Reels vs. static for bridging: a £40k test, summarised
Six weeks, two creative formats, one clear winner for booked-call cost.
Through September and October 2024 we ran a £40k controlled test across three bridging accounts comparing Reels-style 9:16 video to high-quality static creative. Same audiences, same offer, same landing pages, same conversion stack. The result was less ambiguous than the methodology fight that followed.
The setup
Three accounts, each split 50/50 between Reels and static, identical budgets per side, identical Advantage+ structure. The only variable was creative format. Both sides ran the same hooks, the same talking points, the same offer.
We optimised on calendar booking, measured downstream on broker-confirmed qualified status, and held the test running long enough to clear statistical noise on the lower-volume side.
What won
Reels-style video. Cost per booked call was 31% lower across the cohort. The gap was wider in younger developer demographics (under 40) and narrower but still present in older ones.
Static was not dead - it was actually still the best format for warm retargeting, where format fatigue from existing Reels exposure made the static feel like a different message. For cold acquisition, Reels won unambiguously.
Why the gap was that big
Reels CPMs in our audiences were lower because Meta was still pushing the format hard with discounted impressions. The format itself also outperformed static for thumb-stop rate by roughly 2.5x, which compounded into the funnel.
Both effects had a shelf life. CPMs equalised through Q1 2025 and the thumb-stop gap narrowed as audiences habituated. But for the second half of 2024, the test conclusion held.
Static-first paid social for bridging was the wrong call in late 2024. Reels were the right call. By mid-2025 the gap had largely closed and the answer became 'both, deployed correctly'. But the £40k test paid for itself ten times over in saved spend on accounts that had been static-heavy.
Capital Edge publishes one note a month on UK bridging finance, paid acquisition, and AI-led outbound. Written for brokers, by the team running the playbook.