Spring 2026 Study Group — Campaign & Copy Strategy

Created 2026-02-24

Tags study-groupspring-2026marketingstrategymontreal

Developed from a review of: Winter Meta campaign copy, smsg-2026 landing page, primer-2025-m1 landing page, Winter cohort participant profiles, Guylaine and Magali testimonials (video), segment feedback from 14 Winter participants, and key definitions / method backbone.

What We’re Working From

Winter cohort results

22 enrolments, 20 participants completed the program — strong completion rate
Pricing: $197 USD (same as standalone Primer course)
Discount strategy: started near 50% off at launch, reduced progressively toward start date
Meta campaign: Montreal + 40mi, Advantage+, one ad set, two static creatives (identical text, different images), bilingual EN/FR with separate landing pages

Key materials reviewed

smsg-2026 landing page (Winter)
primer-2025-m1 landing page (Primer-only campaign — preferred structurally as a design reference)
Winter Meta campaign creatives
Guylaine Demers and Magali Lalonde testimonial videos (most recent; both from Winter Study Group; represent ideal client archetypes)
14 segment feedback forms from Winter participants

What Worked in the Winter Campaign

“For those curious about the connection between physical practice and mental skills” — the strongest natural filter line in the ad copy; self-selects for the right mindset
“Beyond conventional fitness and mindfulness” — clean negative positioning
“Structured, evidence-based methodology” — credibility signal that repels passive/casual participants
“Challenges even seasoned movers” — correctly signals technical difficulty regardless of background
The discount ladder (launch discount reducing toward start) created urgency without permanently devaluing
The dual-component framing (in-person + Primer) was clearly understood by people who read it
Two complementary statics — the Meta algorithm appeared to show both to the same users; effect was likely additive, not competing

Key Problem: Audience Calibration

The correction

The Winter cohort skewed too sedentary on the low end — some participants couldn’t hold their arms raised for 20 seconds. The ideal audience is physically active people with an awareness gap, not beginners or people in rehabilitation.

The two ideal client archetypes are:

Magali (36, pre-school teacher, active recreationally in endurance, dance, team sports, HIIT): Fit and regularly active, but kinesthesia is not her primary intelligence. She struggles to intuitively move well despite physical capability. She came looking for what body awareness could concretely bring — she wasn’t sure of the outcomes, but neuroscience and the curiosity hook pulled her in. Post-program: “I never knew how to be straight… After Baseworks, it’s a whole.”

Guylaine (66, yoga teacher, somatic movement background, high body awareness): Movement professional already working to bring people into “inner contact with themselves — not just moving for the sake of moving.” She came looking for tools that would deepen her own practice and her teaching. Post-program: “People were much more focused and they had better balance. That’s what I noticed.”

The risk to avoid

The current FAQ phrase — “You need to be able to stand without support and get up from the floor independently” — sets the physical floor too low. Combined with “everyday movements that adapt to your current mobility,” the page can read as therapeutic/accessible in a way that attracts the wrong-fit audience (chair yoga level, rehabilitation phase, primarily sedentary).

Structural Problems with the smsg-2026 Page

No explicit “right fit / not right fit” section — the primer-2025-m1 page has this and it is the most important filtering tool on any page where you’re trying to select for the right person
Social proof is mismatched — testimonials are from the general Baseworks community (Althea, Morten, Daria, etc.), not from the Winter Study Group. Guylaine and Magali’s voices are absent despite being the ideal client archetypes and having rich, specific testimonials
The real-life transfer moments are not in the copy — participants consistently report noticing changes while walking, standing, talking. This is the most tangible proof the program works, but it only lives in testimonials, not in the body copy
The value stack is unclear — at $197 USD (same as standalone Primer), the in-person component appears free by implication. This undervalues the program regardless of whether the Spring price changes
The problem / hook section is missing — the page jumps to “what to expect” without first naming the gap that the program addresses
The bilingual audience is served at the ad level (EN/FR variants) but the page could do more for francophone Montreal visitors

Recommended Structural Changes for Spring Landing Page

Borrow the primer-2025-m1 skeleton, fill with Study Group content

The primer-2025-m1 page has better visual hierarchy and narrative flow. The recommended page structure for Spring:

Hero — Program name + clear audience call-in (active person with awareness gap)
The gap — Name the problem: you can be physically capable and still not know how your body actually moves
What the program is — Hybrid format, 7 Saturdays, what the combination delivers
Schedule + logistics — Dates, times, Proto Studio
Online component — Primer section (verbatim or updated from Winter)
Instructors — Patrick + Asia
What you’ll develop — Takeaways, updated and reframed
Testimonials — Guylaine + Magali as hero quotes; other community testimonials secondary
Is this right for you? — Explicit positive and negative screens (NEW — most important addition)
FAQ — Updated minimum requirement language
Enrollment / pricing — Value stack made explicit

Specific Copy Changes

Hero / subheadline

Replace the general “Move smarter in 2026: A quest for better perception” orientation with copy that names the audience directly: physically active people who want to understand their movement at a deeper level.

Minimum health requirement (FAQ)

Replace: “You need to be able to stand without support and get up from the floor independently.” With something that explicitly requires active fitness — e.g., comfortable with sustained physical effort, holding positions, floor transitions. Explicitly note this is not suitable for rehabilitation, restorative, or primarily sedentary participants.

Value stack (pricing section)

Make explicit what is included and what each component would cost separately:

Baseworks Primer: $197 USD standalone
7 in-person sessions with expert instruction and real-time correction in a small cohort: significant additional value, not available separately
Combined offer at the Study Group price

Lead with Guylaine and Magali. Their quotes are specific, relatable, and speak directly to the ideal audience experience. Use as hero testimonials above the fold or adjacent to the “is this right for you” section. Other community testimonials can appear lower on the page.

”Is this right for you” section (new)

See the copy note for full proposed text. Key principle: the positive screen should describe an active person with an awareness gap; the negative screen should make it unambiguous that this is not a gentle, therapeutic, or restorative program.

Meta Campaign Creative Direction for Spring

Reference: spring-2026-campaign-strategy-meta-ai-advice Reference: Spring Meta Campaign Ad Copy

Campaign setup

Duplicate the existing ad set, don’t create a new campaign.

In Ads Manager: select (MTL-SG-26) Ad Set 1 → Duplicate → update schedule and creatives
Keeping the same campaign preserves campaign-level historical data and optimization
A new ad set gives clean performance tracking for this cohort without overlapping with Winter data
Adding new ads to the existing ad set is not recommended — the system may continue to favor the old ads, and it fragments the cost-per-participant data

Bilingual setup (updated — see implementation notes below)

The manual Languages feature at the ad level (set English as default, add French as a translation, specify a separate French URL) is the correct approach and does work — but only under a specific constraint: square (1:1) creatives only.

Adding Story or Landscape crops causes the Languages section to disappear from the ad editor. This is a confirmed technical limitation in Meta Ads Manager as of March 2026. See the implementation notes section for the full picture.

Earlier note (“January limitation resolved”) was based on incomplete Meta AI advice

Meta AI described the Languages feature as resolving the January limitation, but did not disclose the placement/language incompatibility. Do not produce Story or Landscape crops for bilingual campaigns.

Creative strategy — 3 targeted creatives (updated 2026-03-11)

Moved from 2 generic creatives × 3 shuffled text variations to 3 targeted creatives × 1 dedicated text each.

At 25-participant scale, Meta can’t meaningfully optimize across 6 combinations. Three coherent, intentional ads — each a complete pitch targeting a different audience angle — is the stronger approach. Each creative’s image and copy work together as a unit.

Creative	Audience angle	Copy approach	Image direction
1 — The Gap	Active people who sense something is missing	Opens with the kinesthetic gap; problem-first	Practice/precision — focused, detailed movement work
2 — Testimonial	People motivated by practical, tangible outcomes	Opens with Magali’s quote (attributed); frames real-life transfer	May carry the quote on the image itself; daily-life or authentic context
3 — Educators	Yoga teachers, dance teachers, PTs, somatic practitioners	Opens with the teaching gap; offers practical tools for their work	Group/instructional context — teaching, correction, collaborative

Full ad copy for each creative: spring-2026-meta-campaign-copy

Video creative: Abandoned for now. May revisit as a Canva slide-based video with photos and text, but not a priority.

What to keep from Winter

Bullet-format primary text (⚫︎ points work on Meta)
“Move Smarter” as hero text on creatives — with companion taglines TBD
Two complementary statics approach (now expanded to three)

What changed from Winter (2026-03-11)

Copy revisions per voice guide:

“Structured, evidence-based methodology” → “Systematic methodology, informed by neuroscience”
“For those curious about the connection between physical practice and mental skills” → “For those curious about how physical practice carries over into learning, concentration, and daily life”
“Beyond conventional fitness and mindfulness” → “Skills that most physical disciplines and mindfulness practices don’t specifically develop” (or: “Distinct from conventional physical disciplines and mindfulness practices”)
“Small cohort with individual correction” → “Small cohort with individualized feedback”
Skills transfer language updated to cover both physical AND cognitive transfer domains

Structural changes:

No pricing or enrollment offers in ad copy — landing page handles tiered pricing and progressive discount ladder
3 targeted creatives replace 2 generic creatives
Each creative has dedicated copy (not shuffled across creatives)
Creative 2 uses attributed participant testimonial (Magali) as the opening hook
Creative 3 reframed for educators: practical tools for teaching, not analytical depth for themselves

Targeting

Keep Montreal + 40mi, Advantage+, one ad set — do not split into multiple ad sets at this scale (harder for the algorithm to find 25 people efficiently when budget is divided)
Optional parallel test: a second ad set with more defined interest targeting (somatic movement, body awareness, yoga instruction, dance education, movement science) to compare against Advantage+ — but only if budget allows splitting without reducing effectiveness of the primary ad set

Budget and Optimization (Small-Scale Campaign)

Learning phase — don’t worry about it

At 25 participants, the ad set will stay in Learning Limited status throughout the campaign. This is normal. Meta’s learning phase technically requires ~50 conversions per week to exit — mathematically impossible at our scale.

“Learning Limited” does not mean the ads aren’t working
The algorithm still optimizes on the data it has; it just isn’t statistically “confident”
Ignore the learning phase label; track Cost Per Result (cost per sign-up) instead

Budget formula

Find your Cost Per Result (CPR) from the Winter campaign in Ads Manager
Total investment = CPR × 25 participants
Daily budget = Total investment ÷ number of campaign days

Example: If Winter CPR was $60: 25 × $60 = $1,500 total → $1,500 ÷ ~24 days ≈ $62.50/day

Budget strategy

Front-load slightly: This program is not an impulsive purchase (24 hours of commitment, multiple sessions, planning required). People need multiple touchpoints before converting. Spend slightly more in the first two weeks to build awareness and warm the audience; taper as the 25-person cap approaches
Retargeting matters: Set up retargeting for website visitors and ad engagers — this is where most conversions happen for high-commitment programs. People who saw the ad, visited the page, and came back are the most likely buyers
Monitor Frequency: In a local market like Montreal, frequency can climb quickly. If Frequency exceeds 4–5, the same people are seeing the ad too many times — refresh creative or reduce daily spend slightly
Manual optimization: At this scale, the algorithm has less data to work with. After a few days, review Cost Per Result by creative. If one ad is clearly outperforming, manually pause the underperformers rather than waiting for the algorithm to figure it out

Meta Implementation — What Actually Happened (March 2026)

This section documents the actual experience setting up the Spring 2026 campaign ads, the problems encountered, and the current known limitations of Meta Ads Manager for bilingual campaigns.

See also: meta-ads-platform-reference in 03-resources/marketing/ for a consolidated reference across all campaigns.

What we tried to do

Set up three static ads (Gap, Testimonial, Educators), each with Square / Story / Landscape crops, bilingual (EN/FR) with separate landing page URLs, within a duplicated ad set.

Problems encountered

The Languages section is extremely fragile and hard to find. The manual Languages section (where you manually input FR copy and a separate FR URL) does not consistently appear in the ad editor. It is hidden or suppressed by:

“Optimize text per person” being enabled
Event details being active on the ad
Placement-specific crops (Story / Landscape) being added

The only workaround discovered to make it reappear: switch the ad format to Carousel, then back to Single Image. This resets the UI — but also deletes any Story and Landscape crops, and adding them back causes the Languages section to disappear again.

Multiple text options and bilingual are incompatible. Meta AI advised that multiple copy versions (headlines, primary text) can now be used alongside bilingual settings. In practice, enabling “Optimize text per person” suppressed the Languages section. These two features appear to conflict. Not fully confirmed, but treat as incompatible until proven otherwise.

AI translation is not the same as manual Languages. The “Translate text” enhancement inside Advantage+ Creative is AI-driven and does not allow you to input your own French copy or specify a different French URL. It is not a substitute for the manual Languages tool.

The core technical constraint (confirmed)

You cannot combine placement customization and language customization in the same ad.

Meta’s system allows only one dimension of image customization per ad:

Option A — Placement crops: Different images for Story / Feed / Landscape. Same image for all languages.
Option B — Language images: Different images for EN vs. FR. Same aspect ratio for all placements.

This is confirmed by the Meta Ads Manager error message: “You can’t use different images across placements and languages in the same ad.”

What this means for bilingual campaigns at our scale

With 3 creative types × 2 languages, the workaround of “one ad per language” produces 6 ads — too many for a 25-person cap campaign to optimize. The algorithm cannot exit the learning phase and the data is spread too thin.

Decision for Spring 2026

Use square creatives only. One bilingual ad per creative type. Three ads total.

Square (1:1) is the only format that unlocks the manual Languages section
Meta auto-adapts square images for Stories and Reels via background expansion (acceptable trade-off at this scale)
Three ads (Gap, Testimonial, Educators) keeps the algorithm data consolidated
Each ad: EN copy + EN URL as default; FR copy + FR URL via the manual Languages section

Key lesson for future campaigns

Do not produce Story or Landscape crops for bilingual campaigns. We made this mistake in both December 2025 and March 2026 — producing the full set of crops, then discovering during ad setup that they cannot be used with bilingual settings, and ending up with square only anyway. The crop production time was wasted both times.

When planning a Meta campaign that requires bilingual (EN/FR) setup:

Produce square creatives only
Do not plan for placement-specific crops unless the campaign is monolingual