ad-creative-to-meta

Listing → Meta Ad Pipeline

End-to-end pipeline: App Store listing → Appeeky creative → Meta draft ad (PAUSED). User reviews tracking and creative before activation.

Automate the tedious steps. Never auto-activate without explicit user approval and verified MMP events.

Prerequisites Checklist

Requirement	Verify via
Appeeky MCP connected	API key configured
Meta OAuth connected	meta_ads_credentials_status → connected
Default ad account	meta_ads_list_ad_accounts → meta_ads_set_default_ad_account
Facebook Page linked	meta_ads_list_pages
App in Events Manager	App ID + store URL
MMP live	mmp-setup — Purchase/Subscribe events last 7 days
Context doc	app-ads-context.md — CPA target, geo, budget

meta_ads_credentials_status

If not connected:

meta_ads_oauth_start

Pipeline Overview

Preferred path — one-shot PAUSED app-install draft:

1. generate_app_ad_creative  →  imageUrl + copy
2. meta_ads_upload_ad_image_from_url  →  image_hash
3. meta_ads_list_advertisable_applications + meta_ads_list_pages
4. meta_ads_create_app_install_draft  →  campaign + ad set + creative + ad
5. User review  →  manual activate

Manual path (when you need a shared ad set for multiple variants):

1. generate_app_ad_creative  →  imageUrl + copy
2. meta_ads_upload_ad_image_from_url  →  image_hash
3. meta_ads_create_campaign  →  campaign_id (if new)
4. meta_ads_create_adset  →  adset_id  (destination_type: APP)
5. meta_ads_create_creative  →  creative_id  (format: app_install, name required)
6. meta_ads_create_ad  →  ad_id
7. User review  →  manual activate

All entities created PAUSED. Writes cost 2 Appeeky API credits each.

Step 1 — Generate Creative

Single creative or batch from prior skills:

generate_app_ad_creative
  app_url: "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id123456789"
  mode: "generate"
  style: "ugc"
  image_preset: "person_holding_phone"
  quality: "medium"

Poll:

get_app_ad_creative_job
  job_id: "<job-id>"

Save:

• result.ad.imageUrl
• result.ad.copy.primaryText
• result.ad.copy.headline
• result.ad.copy.description
• result.ad.copy.callToAction

For batches (ad-creative-variants), repeat upload + ad creation per variant.

Step 2 — Upload Image to Meta

meta_ads_upload_ad_image_from_url
  ad_account_id: "act_1234567890"
  image_url: "https://cdn.appeeky.com/..."

Returns image_hash (or imageHash) — use in creative step.

Error	Fix
Invalid URL	Ensure Appeeky CDN URL is public
Account mismatch	Verify ad_account_id
Token expired	Re-run OAuth

Preferred path by monetization

MCP default for meta_ads_create_app_install_draft is APP_INSTALLS. That is wrong for subscription/IAP apps — Meta will optimize for cheap installs, not paying users.

App type	Path
Subscription / IAP	Manual campaign → ad set with OFFSITE_CONVERSIONS + custom_event_type (below). Do not use the one-shot default.
Games / ad-supported	One-shot draft is fine. Pass optimization_goal: "APP_INSTALLS" explicitly.

The one-shot tool does not accept custom_event_type on promoted_object. Use the manual ad set when optimizing to Purchase or Subscribe.

Use the manual campaign → ad set → creative → ad steps when attaching multiple variants to one shared ad set.

Step 3 — Create Campaign (if new)

Skip if adding ads to existing test campaign — use known campaign_id.

meta_ads_create_campaign
  ad_account_id: "act_1234567890"
  name: "FocusApp - App Installs - US"
  objective: "OUTCOME_APP_PROMOTION"
  status: "PAUSED"
  is_adset_budget_sharing_enabled: false

Campaign Settings Reference

Setting	Recommended	Notes
Objective	OUTCOME_APP_PROMOTION	App installs + events
Buying type	Auction (default)
CBO	Off for first test	Ad set budget per test
Status	PAUSED	Always

List existing:

meta_ads_list_campaigns
  ad_account_id: "act_1234567890"

Step 4 — Create Ad Set

meta_ads_create_adset
  ad_account_id: "act_1234567890"
  campaign_id: "<campaign-id>"
  name: "US - iOS - Creative Test"
  daily_budget_minor: 5000
  billing_event: "IMPRESSIONS"
  optimization_goal: "OFFSITE_CONVERSIONS"
  destination_type: "APP"
  promoted_object: {
    "application_id": "<meta-app-id>",
    "object_store_url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id123456789",
    "custom_event_type": "PURCHASE"
  }
  targeting: { "geo_locations": { "countries": ["US"] } }
  status: "PAUSED"

Use SUBSCRIBE if that is the primary MMP event. Meta rejects OFFSITE_CONVERSIONS without custom_event_type.

Ad Set Settings Reference

Setting	Test value	Scale value
Daily budget	$30–50 (3000–5000 minor)	+20%/day on winners
Optimization	OFFSITE_CONVERSIONS + custom_event_type Purchase or Subscribe	Not APP_INSTALLS or Link Clicks
Destination	APP (destination_type)	Never leave default WEBSITE
Geo	US first	Expand after 7d stable CPA
Placements	Advantage+ ON
Age	18–65+ or app-specific
Audience	Broad	LAL after 100+ converters

iOS 14+ Notes

• AEM + SKAN: expect delayed reporting
• Trust MMP over Meta dashboard for iOS CPA
• Do not pause winners at 24h on iOS alone

Android Notes

• Google Play URL in object_store_url
• Same structure; often faster conversion feedback

Step 5 — Create Ad Creative

meta_ads_create_creative
  ad_account_id: "act_1234567890"
  format: "app_install"
  name: "FocusApp - VarA - Problem"
  page_id: "<facebook-page-id>"
  link_url: "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id123456789"
  message: "<primaryText from Appeeky>"
  headline: "<headline from Appeeky>"
  description: "<description from Appeeky>"
  image_hash: "<from step 2>"
  call_to_action_type: "INSTALL_MOBILE_APP"

name is required. Default format is "link" — set "app_install" for store-install ads.

Creative Field Mapping

Appeeky field	Meta field
copy.primaryText	message
copy.headline	headline
copy.description	description (optional)
copy.callToAction	call_to_action_type
imageUrl → hash	image_hash

Step 6 — Create Ad

meta_ads_create_ad
  ad_account_id: "act_1234567890"
  adset_id: "<adset-id>"
  creative_id: "<creative-id>"
  name: "FocusApp - VarA - Problem - 20250629"
  status: "PAUSED"

Repeat steps 2, 5, 6 for each variant in a batch (shared campaign + ad set).

Step 7 — User Review

Present summary. Do not activate until checklist complete.

meta_ads_list_ads
  ad_account_id: "act_1234567890"

Output Template

# Meta Ad Draft Created — [App Name]

**Status:** All entities PAUSED — awaiting your approval

| Entity | Name | ID | Status |
|--------|------|-----|--------|
| Campaign | FocusApp - App Installs - US | [id] | PAUSED |
| Ad Set | US - iOS - Creative Test | [id] | PAUSED |
| Creative | VarA - Problem | [id] | — |
| Ad | FocusApp - VarA - Problem | [id] | PAUSED |

## Copy Used
| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| Primary text | ... |
| Headline | ... |
| Description | ... |
| CTA | INSTALL_MOBILE_APP |

## Creative
- **Image preview:** [imageUrl]
- **Image hash:** [hash]

## Budget & Targeting
- **Daily budget:** $50
- **Geo:** US
- **Optimization:** Purchase
- **Placements:** Advantage+

## Before Activating
- [ ] MMP Purchase/Subscribe events in last 7 days (mmp-setup)
- [ ] Meta Events Manager shows app events
- [ ] User reviewed creative + copy
- [ ] iOS SKAN delay expectations set
- [ ] Target CPA documented in app-ads-context.md

## Activate (user confirms)

meta_ads_update_ad ad_id: "" status: "ACTIVE"

meta_ads_update_adset adset_id: "" status: "ACTIVE"

meta_ads_update_campaign campaign_id: "" status: "ACTIVE"

## 48h Follow-up
→ meta-campaign-audit

Batch Pipeline (5 variants)

Step	Action
1	One generate batch (or 5 prior jobs)
2	5× upload_ad_image_from_url
3	1× campaign, 1× ad set
4	5× creative + 5× ad

Total write credits: ~(2 × 12) = ~24 API credits for full batch setup.

Error Reference

Error	Cause	Fix
OAuth not connected	Missing Meta token	meta_ads_oauth_start
No Page	Page not linked to account	Connect Page in Business Settings
Invalid app link	Wrong store URL format	Use full App Store / Play URL
application_id invalid	App not in Events Manager	Add app in Meta Events Manager
Policy rejection	Claims in copy	Soften primary text; review guidelines
Budget too low	Below Meta minimum	Raise daily_budget_minor
Creative rejected	Image text % / content	Edit via ad-creative-edit

REST API Equivalents

Base: https://api.appeeky.com/v1/connect/meta-ads/

MCP tools hit the un-nested paths and pass ad_account_id. Nested aliases also exist.

MCP tool	REST
meta_ads_create_campaign	POST /campaigns or POST /ad-accounts/:adAccountId/campaigns
meta_ads_create_adset	POST /adsets
meta_ads_create_creative	POST /creatives
meta_ads_upload_ad_image_from_url	POST /adimages/from-url
meta_ads_create_app_install_draft	POST /app-install-drafts

See appeeky-meta-ads.md.

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Risk	Fix
Auto-activating	Spend without tracking	Always PAUSED first
Optimizing for installs only	Low-quality users	Optimize Purchase/Subscribe
Separate ad sets per variant (day 1)	Bad comparison	One ad set for test
Wrong object_store_url	Broken deep link	Match platform to ad set
Skipping image re-upload after edit	Stale creative	Re-upload on every edit
No ad naming convention	Audit chaos	Use VarA/B/C pattern

Pre-Flight Checklist

Appeeky:
- [ ] Creative job completed
- [ ] imageUrl + copy extracted

Meta auth:
- [ ] credentials_status connected
- [ ] Default ad account set
- [ ] Page ID confirmed

Tracking:
- [ ] mmp-setup complete
- [ ] promoted_object application_id correct

Pipeline:
- [ ] All entities PAUSED
- [ ] User has summary + preview
- [ ] 48h audit scheduled

Related Skills

• meta-ad-creative — step 1 generation
• ad-creative-variants — batch before pipeline
• ad-creative-edit — fix creative before upload
• meta-campaign-setup — manual setup reference
• mmp-setup — prerequisite before activation
• meta-campaign-audit — 48h performance review
• meta-budget-optimizer — post-launch budget rules