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Curiosity framing beat problem framing on cold-traffic CTR

By Ryan Richardson · Published 8 October 2026

In a hook x angle x identity x length ad matrix run on cold traffic, ads framed around curiosity drew a slightly higher click-through rate (8.92%) than ads framed around the reader's problem (7.65%). Neither framing produced a recorded purchase.

What 'identity' means in this test

This is one axis of a 4-dimension ad-naming matrix (hook, angle, identity, length) run on a single cold-traffic campaign. 'Identity' here is how the ad frames the reader: as having a problem, or as curious about an open loop.

Results

Two other identity tags in the same matrix ('identity', 'benefit') had under A$20 spend and are too thin to include.

Identity framingAdsSpendImpressionsCTRLanding page viewsPurchases
Problem69A$93.3714,6857.65%6760
Curiosity33A$85.7615,4118.92%6770

How sure to be about this

Both groups landed on almost the same landing page view count (676 vs 677) from similar spend, so the gap is CTR only, not a difference in volume of people who clicked through to the page. Zero purchases from either framing means this test can say which copy got noticed, but nothing about which one sold.

The numbers
ClaimValueSource
Problem identity spend/ads/impressions/CTR/LPV/purchasesA$93.37 / 69 / 14,685 / 7.65% / 676 / 0Sixty Steps ad account, Meta Ads data
Curiosity identity spend/ads/impressions/CTR/LPV/purchasesA$85.76 / 33 / 15,411 / 8.92% / 677 / 0Sixty Steps ad account, Meta Ads data
This dimension is one of 4 (hook, angle, identity, length) in a single cold-traffic ad matrixconfirmedSixty Steps ad account, Meta Ads data
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