Hollow: Hiring a Head of Performance Creative to Scale Direct Response Advertising

Replacing a Brand Creative Leader With a True Direct Response Operator

Hollow already had the creative infrastructure in place: senior and offshore creative strategists and editors. The job was to put the right leader on top of that team, not build the function from scratch.

Hollow needed someone who could:

• Lead a mature performance creative department
• Scale creative output using AI rather than by adding headcount
• Manage strategy behind $1M+ per month in Meta advertising spend
• Build AI-driven creative workflows
• Operate in a highly autonomous, performance-first culture

The previous hire leaned toward brand storytelling. Hollow needed someone obsessed with testing velocity and iteration speed, measured on business outcomes.

Candidates who put aesthetics over performance, or who lacked real direct response depth, were ruled out fast.

Recruiting a Creative Leader Who Had Already Scaled Performance Teams

Constant Hire screened only for candidates with deep direct response experience and real leadership track records.

The selected candidate stood out because they had:

• Built performance creative departments from scratch three separate times
• Led creative teams of up to 17 people
• Supported creative for campaigns running up to $12M/month in Meta spend in a prior in-house role
• Ran weekly testing sprints of 6 to 25 concepts, with 6 to 10 variants each
• Integrated AI into creative strategy and performance analysis, not only asset production

The candidate also fit Hollow's grinder, highly autonomous culture, and was comfortable being evaluated on a live walk-through of past ad performance rather than a take-home.

Our Approach

Vetting Beyond the Resume

Constant Hire ran an in-depth technical screening that went past the resume, covering:

• Creative testing philosophy
• AI workflows
• Team-building experience
• Performance marketing metrics
• Leadership style

The screening also surfaced the candidate's short-tenure history. Constant Hire raised those tenure flags with Hollow before presenting him, rather than leaving the client to find them mid-process. Naming the risk upfront let both sides weigh it honestly and move forward with eyes open.

Candidates were also prepared for interviews by reviewing the exact metrics Hollow would evaluate, including CTR, CAC, ROAS, hook rate, hold rate, testing frameworks, and AI integration.

Constant Hire ran the compensation negotiation in real time. The candidate's target sat above Hollow's stated band, and rather than let that gap stall the deal, Constant Hire worked both sides to secure flexibility while keeping the interview schedule moving across both rounds.

Process

• 7 candidates interviewed by our recruiter
• 6 candidates submitted to Hollow
• 2 interview rounds
• 2 executive stakeholders
• 26 days to offer

Although the first selected candidate ultimately withdrew after accepting the offer, Constant Hire quickly presented a second finalist who accepted and successfully joined the team.

A placement closed through a same-day withdrawal

• Finalists: 2
• Offers extended: 2
• Placement: 1
• Time to offer: 26 days

Both finalists cleared Hollow's bar. The first accepted and withdrew a day later. Because Constant Hire had kept a second finalist warm through the process, the backup accepted and has since started, with no reopened search and no lost time.

The placed Head of Performance Creative brought 10+ years in direct response creative, prior exposure to Meta budgets well above Hollow's current spend, and an AI-first testing approach. He was hired to raise testing velocity, scale paid media without adding headcount, and lead the existing creative team as Hollow pushes toward its growth goal.

Positioning Highlight

This case study demonstrates Constant Hire's ability to:

• Correct a brand-leaning mis-hire by sourcing a true direct response leader for a $1M+/month Meta program
• Screen candidates on live walk-throughs of past ad performance instead of take-homes
• Surface a candidate's short-tenure history to the client upfront, before presenting
• Negotiate a candidate target above the client's stated comp band without stalling the deal
• Close the placement after a first-choice candidate accepted and withdrew within a day