Challenge

When every platform says no, you have to find another way

Joanna Klee has built her career launching products — from Kleenex and Huggies at Kimberly-Clark to Mood's growing line of sexual wellness supplements. She knows what it takes to get a brand into retail and make it perform. What she wasn't prepared for was a product category that got flagged, banned, or restricted everywhere she turned.

Google won't run their shop. Facebook blocks their direct-to-product links. Amazon took their listing down after five days. And even their third-party review integration censors mentions of the product name.

"You'd think that in this day and age, of course you can say that. Oh no, you cannot."

Getting UGC was just as hard. Customers weren't always comfortable talking about the products on camera, and the ones who did often had their posts flagged anyway. Traditional influencer agencies quoted $8,000 per person for nano-influencers, content Mood wouldn't own and couldn't run as ads.

Solution

Content they own. Creators who get it.

Mood had already been using soona for studio photography when soona launched UGC services. Joanna saw an opportunity worth trying.

"It almost seemed a little too good to be true. Wait — I own the content? I can run it as ads? And it wasn't $16,000?"

She creates detailed, scene-specific briefs: Valentine's Day date nights, mood-lifting moments, playful framing that sidesteps platform restrictions without losing authenticity. The vetted creator pool and human review process mattered for a brand in a sensitive category, and the results showed it: content always came back appropriate, professional, and ready to use.

One creator in particular became their best-performing ad. No makeup, shot close-up, genuinely expressive — she figured out how to convey the product without saying the words that would get the ad flagged. She pointed at the name on the box instead.

"She had the most purchases. And we still got great engagement on it even though it was an ad - everybody in the comments was leaving queen emojis."

On the studio side, Mood's most recent shoot covered all four products for the first time, including the new Euphoria, Sensuality, and Play variants. It was also the first time Joanna flew in to attend in person – a hands-on experience that led to some of their most creative work yet. Working directly with the photographer on-set, they landed a velvet drape shot for Euphoria, a real-botanical flat lay where the flowers photograph so vividly they almost look styled in post, and a hero mirror shot that anchors their Sex Magic packaging for retail.

Outcome

The only ads that actually convert

Meme ads got clicks. Static carousels got impressions. soona UGC got purchases.

Mood typically averages around 80 purchases a month. In high-performing months, roughly 30 of those, about 38%, come directly from soona UGC ads. For a brand shut out of most paid channels, that attribution is significant. ROAS on those ads runs between 1.8x and 2.7x, while their other formats stay negative.

"The only ads we run that have a positive ROAS are the UGC ads. By far."

Engagement tells the same story: tens of thousands of interactions on UGC content versus thousands on carousels. And unlike influencer deals, with soona, Mood owns every asset outright - no affiliate fees, no usage restrictions.

The soona studio photography has been equally critical for retail. Target, Sprouts, and Anthropologie all have strict image requirements: transparent backgrounds, precise dimensions, straight-on framing. Having compliant, polished photography from soona is what made getting into distribution possible at all.

"Had I not had those images, we would not have been able to complete the listing. That sounds dramatic, but I'm dead serious. soona saved our ass for sure."

Joanna now tells every startup founder she meets at wellness summits and pitch events to use soona. For a brand navigating a category where almost every growth channel has a closed door, it comes down to finding content that converts — and that you actually own.

"The UGC ads are the only ones that Meta has allowed to run. They're also the only ones that get purchases. UGC has saved our business."

— Joanna Klee, VP of Innovation at Mood

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