Monthly competitive intelligence reports transform raw Brand Radar data into strategic decisions. This module teaches you how to build a report, what to include, and how to translate observations into creative actions.
Report structure
A good competitive intelligence report has five sections: market overview (what happened in the competitive landscape this month), competitor-by-competitor analysis (what each tracked competitor did differently), winning patterns identified (common elements across top-performing competitor ads), opportunities spotted (gaps no competitor is filling), and recommended actions (specific creative tests to run next month).
The report should be one page. Not ten slides. Not a 20-page PDF. One page that your team (or you, if you are solo) can read in 5 minutes and act on immediately. Brevity forces prioritization. If you cannot fit the insights on one page, you have not distilled them enough.
Building the report monthly
Set a recurring calendar event: "Competitive intel report" on the first Monday of each month. Spend 30-60 minutes reviewing Brand Radar data from the past 30 days. The process: review each competitor's new ads (sort by launch date), note any long-running ads that are new since last month (these became winners during the period), identify format or messaging shifts from any competitor, compile the top 3 insights, and write 3 specific creative test recommendations.
The three-insight, three-action format keeps the report focused. More than three of each creates analysis paralysis. Fewer than three misses important signals. Three is the sweet spot for actionable intelligence.
Translating observations into creative tests
Every observation should lead to a specific test. "Competitor X is running more video ads" becomes: "Test 3 video variants of our top-performing static ad concept. Hypothesis: video will increase engagement rate by 30% based on Competitor X's apparent success with the format."
"No competitor addresses the founder-led content angle" becomes: "Generate 5 founder-led ads (Manuel on camera) for cold audience. Hypothesis: founder-led content will differentiate us in a category where all competitors use product-focused creative."
The test recommendations feed directly into your Mani generation prompts. Use guided generation with the specific formats, angles, and approaches identified in the competitive intelligence report. This closes the loop: Brand Radar informs strategy, strategy informs generation, generation produces creative, creative performance informs next month's report.
Sharing intelligence with your team
If you work with a team (media buyer, designer, copywriter, or agency), the monthly report is a shared artifact. Send it via email or post it in your project management tool. The recommended actions become task assignments. The winning patterns become reference material for brief writing.
For solo founders, the report serves as a personal strategy document. Review it before each week's creative generation to ensure your prompts are informed by competitive intelligence rather than guesswork.
This completes the Brand Radar Deep Dive course. You now have the system for tracking competitors, reading patterns, remixing winners, and translating intelligence into creative strategy. Start tracking your competitors at maniai.com.