A Meta partnership ad runs with a partner, usually a creator, and both accounts appear in the ad's header. Meta says these ads use signals from both accounts for ranking. So the partner isn't only a name on the ad. It's part of how the ad competes, which is one reason two creator ads in the same ad set can get very different spend.
On a mentoring call, the owner of a hospitality business showed us partnership ads with local creators. In one ad set, three creator ads had run since early that month. One took most of the spend. Another had roughly double its click-through rate on about 294 impressions. None of the three had booked a reservation that week.
Why one creator ad takes the spend
Meta's delivery system doesn't split budget evenly across ads. If an ad set has several ads, Meta shows the one most likely to get the lowest cost per optimization event for each person, so each ad won't be delivered the same number of times. It decides using predictions of future performance, not each ad's past results.
Partnership ads add one more input: signals from the partner's account. Our read on the call was that the partner with the bigger reach might be getting priority. That's plausible given how Meta describes partnership ads, but Meta doesn't publish how much weight each account carries. Treat uneven spend as Meta's prediction, not a verdict on the creator.
Judge on results, not early CTR
The ad with double the CTR had spent about £2. A rate on 294 impressions moves a lot with a single click, and the ad taking the spend had about 2,000. Click-through rate becomes worth reading after several thousand impressions. And in that ad set, results were zero for all three, so there was no winner yet. A different ad set in the same account had booked three reservations at about £22 each, with a strong click-through rate to match. That's the kind of number worth acting on. The same logic applies to any small sample: see why a high rate on low volume can mean almost no sales.
The permissions you need
To run a partnership ad, you need permission from the partner whose handle the ad will include, and they can revoke it at any time. There are two levels:
- Content level. The partner approves an individual post, story or reel, either by turning on Allow brand partner to boost with you tagged in the paid partnership label, or by sharing a partnership ad code. Good for one-off promotions.
- Account level. Broader access for ongoing partnerships. You can create ads from the partner's handle without existing content, use any of their content that tags you, and include or exclude the partner's custom audience in the campaign.
- Same owner, no request. If both accounts belong to your business and someone has ads access to both, partnership ads run without permissions.
Branded content ads are now called partnership ads, and Meta says that from September 2026 they can also run in the WhatsApp Status placement.
The takeaways
- Meta says partnership ads use signals from both accounts for ranking, so the partner shapes delivery.
- Within an ad set, Meta favors the ad it predicts will get the lowest cost per optimization event.
- Don't crown a creator on CTR from a few hundred impressions. Wait for results.
- Content-level permission covers single posts. Account-level adds ads without existing content and the partner's audience.
- Branded content ads are now partnership ads.
Common questions
What are Meta partnership ads?
Partnership ads, previously called branded content ads, let advertisers run ads with partners such as creators, brands and other businesses. The partner and advertiser accounts appear in the ad's header, and Meta says the ads use signals from both accounts for improved ranking.
Why does one partnership ad get most of the spend in my ad set?
Meta shows the ad most likely to achieve the lowest cost per optimization event for each person, so ads in the same ad set aren't delivered equally. It decides on predicted future performance, not past results. Because partnership ads use signals from both accounts, the partner can be part of that prediction.
What permissions do I need to run a partnership ad?
You need permission from the partner whose handle the ad will include, and they can revoke it at any time. Content-level permission covers an individual post, story or reel. Account-level permission lets you create ads from the partner's handle without existing content. If both accounts belong to your business and you have ads access to both, no permission is needed.
Can I target a creator's audience with a partnership ad?
With account-level permissions, Meta says advertisers can include or exclude the partner's custom audience in a partnership ad campaign. Content-level permission does not list that option.
Where can partnership ads run?
On Instagram and Facebook, and Meta says that starting in September 2026 you can also create partnership ads in the WhatsApp Status placement.