How to find your avatars and angles, step by step
Better ads don’t start with better creative. They start with knowing exactly who you’re talking to and why they would buy. This is the process we use with every brand, worked through on one product, a carry-on suitcase, from the first review we read to the angles we test.
Avatar, angle and targeting: three different things
- An avatar is a specific person in a specific situation, with a desire they already have. Not “women 25–45”, but “a consultant who flies out every Monday and is done waiting at baggage claim”.
- An angle is the reason you give that person to buy, in their words.
- Targeting is the audience settings in Ads Manager. On Meta today, it’s mostly broad. The avatar lives in the ad, not in the targeting: the ad tells Meta who it’s for.
We use a carry-on suitcase as the example throughout this guide.
Step 1: Research what people actually say
Don’t guess. Read. The best sources, roughly in order of value:
- Your own reviews, especially the 4-star ones. They say what people love and what almost stopped them.
- Competitors’ reviews, especially the 1- and 2-star ones. Every complaint is an angle for you.
- Comments under competitors’ ads. Objections, questions and jokes, unfiltered.
- Reddit and forums. People describe their situation in detail when they ask for advice.
- Customer emails, chats and calls. What people ask before they buy is what the ads should answer.
- Long-running competitor ads in the Meta Ad Library. An ad that has run for months is probably profitable.
Highlight the exact words
Five snippets from reviews, comments and emails. The highlighted words are the raw material.
Copy the exact phrases into a document. “Done waiting at baggage claim” is a better hook than anything you’ll write from scratch.
Step 2: Group the desires into avatars
Sort your phrases by the situation behind them. Each cluster is an avatar. For every avatar, write down:
- Situation: who they are and what’s going on in their life.
- Desire: what they want, in their words.
- What they’ve tried: the current solution and why it disappoints.
- Their words: the phrases you’ll use in hooks.
- Their doubt: the objection that stops them from buying.
Four avatars, one carry-on
Same product, four people who want something different from it.
The weekly flyer
- Desire
- Walk off the plane and straight to the client.
- Tried
- Cheap carry-ons that break, checking a bag.
- Their words
- “Done waiting at baggage claim.”
The family packer
- Desire
- A trip that doesn’t start with stress.
- Tried
- One huge checked bag, lost twice.
- Their words
- “Snacks and chargers too.”
The budget-airline tripper
- Desire
- Never pay extra at the gate.
- Tried
- Stuffing a backpack until it barely closes.
- Their words
- “2cm too big.”
The put-together traveler
- Desire
- Look like they have their life together.
- Tried
- Designer bags that aren’t practical.
- Their words
- “My life together.”
Demographics come last. Age and gender help with visuals and casting, but they rarely explain why someone buys.
Step 3: Split core avatars into sub-avatars
A core avatar is broad: “the weekly business traveler”. Sub-avatars add a detail that changes the message: the consultant, the trade-fair founder, the new manager. Each sub-avatar gives you a new angle without starting from zero.
One core avatar, three sub-avatars
Each sub-avatar needs its own hook, even though the product is the same.
How many core avatars you need depends on your size. A brand doing a few hundred thousand a month usually does best going deep on one core avatar and its sub-avatars before adding a second.
Step 4: Write the angle
A simple way to find an angle: take the desire, look at what the person does now to get it, and write the gap between the two.
Desire + what they do now = the angle
The gap between the two is where the ad lives.
Never pay extra at the gate on budget airlines.
Stuff a backpack until it barely closes, and hope.
“Fits every budget airline’s free size. Measured, not guessed.”
Angles come in a few recurring types. For the same carry-on:
| Angle type | Example |
|---|---|
| The result | “Off the plane and to the meeting in ten minutes.” |
| Mechanism | “Built around compression, so a week fits in a carry-on.” |
| Comparison | “Checked bag: 40 minutes at the carousel. This: zero.” |
| Objection | “Wheels tested for 500 trips, because that’s where carry-ons die.” |
| Identity | “The bag that says you’ve done this before.” |
| Enemy | “Airlines make money on your checked bag. Don’t let them.” |
| Seasonal | “Summer holidays without the baggage-claim chaos.” |
In crowded categories, the mechanism angle often matters most. We cover why on our page about market sophistication and the unique mechanism.
Step 5: Map avatars to angles and hooks
Put it in one table. Every row becomes an ad test.
| Avatar | Angle | Hook | Awareness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly flyer | Skip baggage claim | “Done waiting at baggage claim after a 7am flight?” | Problem aware |
| Weekly flyer | Wheels that last | “Most carry-ons die at the wheels. Ours are tested for 500 trips.” | Solution aware |
| Family packer | Room for the whole trip | “Two kids, two weeks, one carry-on each.” | Problem aware |
| Budget tripper | Never pay at the gate | “Fits every budget airline’s free size. Measured, not guessed.” | Problem aware |
| Put-together traveler | Identity | “For people who’d rather look calm at the airport.” | Unaware |
Then build each angle into a few different ad concepts. Our library of 43 ad concepts is a good place to start.
Step 6: Test, and write down what you learn
Test several angles side by side, each with a few variations, in one broad campaign. After every test, write one line per angle:
| Avatar | Angle | Result | Why we think so | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budget tripper | Never pay at the gate | Winner | Specific fear, specific promise | New concepts: side-by-side test, group chat |
| Put-together traveler | Identity | Lost | Hook too vague for cold traffic | Retry with a story hook |
Over time this log becomes the most valuable document in the account: a record of what your customers respond to, and why.
Your worksheet
Copy this for every avatar:
AVATAR NAME: Situation (who, what is going on): Desire (their words): Why? Why? Why? (the desire behind the desire): What they do now, and why it disappoints: Their words (3-5 exact phrases): Biggest doubt: Awareness level: Angles (one line each): Hooks (three per angle):
Common mistakes
- Avatars made of demographics only.
- Writing hooks in your words instead of the customer’s.
- One avatar for every ad.
- Jumping to a new core avatar after one lost test instead of trying the sub-avatars.
- Putting the avatar in the targeting settings instead of in the ad.
The short version
- An avatar is a person in a situation with a desire, not a demographic.
- Research first: reviews, competitor reviews, ad comments, Reddit and customer emails. Keep their exact words.
- Split core avatars into sub-avatars before you switch to a new core avatar.
- Write the angle from the gap between the desire and what they do now.
- Map avatar, angle, hook and awareness in one table, test it, and log why it won or lost.
FAQ
What is a customer avatar in advertising?
A customer avatar is a specific person in a specific situation with a desire they already have, for example ’a consultant who flies out every Monday and is done waiting at baggage claim’. It is not a demographic range. Each avatar needs its own angle and hooks.
What is an ad angle?
An ad angle is the reason you give a specific person to buy, told in their words. One product can have many angles, one for each avatar and desire, such as skipping baggage claim, never paying at the gate or wheels that last.
How do you find angles for ads?
Research what customers actually say in reviews, competitor reviews, ad comments, forums and customer emails. Group the desires into avatars, then write the gap between what each avatar wants and what they do now. That gap is the angle.
What is the difference between a core avatar and a sub-avatar?
A core avatar is a broad group with one shared desire, like weekly business travelers. A sub-avatar adds a detail that changes the message, like consultants, trade-fair founders or new managers. Sub-avatars give you new angles without starting from zero.
How many avatars should a brand test?
Start deep rather than wide. Most brands do best with one core avatar and several sub-avatars at first, and add more core avatars as they grow. Switch core avatars only after the sub-avatars of the current one are exhausted.
Should the avatar be in the targeting settings on Meta?
Mostly no. On Meta today, broad targeting usually works best and the ad itself tells the system who it is for. The avatar should be clear in the hook, the visuals and the message rather than in interest targeting.