09/09/2026
Doing what everyone else is doing is one of the fastest ways to burn your ad budget. 💸
Your competitor is running it.
So you run it.
They’re using that creative.
So you copy it.
They’re targeting that audience.
So you do the same.
And then you wonder why your CPM is high, CTR is low, and ROAS looks like a crime scene. 💀
When I started building PawanGrowth, I made the same mistake.
I looked at what other marketers were doing and assumed:
"If it's working for them, it'll work for me."
Wrong.
Because when you copy your competitors, you don't just copy their strategy.
You copy their assumptions, experiments, limitations, and sometimes… their mistakes.
After working in performance marketing, I've learned that the biggest competitive advantage isn't copying what already works.
It's finding what your data is telling you that everyone else is ignoring.
Here are 5 things I'd do instead:
1️⃣ Stop stalking your competitors. Start stalking your data.
↳ Your Ads Manager is giving you more useful information than your competitor's Ad Library.
Your CTR, CPC, CPA, conversion rate and audience behavior tell you what YOUR market actually responds to.
2️⃣ Test something uncomfortable.
↳ Don't run 20 variations of the same boring creative.
Test a different hook. Different angle. Different offer. Different format.
Sometimes the "weird" ad becomes the winner.
3️⃣ Build a distinctive point of view.
↳ If your brand sounds exactly like everyone else, why should anyone remember you?
Performance gets attention. Positioning makes it stick.
4️⃣ Measure attention, not just impressions.
↳ A million impressions mean nothing if nobody remembers you.
Look at thumb-stop rate, watch time, CTR, engagement and ultimately conversions.
5️⃣ Give your creatives permission to fail.
↳ Not every test will win. That's the point.
A failed ₹5,000 test can teach you more than a safe ₹50,000 campaign that nobody remembers.
The goal isn't to make ads that look like everyone else's.
The goal is to discover what makes YOUR audience stop, click and buy.
Because in performance marketing, copying the market might make you look relevant…
…but being different is what gives you an edge.
So the next time someone says:
"But everyone else is doing it."
Ask:
"Cool. So why should we?"
Because “Everyone Else Is Doing It” is not a marketing strategy.
It's a shortcut to becoming another ad people scroll past. 💀
PawanGrowth Pawan Kumar