Here's how to decide which creative work gets custom production: score every request on four things, audience, business value, shelf life and reuse. The top scorers get a designer or a shoot. Everything else runs from templates and automation. A 12-point scorecard makes the call in two minutes, with no meeting needed.
TLDR: Score each request 1 to 3 on four criteria. 10 to 12 gets custom work, 7 to 9 gets a template with a custom hook, 4 to 6 runs entirely from a template. In Mydrop's data, the best and worst formats were only about 11 percent apart, so format shouldn't drive your spend.
The four criteria, scored 1 to 3
| Criterion | 1 point | 2 points | 3 points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audience | Niche or one region | Several segments | Whole brand audience |
| Business value | Awareness only | Supports a goal | Tied to a launch, sale or revenue |
| Shelf life | Days | Weeks | Evergreen, months |
| Reuse | One post | A few variants | Reused across brands or regions |
Add up the four scores. If you can add, you can run it. What matters is that the same request gets the same decision every time, so the loudest voice never beats the most valuable idea.
What each total gets
| Total | Production tier | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 10 to 12 | Custom: designer, video or shoot | Product launch, flagship campaign |
| 7 to 9 | Template with a custom hook or image | Monthly feature update |
| 4 to 6 | Template only, automation where possible | Holiday greeting, reminder post |
On most teams the bulk of the work is repetitive, which makes tier three the place where automation pays: captions, resizing and scheduling. Mydrop's bulk creation and AI captions fit there nicely. Keep them off the launch.
Don't spend on format, spend on the idea
It's tempting to give every video a custom edit. But Mydrop's data suggests formats sit close together: carousels indexed 1.10 against each account's own median, text posts 1.04, photos 1.00 and videos 0.99. The idea and the audience count for more than the format. Choose one you can keep producing every week.
Score a real request, start to finish
A brand manager asks for a custom video for a regional holiday post.
- Audience: one region, 1.
- Business value: awareness only, 1.
- Shelf life: three days, 1.
- Reuse: one post, 1.
Total: 4. It runs from a template with a localised caption. Same team, same week, and the hours you save go to the product launch that scored 12.
Three mistakes that break a scorecard
- Scoring by who asked. Score the request, not the person asking. If the CEO's pet post scores 5, it gets a template.
- Changing the criteria mid-quarter. A score only means something if it meant the same thing last month.
- Skipping the reuse column. Reuse is where custom work earns its keep. One hero image that serves five brands costs less per post than five quick edits.
Put the scorecard result on every brief, so everyone who touches it can see the production tier.
Keep the scorecard honest with results
Until you test it, a scorecard is only a guess. Once a month, compare each content type with the account's own median. Mydrop's performance view shows every post against its account's median, so you can spot high-scoring work that didn't earn its cost.
- If a content type beats the median twice in a row, move it up a tier.
- If it misses twice, move it down.
- If a 12-point request keeps underperforming, the fault lies with your criteria, not your designers.
Make it work across brands
When several brands share one creative team, each will insist its request is a 12. The fix: let every brand manager score their own requests, and have one person (the content lead) review the top five scores each week. Keep the four criteria fixed, so a score means the same thing for every brand. Cap custom slots each month, say at four, and fill them from the highest score down.
Pair the scorecard with a creative QA list so custom work still meets brand standards: the creative QA checklist. For a different take on scoring, see how to create a content scorecard.
Next step: score your next 10 requests today with the 12-point table and set a monthly cap on custom slots. To keep brands, calendars and approvals in one place, start free with Mydrop.
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