CPG creative agency page. If you want AI-made ads in the mix, our AI animation ads agency page shows what that looks like.
The bottom line
To choose a Meta ads creative agency, ask about concepts, not assets. Ask how they decide what to make next. Ask to see real ads in many formats. Then start with a clear test, give it real spend, and judge both the ads and the process.
The right agency gives you more real swings every month. On Meta today, that is how you find the next winner. Want to see ours? Check out our work.
