Harry Delmege, co-founder of Roly Poly Digital, joins Scalability School for a tactical conversation about what actually separates an ad spending $500 a day from one spending $10K a day. Harry's agency, named by Andrew's daughter Nora, has rapidly become one of the most respected creative shops in DTC by pushing back on a lot of what the industry is currently selling: high-volume AI-generated workflows, format obsession, and the relentless push to do more without slowing down to do it well.

The conversation digs into Harry's creative philosophy, which he distills into three things he checks every ad against: promise, proof, and (workshopped live on the episode) puzzling (big thanks to Brad). They cover his preference for long-form "yapper" ads, why he insists on manual research over AI-assisted research, how he hires creative strategists from non-media-buying backgrounds, and why he thinks the closest thing to a real "hack" in the current environment is just relentlessly studying organic content and ripping off what's already working.

Harry also shares his real take on the volume-versus-quality debate, including a pointed observation that brand-side complaints about agency performance have spiked at exactly the same time the industry adopted AI and started preaching volume.

Key Takeaways

What actually separates an ad that spends $500 a day from one that spends $10k a day
How AI-assisted creative research is actually hurting your hit rate
What is a "yapper ad" and why are most agencies/ brands not running them?
Why Harry believes a U-turn on creative volume is on the horizon
Where true creative innovation actually comes from and is it what you actually need for success.
Why "open loops" is the most misunderstood term in creative strategy
This 1 thing is the entire secret of high-performing creative.

This episode of the Scalability School podcast is sponsored by NorthBeam and they just launched Northbeam Incrementality. Northbeam Incrementality gives you easy, automated, self-service incrementality tests, while protecting you from the major mistakes so many people make while running incrementality tests. Your MTA handles the daily tactics, your MMM guides the long-term planning, and Incrementality provides the causal truth. It's a closed loop that allows you to scale what works and cut what doesn't. Right now when you head over to www.northbeam.io/incrementality, they're offering Scalability School listeners 50% off unlimited tests for a year when you join. Just tell them we sent you!

To connect with Harry Delmege, send him a DM at https://x.com/harrydelmege_

To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com

To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch

To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck

Learn more about the Foxwell Founders Community at https://foxwellfounders.com

Learn more about the The Hive Haus Creators Community at http://HiveHausUGC.com

How To Make Ads That Spend 10K Day With Harry Delmege

Scalability School

How To Make Ads That Spend 10K Day With Harry Delmege