Stop Feeding the AI Garbage: How to Write Video Prompts That Actually Convert

The Problem: 90% of AI-generated video ads fail because marketers write prompts like Google searches instead of creative briefs—resulting in generic stock footage that kills ROAS.

The Formula: Effective prompts follow a 6-part structure: Subject + Action → Camera Movement → Lighting → Style/Medium → Negative Prompts. Each element controls a specific aspect of the output.

The Payoff: Brands using structured prompt frameworks produce 50+ ad variants in the time it takes to manually create 3, enabling rapid testing and 20%+ CPA reductions through volume-based optimization.

Video Generation Prompts are the specific text instructions given to generative AI models (like Sora, VEO 3, or Stable Diffusion) to produce video content. In an e-commerce context, they act as the "creative brief" that dictates everything from the lighting on a product bottle to the emotional tone of a testimonial.

Most marketers treat prompts like Google searches. They type "dog playing with ball" and expect a TV-ready commercial. That approach guarantees failure. The AI models used in 2025 function more like a film crew than a search engine. You aren't asking for a file; you are directing a scene.

Why generic prompts kill ROAS:

• Lack of Style Consistency: Without specific style tokens, your brand looks different in every video.
• Poor Motion Control: Failing to specify camera movement (e.g., "slow push in") results in static, boring clips.
• Hallucinations: Vague descriptions of products lead the AI to invent features your product doesn't have.

To win, you need to speak the language of the model: Prompt Engineering.

You don't have time to write 50 unique prompts a day. Successful D2C brands use a framework to standardize their output. We call this the Brand DNA Framework.

This methodology automates the "context" part of your prompt so you only have to change the "action."

The Core Components:

1. Visual Identity Token: A consistent string of adjectives describing your aesthetic (e.g., "Minimalist, high-key lighting, pastel palette, 4k resolution").
2. Voice Persona: Who is talking? (e.g., "Gen-Z creator, energetic, fast-paced, direct-to-camera").
3. Structural Template: The skeleton of your video (Hook -> Problem -> Solution -> CTA).

How Koro Automates This:
Koro's Competitor Ad Cloner + Brand DNA feature does this heavy lifting for you. Instead of manually typing "cinematic lighting, soft focus background" for every single ad, Koro learns your brand's visual and tonal DNA from your URL. It then applies this "DNA layer" to every prompt it generates.

This allows you to take a winning competitor concept and instantly "rewrite" the prompt to match your brand's voice, ensuring you clone the strategy, not the identity.

Koro excels at rapid ad variation for social feeds, but for long-form brand documentaries requiring specific historical accuracy, manual prompting in a tool like Runway is preferable.

Stop writing sentences. Start writing formulas. The most effective video generation prompts follow a strict hierarchy of information. If you miss one of these layers, the AI will guess—and it usually guesses wrong.

The Golden Formula:
[Subject + Action] + [Context/Environment] + [Camera Movement] + [Lighting] + [Style/Medium] + [Negative Prompt]

1. Subject + Action (The "Who" and "What")

Be specific about the physics of the movement.

• Bad: "A woman drinking coffee."
• Good: "A 30-year-old woman takes a sip of coffee and smiles with relief, steam rising from the mug."

2. Camera Movement (The "How")

Direct the viewer's eye. Use technical cinematography terms.

• Micro-Example: "Truck left to reveal the product on the shelf."
• Micro-Example: "Low-angle shot to make the sneaker look powerful and dominant."
• Micro-Example: "Rack focus from the background city to the foreground phone screen."

3. Lighting (The "Mood")

Lighting dictates the emotional response.

• Golden hour sunlight: Creates warmth, trust, and nostalgia.
• Neon cyber-punk lighting: Creates energy, urgency, and modernity.
• Soft-box studio lighting: Creates cleanliness, professionalism, and clarity (best for product demos).

4. Style/Medium (The "Look")

Define the texture of the video.

• Micro-Example: "Shot on 35mm film, grainy texture" (for authenticity).
• Micro-Example: "Hyperrealistic, 8k, Unreal Engine 5 render" (for tech products).
• Micro-Example: "UGC style, iPhone footage, vertical aspect ratio" (for TikTok ads).

5. Negative Prompts (The "Don'ts")

Tell the AI what to avoid. This is crucial for quality control.

• Common exclusions: "Blurry, distorted text, extra fingers, cartoonish, low resolution, watermark."

Pro Tip: If you are using Koro, the AI automatically handles the technical specs (lighting, camera, negative prompts) based on the platform you select (e.g., TikTok vs. Facebook Feed), so you can focus purely on the creative hook.

You can't A/B test your way to profitability with only 3 creatives. You need volume. Here is a realistic 30-day plan to integrate AI video prompting into your workflow.

Days 1-7: The Data Harvest

Don't generate yet. Research.

• Action: Use a tool like Foreplay or Facebook Ads Library to find 10 winning competitor ads.
• Goal: Identify the structure of their prompts. Are they using UGC? Animation? Product close-ups?

Days 8-14: The Template Phase

Create your "Master Prompts."

• Action: Write 3 core prompt templates: The "Problem/Solution" prompt, the "Social Proof" prompt, and the "Unboxing" prompt.
• Micro-Example: "[Product] unboxing on a wooden table, hands entering frame, overhead view, natural morning light."

Days 15-21: Automated Generation

This is where manual work dies.

• Action: Plug your product URL into Koro to activate the UGC Product Ad Generation feature. Let the AI generate script variations based on your templates.
• Goal: Produce 20 variations. Change the avatar, the voice, and the opening hook for each.

Days 22-30: The Iteration Loop

Launch and learn.

• Action: Run the ads. Identify the winner. Take the winning prompt and iterate on one variable (e.g., keep the script, change the avatar from 'Professional' to 'Casual').
• Metric: Look for a 20% drop in CPA or a 1.5x lift in thumb-stop rate.

Talking about theory is easy. Let's look at the data.

The Brand: Bloom Beauty (Cosmetics)
The Problem: A competitor's "Texture Shot" ad went viral. Bloom's team wanted to replicate the success but didn't want to be accused of ripping off the creative. They needed the style, not the content.

The Solution:
Bloom used Koro's Competitor Ad Cloner + Brand DNA feature. They input the competitor's ad to analyze its structure (Close-up smear -> Benefit text -> Model reaction). Then, Koro's AI rewrote the script and visual prompts using Bloom's specific "Scientific-Glam" brand voice.

The Result:

• CTR: 3.1% (An outlier winner for their account)
• Performance: Beat their own control ad by 45%.

By using AI to reverse-engineer the prompt structure rather than just copying the video, they created a unique asset that felt native to their brand but leveraged a proven psychological hook.

Is it worth paying for a tool, or should you just use free prompts? For a hobbyist, free is fine. For a business, "free" is expensive because it costs time.

Workflow Comparison:

The Bottom Line: Manual prompting requires you to be a writer, director, and editor. AI-assisted prompting requires you to be a strategist.

Just because it's AI-generated doesn't mean it's good. You need strict quality control criteria before spending ad dollars.

The 3-Point Checklist:

1. The "Uncanny Valley" Check: Watch the mouth movements and hands. Are they natural? (Koro's avatars are optimized to minimize this, but always preview).
2. The Brand Consistency Check: Does the color grading match your style guide? If the lighting is too dark or the colors are neon when you are a pastel brand, the prompt needs a "High-key lighting" modifier.
3. The Hook Strength: Watch the first 3 seconds with the sound OFF. Is the visual compelling enough to stop a scroll? If not, rewrite the "Action" part of your prompt to be more dynamic (e.g., "Sudden zoom," "Object flying into frame").

See how Koro automates this workflow → Try it free