workflow-copy-research — evidence first, then the script

A format skill says WHAT the ad looks like. This skill produces the words that go into its pack: a research pull you can verify line by line, three hooks that each trace to a real person's words, and a script that has survived a red-team. It folds in davidaistar's research tables and free-value skeleton (analysis/diff_copy.md) and keeps our stricter parts (grep-verified quotes, concept formula, atlas, versioned red-team).

1. Read first

• knowledge/ad-formats/_FORMAT-CORE.md (Dawn doctrine §1, lane limits §3, gates §4). Binding. knowledge/ad-formats/_MODEL-REGISTRY.md for every model named here.
• references/procedure.md: table templates, verifier, hook grid, dialogue doctrine, free-value skeleton, lyric method, red-team brief, an ILLUSTRATIVE run. references/sources.md: what we took from which video and why.
• Concept + copy doctrine: knowledge/concept-formula.md (4 slots, iteration mode), knowledge/evolve/copywriting-rules.md (card + 13-question checklist), knowledge/hook-taxonomy.md, memory feedback_written_vs_said_copy.md, feedback_direct_but_new_register.md, corrections-hot.md (raise stakes from real VOC; beat the leader, don't mirror it).
• Dawn facts and evidence: knowledge/brands/dawnbands/product-truth.md (hardware only; its price row is stale, check live), knowledge/brands/dawnbands/claims-register.md (all claims unlocked 10-02), output/dawn-combo-map-2026-10-05/MAP.md (recipes A/B, what loses), stake bank output/creative-strategy-cooper-2026-10-05/dawn-stakes.md.
• The target format skill's beat sheet (e.g. skills/format-song/references/beat-sheet.md, skills/format-podcast/references/beat-sheet.md, skills/format-courtroom/references/beat-sheet.md). Its word budgets and line rules win over the generic ones here.
• VOC sourcing tiers + minimum quote counts: knowledge/copy/voc-sourcing-sop.md.

2. When to use / when not

• Use before the script step of any format-* video skill, and any time a brief needs evidence it doesn't have yet: a new accuser/stake, a new persona, a new format with no Dawn parent, or a hook set for an existing concept.
• Use the research half alone when Fish wants quotes/tables for an angle (no script).
• Don't use for Dawn natives (dawn-native-brief → dawn-native-write own research handoff and prose) or for statics (dawn-statics + voc_check.py directly). Don't use it to re-research a concept whose four slots are already filled and verified: go straight to step 6.
• Don't start a pull to justify a concept MAP §3 says not to build (college/kid-money stakes, stakes the mornings didn't cause, no-character explainer VO, another dad-POV song before the existing one reads).

3. Inputs

• The concept frame (from Fish or the format skill): atlas row + job (python3 ~/ad-batch-hub/scripts/atlas_label.py show), parent ad with CPA if iterating, the ONE variable, target format skill, target length.
• Concept-formula slots already known vs. missing. Iteration mode locks slot 1 (structure) and slot 4 (buyer); the pull only fills slot 2 (verbatim line) and/or slot 3 (belief).
• For a reference structure (competitor or organic format): the video file or URL. A lane leader's ad is a gap map, never the template (corrections 10-05).
• Nothing paid is needed for the research half. Live offer check before any CTA line: curl -sL https://dawnbands.com/products/dawn-wake-band.json.

4. Outputs

Run dir output/copy-research/<slug>-<YYYY-MM-DD>/ (new slug per run; never overwrite a version):

Raw pulls go to knowledge/brands/dawnbands/research/voc-pull-<topic>-<YYYY-MM-DD>/thread_<id>.txt (raw text only). Never write extracted quotes as .jsonl under research/: voc_check.py reads an explicit raw-source list (10-06; voc-pull-*/*.txt included) and must never "verify" our own extraction.

5. Process

• Step 0 — combo plan (feedback loop, workflow-combo-loop): python3 scripts/combo_loop/plan.py --format workflow-copy-research --brand dawn → pick one combo (a paying parent + ONE changed dimension) and paste its block into the pack front matter / job or spec JSON ("combo": {...}; no file → tags.py register --prefix): combo_avatar combo_angle combo_pov combo_authority combo_stake combo_stake_on combo_emotion combo_root_cause combo_mechanism combo_payoff combo_device combo_format combo_parent combo_variable combo_ad_prefix (= the launched Meta ad-name prefix). python3 scripts/combo_loop/tags.py check <pack> must PASS before concept approval; the weekly refresh reads results back by that prefix.

1. Frame (free). Fill brief.md: atlas row + job, parent + CPA, the ONE variable, the four concept slots with what is still missing. Pick the script mode: A narrator beat sheet (story formats), B dialogue/banter (podcast, courtroom, spoken drama scenes, street interview, whistleblower Q&A), C song lyrics (format-song), D free-value explainer (timeline, rated solutions, mascot explainer). Write the Evolve §0 answers (avatar → angle → mechanism → authority → awareness); one missing = don't write yet. Any brief field you filled without a file or source behind it carries an [assumed] tag; drafting (step 6 on) doesn't start until each tag is resolved by a source or by Fish (starpop how-to-build-a-claude-skill-for-ads: a brief-validation gate before writing, because a model will sprint past it).
2. Corpus first (free). Search what we already hold before pulling: stake bank + its raw banks, dawn-voc-bank-final/dawn-voc-bank/voc.jsonl (774 quotes, 6 lanes), knowledge/brands/dawnbands/research/voc-competitor-reviews-2026-10-02.jsonl (1,552 competitor reviews), the Reddit thread dumps under research/, survey lines in research/customer-evidence-2026-09-15.md. scripts/voc_search.py is NOT usable for Dawn today: --brand dawnbands reads only knowledge/brands/dawnbands/voc-*.md (six ~900-byte compatibility pointers since 9-15) because voc-tagged.jsonl doesn't exist, so it ranks pointer text, not quotes. Use grep -i + the extended verifier (procedure §3) on the files above.
3. On-demand pull (free; only for what step 2 lacks). Avatar moment → 5-8 queries in her words (SOP step 2) → Arctic Shift title search → full threads via knowledge/brands/dawnbands/research/reddit-mornings-2026-09-03/arc.py run inside the new voc-pull-* dir. TikTok comments under problem videos are a free Tier 2 source with dates (tikwm, procedure §1c item 3; starpop ai-customer-research-ad-copy mines reel and TikTok comments alongside Reddit). Reddit .json, old.reddit and WebFetch are blocked (memory reference_scrapling_reddit_access.md); skills/reddit-scraper/scripts/reddit_scraper.py uses the dead JSON route. Volume first, filter second. Minimums by format: procedure §1.
4. Two tables + verify (free). Build Table 1 (ICP/persona) and Table 2 (offering) per procedure §2. Run the extended verifier (procedure §3) on every quote; 0 hits = the row is dropped or re-sourced, never kept "from memory". Byte-exact spot-check 10 rows against the raw file and write spot-check: n/10 under the tables. Cold-read gate on any quote used as mechanism support (SOP).
5. Decode the reference structure (one Gemini call, cents, plus an ElevenLabs Scribe transcript on the EL quota unless --no-scribe) when slot 1 is a competitor/organic format: python3 scripts/ad_dissector.py <video|URL> --brand-context "<one line on the band>" [--competitor]. Map its beats to the format skill's beat sheet; --competitor output is a gap map.
6. Hooks (free). 3 per concept, each traced to a table row or stake-bank row, graded on the grid in procedure §4. Fish picks the lead.
7. Script (free). Draft script-v1.md in the chosen mode: A = the format skill's beat sheet; B = dialogue doctrine (procedure §5); C = lyric method (procedure §7, which defers to the format-song beat sheet and knowledge/ad-formats/song-ad-playbook.md §2); D = free-value skeleton (procedure §6). Every quoted customer line keeps its table row ID in a comment. One script = ONE Table 1 persona, named by row ID in brief.md (starpop ai-customer-research-ad-copy: narrowing to one persona sharpens the adaptation).
8. Passes, in order (free; Opus = LLM writing role). Said-out-loud pass → Evolve 13-question checklist → humanizer skill (line edits, dash scan = 0; the one exception is a line-final cut-off "—" on a mode-B interruption, procedure §5 rule 4, which format-podcast uses too) → your logic pass (timeline math, who-knows-what, real-life channels, product facts, overlay = spoken/sung line, product first named no earlier than the format's reveal beat, word count inside the format budget: starpop create-and-clone-competitor-ads-with-ai names an early product intro and a long script as his clone's two flaws) → Opus red-team on the frozen version (subagent brief in procedure §8; writes redteam-vN.md, flags only) → fix as line edits into script-v(N+1).md → re-check that the fixes created no new contradiction (10-04: 3 of 4 red-team blockers came from the previous round's fixes). Stop after 3 red-team rounds; open items go to Fish.
9. Hand-off (free). Convert to the target pack's syntax (N. [SPK] "line" for dialogue, N. "line" for songs/narrator), run the turn-stats snippet (procedure §5) for modes A/B, write script-final.md. Fish approves the concept + script (core §4 gate 1) before any VO, Suno or sheet spend.

6. Tools & models

NOT BUILT (needs Fish's go): - voc_check.py corpus (BUILT 10-06): voc.jsonl (774), the bank's raw corpora, output/dawn-bottleneck-2026-10-03/reddit/comments/*.json, voc-pull-*/*.txt, buyer survey CSVs; curly quotes + whitespace normalised; each hit prints its file and category; competitor reviews and okendo_reviews_anon.json (94.6 % predate the first order) print as NOT COUNTED. CPS line #7 now scores 1 (199olsy.json). Still outside: the 9-23 212-row survey export (not on disk) and our own docs (customer-evidence-2026-09-15.md, on purpose). - A one-command research_pull.py (queries → Arctic Shift search → thread dumps → table skeleton). Today steps 3-4 are manual. - A dialogue lint inside check_plan.py; the turn-stats snippet is the manual stand-in. - Comment-for-link responder (davidaistar's engagement CTA). Without it, the engagement CTA is a question only. - The dialogue and free-value sub-modes in skills/direct-response-copywriter/references/formats.md (diff_copy top-2). This skill holds them until Fish approves editing that file.

7. Gates & QA checklist

• [ ] brief.md: atlas row + job; parent + CPA (if iterating); ONE variable; four slots each with a named source; mode A-D; word budget from the format skill.
• [ ] Problem-aware gate: lines 1-2 name HER by an observable symptom; stake lands on her and the mornings caused it (core §1); no MAP §3 don't-build item.
• [ ] Pull: ≥ the SOP minimum for the format (procedure §1); every thread/review ID logged with URL + date.
• [ ] Tables: every row has a verbatim quote + source path/URL + date + verifier hits ≥1; spot-check ≥9/10 byte-exact; feature column only from product-truth.md.
• [ ] Quote integrity: trimmed, never paraphrased inside quote marks (no pronoun swaps, no "Mam" → "Mom", no reordering). An adapted line loses its quote marks and is logged as "adapted from row N".
• [ ] Hooks: 3 per concept, each traced to a row; Emotion + Curiosity gap + High stakes named; Promise or Loop named; starts in action; zero backstory; no mechanism in the hook; overlay text = the spoken/sung words exactly.
• [ ] Script: Fish's ruled root-cause and mechanism lines verbatim where the format has those beats; explainer is a person inside the story (recipe A) or guarantee/science (recipe B); product facts per product-truth; offer checked live; scarcity only if true.
• [ ] Mode B: turn stats pass (procedure §5); mode C: lyric budget + singability list (procedure §7); mode D: free value is the biggest section and true without buying.
• [ ] Said-out-loud, Evolve 13 questions, humanizer, logic pass, Opus red-team, fixes re-checked. Versions v1…vN kept.
• [ ] Fish approved the script before any paid step downstream.

8. Failure modes

9. Sources

~/research/davidaistar/analysis/diff_copy.md (full), analysis/gemini__Y7KFZHxMe0.md (two tables), analysis/gemini_pYNC49BHsHQ.md + txt/pYNC49BHsHQ.txt (free-value skeleton), analysis/gemini_GIczkree_W0.md (podcast script, 80 % rule), analysis/gemini_8NzJJ3e7uZ4.md (song prompt), analysis/gemini_Rf1uHxSWpjU.md (transcript adaptation), analysis/gemini_gpzy2ofG0Dw.md (challenge hook, per-second breakdown); ours: ~/.claude/skills/dawn-native-brief/SKILL.md, ~/.claude/skills/dawn-native-write/SKILL.md, ~/Documents/DawnBands-Native-Writer/WRITER-RULES.md, skills/direct-response-copywriter/references/formats.md, output/dawn-iterate-2026-10-04/copy/lyric-redteam-v3.md + qa-report-v1.md (method only), MAP.md + stake bank. Detail in references/sources.md.

Not built yet (needs Fish's go)

Every line in this skill that mentions something not built, roughly de-duplicated. Some items repeat in different words.

• NOT BUILT (needs Fish's go)
• On-demand research pull mid-brief P1 SKILL §5 steps 2-4, procedure §1-3 (manual; research_pull.py NOT BUILT)
• Free-value skeleton P1 procedure §6 (formats.md sub-mode NOT BUILT, Fish's go)
• Podcast/dialogue doctrine P1 procedure §5 (shared by podcast, spoken drama, courtroom; formats.md sub-mode NOT BUILT)
• 6 Engagement CTA 3-5 % Comments A question that invites her own story ("How many alarms does yours sleep through?"). No "comment X for the link" until a reply mechanism exists (NOT BUILT)