Creative is the biggest lever in paid media today. As targeting capabilities have tightened and algorithms now dictate how content is distributed, creative has become the most important variable in determining performance. It’s what drives engagement, influences click-through rates (CTR), and ultimately impacts your return on ad spend (ROAS). Platforms like Meta and TikTok reward creative that performs and penalize content that doesn’t.
And the ads that perform? They’re not coming from a studio. They’re coming from real people.
UGC Has Evolved: From Trend to Core Growth Strategy
User-generated content (UGC) has evolved from an organic trend into a high-impact performance tool. This shift is happening because UGC works. It connects more deeply with audiences, drives stronger engagement, and delivers better results at a lower cost. Brands are now building entire paid media pipelines around UGC because it helps them move faster, reduce production costs, and stay relevant to today’s consumers.
At brkfst.io, we don’t just deliver content. We help brands build a creative pipeline that consistently fuels performance across Meta, TikTok, and YouTube. Our UGC is designed to convert because that’s what matters.
The Creative Performance Engine: Why UGC Outperforms Traditional Ads
If your ad looks like an ad, Gen Z and Millennials will scroll right past it. But if it looks like something made by someone they follow, that’s when they stop and convert. UGC doesn’t just feel more native to the feed, it consistently outperforms traditional creative on key metrics like click-through rate (CTR) and return on ad spend (ROAS).
UGC Case Study: QVC+ and HSN+ x brkfst.io
Our work with QVC+ and HSN+ focused on reaching a younger audience through YouTube. The UGC-led campaign delivered a 28% lower cost per lead and a 5.9x increase in revenue per minute streamed.
UGC Case Study: Timberland x brkfst.io
For Timberland’s 50th Anniversary, we helped them launch UGC across Meta and TikTok. The result: a 53% higher ROAS on Meta and a 43% lower cost per result on TikTok compared to their business-as-usual (BAU) creative.
UGC and Media Efficiency: Driving Better ROAS at Lower Costs
UGC isn’t just more effective than branded content, it’s more efficient. It drives stronger engagement and higher conversion rates, which means lower customer acquisition costs (CAC) and longer-lasting performance. UGC is also faster to produce and easier to scale than traditional content, making it ideal for brands that need to test, learn, and iterate quickly.
That’s why UGC thrives on platforms like Meta, TikTok, and YouTube. The content feels raw, real, and keeps pace with the speed of culture.
At brkfst.io, we offer flexible partnership models to match your needs. You can buy content outright and manage it in-house, or tap into our full performance team to handle both creative production and paid media execution.
The Impact on Brand Equity: Trust, Authenticity, and Influence
UGC doesn’t just drive clicks, it builds trust. When your brand features real people and real experiences, it creates authenticity that polished, branded ads can’t replicate.
When used consistently, UGC becomes part of how your brand shows up in the world: relatable, community-driven, and customer-first. It reinforces your brand message while keeping it genuine and over time, that authenticity translates into stronger brand loyalty and long-term equity.
How to Build a High-Performance UGC Pipeline
To make UGC work like a growth engine, you need a repeatable, scalable process. Here’s what that looks like:
- Source Authentically: Work with creators who genuinely align with your brand and audience.
- Brief for Performance: Provide clear, focused briefs that are built for specific ad channels and KPIs.
- Manage and Test: Use a dedicated platform to collect, review, secure rights, and test content efficiently.
- Integrate and Scale: Feed top-performing UGC into your always-on media strategy to fuel continuous performance.
Creative isn’t just a branded asset anymore — it’s the driving force behind paid media performance. In today’s fast-moving landscape, user-generated content (UGC) is the most effective way to power that performance. It’s faster to produce, easier to scale, and consistently delivers stronger results than traditional production. The brands seeing the most success are those building always-on creative pipelines with content that feels real, relevant, and made for the platforms people actually use. You can see how they’re doing it with these UGC strategies.
At brkfst.io, we help consumer brands do exactly that by turning UGC into a performance system that drives results across Meta, TikTok, and YouTube. If you’re ready to evolve your creative strategy, we’re ready to help.