Six segments, three jobs.
Awareness fills the video-viewer pool, Engagement starts WhatsApp chats with cold audiences, Retargeting converts people who have already watched or engaged. Each person sits in one ad set only.
- Engagement ad sets are buying junk inventory: CPM fell to ~AED 6 on 3–5 Oct while only 3–5% watch 3 seconds. Switch every ad set to manual placements — exact list per segment in Campaign structure → Placements.
- Audiences tightened — ENG1 and ENG2 now split by age (no overlap) and use a second "narrow further" layer. See the changes below.
- Pause the old Students, Traders and Dubai Expo ad sets — "Traders" targets the same people as ENG1 and competes with it.
- ENG1: keep Market Buzz (AED 39/chat); pause AI Partner (AED 177/chat) and Technical Views (0 chats).
- CPAY video added (ID 921136460790939) — cut to 15–20s, launch in RT1/RT2 first.
Who each segment is and how Meta finds them.
Active vs aspiring traders — split cleanly, then narrow.
Active traders already trade (FX, gold, indices) and want better tools. Aspiring traders follow money and investing but haven't opened a trading account. The old setup let both ad sets reach the same 25–40-year-olds with overlapping finance interests, so they bid against each other.
| Setting | ENG1 · Active traders — was | ENG1 · now | ENG2 · Aspiring traders — was | ENG2 · now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 25–50 | 31–50 | 24–40 | 24–30 |
| Interests — layer 1 (any) | FX market · Day trading · technical analysis · MetaTrader 4 · Investing.com · Gold · Trading strategy · Electronic trading platform | Foreign exchange market · Day trading · MetaTrader 4 · technical analysis | Investment · Personal finance · Personal finance books · Stock market · Financial market | Personal finance books (publication) · Personal finance (banking) |
| Narrow further — layer 2 (must also match) | — | Investing.com · Forex Factory · FXCM · Plus500 · FxPro · Easy forex | — | Investment (business and finance) · Stock market (investing) |
| Removed | Gold, Trading strategy, Electronic trading platform — broad, and shared with AW1 | Financial market — broad, and shared with ENG1/AW1 | ||
| Advantage detailed targeting | Off where Ads Manager allows it — otherwise Meta expands back to the large audience. | |||
| Placements | Manual: Facebook & Instagram Feeds, Reels, Stories only. | |||
| Lead video | AI Partner | Market Buzz (+ CPAY 15–20s test) | CMS Academy | CMS Academy re-cut to 20s |
The age split is a starting point. After 7 days, export with the Age breakdown and move the boundary to where chats actually come from. Changing targeting restarts learning, so make all changes on the same day.
Each video answers one trader problem.
So each video leads the ad set whose audience has that problem.
Overlap rules
Exclusions are custom audiences — Meta no longer allows excluding interests.
- Awareness and Engagement exclude video viewers ≥50% (30d) — they belong to RT1.
- RT2 excludes RT1's video viewers.
- Every ad set excludes funded clients and recent messagers (7d RT · 14d Engagement · 30d Awareness).
- Budgets set at ad-set level, not Advantage campaign budget.
Locations & languages
UAE only; the CMA licence is onshore UAE.
- Location: United Arab Emirates, all emirates, people living in this location.
- English (All): AW1, ENG1, ENG2.
- Arabic: AW2 — starts once Arabic subtitles are burned into the videos.
- Retargeting: all languages (audience defined by behaviour).
- Always exclude US, Turkey and sanctioned jurisdictions if a campaign ever targets beyond the UAE.
Interest names — checked in Ads Manager, 25 Sep 2026
Several planned interests don't exist in this account. These are the real names to type.
| Not available | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Gold as an investment | Gold (metals and minerals) · silver (metals, minerals and mining) |
| Commodity market | Petroleum (search "crude oil") |
| CNBC · Financial Times | Bloomberg L.P. · Thomson Reuters |
| TradingView | Investing.com · Forex Factory · Electronic trading platform |
| Dubai Financial Market · Argaam · CNBC Arabia | None — Arabic language targeting does the work in AW2 |
| Online learning | Drop it — Personal finance books (publication) fits ENG2 better |
Worth testing: competitor brands are available as interests — FXCM, Plus500, FxPro, Easy forex, Forex Factory. Strong for the broker-switcher angle in ENG1.
3 campaigns · 5 live ad sets · AED 160/day.
As set up in Meta Ads Manager, checked 6 Oct 2026 — status, budgets, targeting, audiences, placements and which ads are on. AW2 (Arabic) is planned but not created yet. The last column lists what still differs from the plan. Old campaigns (Students, Traders, Dubai Expo, New Engagement, UAE - All Traders, test) are all off.
Recommended placements per audience segment.
Set in each ad set under Placements → Manual placements. ✓ = on, — = off. Feeds use the 4:5 cut; Stories and Reels need the 9:16 original — upload it with "Select media by placement" in each ad.
| Group in Ads Manager | Placement | Format | AW1 · AW2 Segments A, B | ENG1 C · Active 31–50 | ENG2 D · Aspiring 24–30 | RT1 · RT2 E, F · Warm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feeds | Facebook Feed | 4:5 | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Feeds | Instagram feed | 4:5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Feeds | Instagram profile feed | 4:5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Feeds | Instagram Explore Discovery placement — useful cold, not needed for warm audiences | 4:5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Feeds | Instagram Explore home | 4:5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Feeds | Facebook video feeds Good for cheap ThruPlays only | 4:5 | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Feeds | Facebook right column Desktop, static — video barely plays | 1:1 | — | — | — | — |
| Feeds | Facebook Marketplace Shopping mindset | 4:5 | — | — | — | — |
| Feeds | Facebook business Explore | 4:5 | — | — | — | — |
| Feeds | Messenger inbox | 1:1 | — | — | — | — |
| Feeds | Threads feed Little UAE finance audience | 4:5 | — | — | — | — |
| Stories, Status & Reels | Instagram Stories | 9:16 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stories, Status & Reels | Facebook Stories | 9:16 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stories, Status & Reels | Instagram Reels | 9:16 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stories, Status & Reels | Facebook Reels | 9:16 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stories, Status & Reels | Messenger Stories · Status | 9:16 | — | — | — | — |
| In-stream ads for videos & reels | Facebook in-stream videos · Ads on Facebook Reels Interrupts someone else’s video — people wait to skip | 16:9 / overlay | — | — | — | — |
| Search results | Facebook & Instagram search results | — | — | — | — | — |
| Messages | Messenger sponsored messages | — | — | — | — | — |
| Apps & sites | Audience Network — native, banner, interstitial, rewarded video Likely cause of the AED 6 CPM and 3–5% hook rate | — | — | — | — | — |
| Placements on | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
Why the segments differ
- AW1 · AW2 — the only ad sets that keep Facebook video feeds: the goal is cheap, real views. Run the placement breakdown first; if AW1's views come mostly from Feeds and Reels, it can stay as it is.
- ENG1 · Active traders 31–50 — Facebook Feed stays on: this age group still reads and clicks there. Explore stays on to find new traders.
- ENG2 · Aspiring traders 24–30 — Instagram-first. Facebook Feed off as a test: for under-30s in the UAE it buys cheap, low-attention impressions. Facebook Stories and Reels stay on (full-screen video).
- RT1 · RT2 · Warm — these people already know CMS, so the discovery placements (Explore) are off. Budget goes to Feeds, Stories and Reels where they already see CMS.
How to check it worked
- After 5–7 days: Breakdown → By delivery → Placement, last 7 days.
- CPM in Engagement should rise to roughly AED 20–35 — expected, the cheap junk inventory is gone.
- 3-second view rate should move from 3–5% toward 20%+, and cost per chat should fall.
- If one placement takes >50% of spend with no chats, switch it off in that ad set only.
Custom audiences to build
Naming convention
The Reporting tab reads the ad set codes (AW1, ENG1, RT1…) from these names.
Creative rules for all ads
- 9:16 cuts of 15–20s for Stories and Reels, 4:5 for Feeds; captions burned in, strong first 2 seconds.
- CTA: Chat on WhatsApp on every ad (fix Market Buzz, currently "Learn more").
- CFD risk warning in primary text or end card.
- WhatsApp: pre-filled message ("Hi, I'd like to know more about CMS Financial's trading tools") + instant greeting in WhatsApp Business; reply within 5 min in UAE hours.
Outside this structure
- Students, Traders (same people as ENG1), Dubai Expo 2026, Dubai Expo Forex 2026 — AED 275+ spent, 1 chat.
- Done 6 Oct: all old campaigns off; AI Partner and Technical Views off in ENG1. Still to do: add the CPAY test to ENG1.
- Check the draft "New Engagement ad" (AED 252/day) before anyone publishes it — outside the AED 30–50 rule.
AED 30–50 per ad set per day.
Move each slider and set its start week; monthly spend, expected results and weekly pacing update. Cost assumptions are planning figures — replace them with actuals after 14 days.
Actuals to 5 Oct: AED 0.08 per 100% video play in AW1; AED 119 per chat in ENG1+ENG2 (5 chats for AED 593). The AED 14 cold target assumes the placement, audience and WhatsApp fixes are in place.
Ad set budgets
Stays inside AED 30–50 by design.
First 30 days — weekly pacing
Ad sets start in their start week; month-1 spend is lower than the full monthly figure.
Your five videos — how they performed and where they run next.
Hook rate = 3-second plays ÷ impressions (target 30%). Completion rate = 100% plays ÷ impressions (the export has no ThruPlay column, so 100% plays stand in for ThruPlays). Figures from the Ads Manager export, 8 Sep – 5 Oct 2026. CPAY is new and not live yet.
Hook vs ThruPlay rate
Dot size = spend. Top-right = where to scale. Hover for detail; click to see retention.
Retention curve
Share of 3-second viewers still watching at each point.
Ad scorecard
Verdict rules: < 500 impressions → Learning · hook < 20% → Rework hook · ThruPlay rate < 5% → Tighten body · CTR < 0.7% → Fix CTA · spend > 3× cold chat cost with 0 chats → Check WhatsApp path · otherwise Keep.
Performance by stage and ad set.
Real results from the Ads Manager export, 8 Sep – 5 Oct 2026 (the export is a single period, so the weekly charts show one bar). Old ad sets (Students, Traders, Dubai Expo, Test) appear under their own names. Load a newer export, ideally with a Day or Week breakdown, to update.
Spend per week
ThruPlays per week
Awareness output — fills RT1.
WhatsApp chats per week
By ad set
Status compares each ad set with its stage target.
By campaign
Cost per chat by ad set
Dashed line = cold target.
If the budget goes up, it goes warm first, then Arabic.
Order of priority: retargeting (cheapest chats) → Arabic (untapped — ADSS, Equiti and CFI all run it) → awareness (feeds retargeting) → cold engagement last. Every ad set stays inside AED 30–50/day; ENG2 is the one exception at AED 20 while it proves itself.
| Ad set | Stage | Now | Step 1 | Step 2 | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AW1 · Market-curious EN | Awareness | AED 30 | AED 40 | AED 50 | Fills the video-viewer pool that RT1 needs. Cheapest stage (≈AED 0.08 per complete view). |
| AW2 · Market-curious AR | Awareness | — | AED 30 New | AED 40 | ADSS, Equiti and CFI run Arabic versions; CMS has none live. Needs Arabic-subtitled cuts. |
| ENG1 · Active traders 31–50 | Engagement | AED 50 | AED 50 | AED 50 | Already at the cap. Hold until cost per chat ≤ AED 60 for 7 days. |
| ENG2 · Aspiring traders 24–30 | Engagement | AED 20 | AED 20 | AED 30 only if ≤ AED 60/chat | Weakest so far (AED 160/chat). Earn budget before getting it. |
| ENG3 · Active traders AR | Engagement | — | — | AED 30 New | Arabic mirror of ENG1 (same interests + Arabic language), Market Buzz + CPAY with Arabic subtitles. |
| RT1 · Video viewers | Retargeting | AED 30 | AED 40 | AED 50 | Warm — expected cheapest chats. Raise only while frequency < 4 / 7 days. |
| RT2 · Engagers & visitors | Retargeting | AED 30 | AED 40 | AED 50 | Small pool (IG engagers 1,400–1,600) — watch frequency. |
| Total / day | AED 160 | AED 220 | AED 300 |
When to move to the next step
- Step 1 — 7 days after the placement/audience fixes, if retargeting is producing chats and ENG1 is below AED 60 per chat (it was AED 119).
- Step 2 — when retargeting runs at ≤ AED 40 per chat with frequency under 4, and AW2 Arabic has 2 weeks of data.
- If neither happens, don't add budget — fix creative first (see Creative pipeline). More money on a weak ad only buys more of the same result.
How to raise budgets without breaking learning
- Raise an existing ad set by 20–30% at a time, every 3 days (e.g. RT1 30 → 40 → 50).
- Big jumps go into a new ad set (AW2, ENG3), not a doubled budget on an old one.
- One change per ad set per 3 days. Judge after 5–7 days, not 24 hours.
- Realistic targets after the fixes: cold AED 40–60 per chat, retargeting AED 20–30. The original AED 14 cold target was too optimistic for UAE finance.
What to add — videos and images, in order.
Priority 1 is needed this week to run the current plan and launch Arabic. Priority 2 supports Step 1 of the scale plan, priority 3 supports Step 2. Every asset: captions burned in, CFD risk warning, "Chat on WhatsApp" CTA, no "profit"/"earn"/"guaranteed" language.
| Priority | Asset | Type | Sizes | Language | Runs in | Brief |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CPAY — 15–20s cut | Video | 9:16 + 4:5 | EN + AR subtitles | RT1, RT2, ENG1 test | Cpay Mastercard: receive trading funds, access money worldwide, withdraw cash, travel & hotel discounts. Card claims approved by compliance. |
| 1 | Market Buzz — 3 new hooks | Video | 9:16 + 4:5 | EN + AR | ENG1, ENG3, AW | Your best ad. Keep the body, change only the first 2 seconds: "Gold — bullish or bearish?" · "Oil just moved. Why?" · "Is the AI rally still on?" Tie each to the week's news, the way ADSS and Equiti do. |
| 1 | Arabic versions of Market Buzz, CMS Academy, CPAY | Video | 9:16 + 4:5 | AR subtitles burned in (native-checked) | AW2, ENG3 | Unlocks AW2 and ENG3. ADSS and Equiti run EN + AR pairs of the same ad. |
| 2 | Why CMS — trust video 15s | Video | 9:16 | EN + AR | AW, RT | A real CMS person, face to camera: UAE-licensed by the CMA, local team in Dubai, real people on WhatsApp. Competitors lead with "trusted, local, regulated" — CMS can say the same. |
| 2 | Open your account in 3 steps — screen recording | Video | 9:16 | EN + AR | RT1, RT2 | 15–20s phone screen recording of the sign-up. Equiti runs exactly this. Removes "is this complicated?" for warm audiences. |
| 2 | Product statics ×5 — Gold · Oil · US tech · Indices · Forex | Image | 1080×1350 + 1080×1920 | EN + AR | AW, ENG1, ENG3 | One market per image, one line, CMA trust line, CMS logo. Century Financial and Equiti run one ad per product. Use only pricing CMS can confirm. |
| 2 | CMS Academy carousel — 4 cards | Carousel | 1080×1080 | EN + AR | ENG2 | Intro to Forex · MT4 · MT5 · eBooks & audiobooks. Gives ENG2 a second creative beside the one video. |
| 3 | Cpay carousel — 4 cards | Carousel | 1080×1080 | EN + AR | RT2 | One benefit per card. For engagers who already follow CMS. |
| 3 | Weekly market update — 20s | Video | 9:16 | EN (+ AR later) | AW, RT | Analyst or Technical Views screen: one market, one level to watch. New one each week keeps frequency fresh in small RT pools. |
| 3 | "Checked your broker lately?" switcher static | Image | 1080×1350 | EN | ENG1 (competitor-interest layer) | ADSS runs this angle. Only with CMS pricing that compliance has confirmed. |
Specs
- 9:16 (1080×1920) for Stories and Reels; 4:5 (1080×1350) for Feeds — upload both with "Select media by placement".
- Video 15–20s; message in the first 2 seconds; works with sound off.
- Keep text out of the top and bottom 14% of 9:16 frames (Reels UI covers it).
How many per ad set
- 3–4 ads per ad set — 2 videos + 1–2 statics. Competitors run 2–6 versions of each creative.
- Refresh the weakest ad every 2–3 weeks; retargeting faster (small pools tire quickly).
Compliance
- Competitors show leverage figures and deposit bonuses in headlines. CMS's rule stays stricter: no leverage in headlines, no bonus or return claims unless client compliance approves in writing.
- Testimonials only from real clients with written permission.
How UAE brokers run Meta ads.
Read from the public Meta Ad Library (country: UAE, active ads). Spend and targeting aren't public — this shows what they say, in which formats and languages, and where they send people.
| Broker | Activity | Formats | Messages & hooks | Offer | CTA → destination | Language | Compliance line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADSS CMA-licensed | Large, refreshed every few weeks (new sets 28–29 Sep) | Video + static, several versions each | News hooks (Hormuz/oil, gold volatility, "AI boom" / Mag 7) · cost (forex from 0.0 pips, gold from 20 cents) · leverage up to 200:1 · rewards programme · "trusted, local broker" | $50 trading credit on first $100+ deposit | Sign Up / Learn More → site | EN + AR mirror of every ad | "Trading is high risk. Authorised by the CMA." in every ad |
| Equiti SCA-regulated | Large; evergreen since Jun + new sets Sep | Mostly statics/carousels with site links, some video | One product per ad (FX, gold, oil, indices, ETFs, US shares, MENA stocks) · switcher ("Trade up. Switch to Equiti") · "3 simple steps" account opening · "funds protected" | 30% bonus on first deposit (EN + AR) | Apply Now / Sign Up → equiti.com | EN + AR | Regulation as a selling point |
| Century Financial UAE broker | Large; most running since 25 Jun (evergreen) | Video | One market per ad with tickers named (NVIDIA, Apple, US500, DAX, XAU/USD, DFM/ADX, ETFs) · "regulated platform" · "competitive spreads" | None seen | Sign Up / Learn More | EN | "Trusted, regulated" in copy |
| CFI | Small (3 active) | Video + app-install | Celebrity ambassador (Lewis Hamilton) in Arabic · "15,000+ instruments, 0% commission" · app speed | None seen | Install Now / Sign Up | EN + AR (separate pages) | "Regulated. Transparent." line |
| Noor Capital | No active broker ads found in the UAE | — | (Only an unrelated loan-consultancy page "Al Noor Capital GCC" — WhatsApp CTA) | — | — | — | — |
Six changes.
| Pattern | What competitors do | For CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Run Arabic | ADSS and Equiti mirror their ads in Arabic, and CFI runs an Arabic page. CMS has no Arabic ad live. | Launch AW2 now; ENG3 at Step 2. |
| One market, one message | Competitors run one product per ad, tied to the week's news. | 3 new Market Buzz hooks + 5 product statics. |
| Trust line up front | "Authorised by the CMA" / "regulated" in nearly every ad. | Add "Licensed by the UAE CMA" on screen and in primary text. |
| Offer | ADSS and Equiti both lead with a deposit incentive. | CMS has free Academy courses and the Cpay card — lead with those. Any deposit offer only with compliance sign-off. |
| Volume of creative | 2–6 versions per creative, new sets every 2–4 weeks. | 3–4 ads per ad set; refresh every 2–3 weeks. |
| WhatsApp is a gap they leave open | No broker sends people to WhatsApp — all go to sign-up. | CMS's "talk to a real person" route is a difference worth saying in the ad: "Questions? Chat with our team on WhatsApp." |
Launch order, optimisation and compliance.
Fix the basics
- Test "Chat on WhatsApp" from a phone — 0 chats so far
- Market Buzz CTA → Chat on WhatsApp
- Pause Students; let Dubai Expo end
- Re-edit videos to 15–20s, add risk warning
Go live
- AW1, ENG1, ENG2 on
- RT2 on if its audience ≥ 1,000
- No edits for 5 days (learning)
Retarget
- RT1 on once video viewers ≥ 1,000
- First hook review on AW1
Fix & tighten
- Manual placements on ENG1/ENG2
- New ages: ENG1 31–50, ENG2 24–30 + narrow-further layer
- Pause Students, Traders, Dubai Expo; pause AI Partner & Technical Views in ENG1
- Pre-filled WhatsApp message + instant greeting
- RT1/RT2 on with CPAY 15–20s
Arabic & optimise
- Review age breakdown after 7 days
- AW2 on with Arabic subtitles
- Shift AED 10–20/day to the winning ad set (within 30–50)
Optimisation rules
Checked twice a week.
Stage targets
Compliance checklist for every ad
- No "profit", "earn", "guaranteed" or return-implying language.
- Risk warning: "CFDs are complex instruments and carry a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage."
- No leverage figures in headlines; no earnings claims.
- Regulator stated as on the site: UAE Capital Market Authority — confirm wording with client compliance.
- Arabic subtitles checked by a native speaker.
- Sales desk gives no investment advice in chat — execution-only services.
CFD trading involves significant risk, including loss of capital due to leverage. CMS Financial LLC is authorised by the UAE Capital Market Authority, License No. 20200000144, and provides execution-only services.