Cotec AZ-900 — Meta Ads Strategy · Phase 1
Prepared by SF Agency · Phase 1 Launch Plan · v2.0

Meta Ads Strategy

Facebook + Instagram strategy for Cotec's AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals course. Distance learning, $265/seat, global English audience (UK · US · UAE). Goal: 25 enrolments in 30 days — one full cohort. Static-only Phase 1.

Meta Only UK · US · UAE English Static Phase 1 No Interest Targeting
$4,000
Monthly Ad Spend (USD)
3
Campaigns
9
Ad Sets (3 × 3 geos)
$265
Seat Price (USD)
25
Enrolments / 30 days
Campaign Quick Stats
🎯
Traffic → LP (B2C)
C1 + C2 objective · switch to Purchase in Phase 2
📥
Lead Gen (B2B)
C3 · Meta Lead Ads · on-platform form
📍
UK · US · UAE
London/Manchester · NYC/Chicago/LA · Dubai/Abu Dhabi
🏆
95% pass · 1,000+ alumni
Microsoft · HP · IBM · EY
📅
10 June 2026 cohort
25 seats · distance learning
01 Source of Truth

Course Facts

Use these consistently across every ad, caption, and landing-page claim. Confirmed on Dan × Anton ICP call (2026-05-21). Client of record: Cotec UK — Red Tulip Business Services Ltd.

Certification
AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals
Format
Distance learning 1.5h × 2/wk × 3 wks
Total instruction
8 hours + labs + practice exams
Cohort cap
25 seats
Price
$265 USD £200 GBP on LP
Pass rate
95% per ICP brief
Alumni trained
1,000+ Microsoft · HP · IBM · EY
Next cohort
10 June 2026 schedule TBC
🌐
Why distance learning wins (lead with it): the 1.5h × 2/week format is the only one that fits around a working week or evening with kids — vs a day off work, a 5-day bootcamp, or async self-study (≈5% completion). Native/fluent English instructors who cover the prerequisites Microsoft's own training assumes. Landing page: cotec.dev.
02 Funnel Architecture

Hook → Page → Cohort

B2C ads (C1 + C2) drive to the AZ-900 landing page for a direct $265 Stripe checkout — no sales call needed at this price. B2B (C3) runs as an on-platform Meta Lead Ad to a separate team-enquiry path.

Acquisition
📱
Paid — FB + IG
Meta Ad
$4K/mo
Static Feed (1:1) + Stories (9:16). Hook = the opportunity ("Failed AZ-900?" / "Break into IT" / "Microsoft funds it"). Mechanics stay on the LP.
Conversion
🎯
Landing Page
cotec.dev
$265
"In 8 hours, you'll be prepared to sit and pass AZ-900." Distance-learning format, trust strip (95% / 1,000+ / employer logos), Stripe checkout. Pixel: Purchase + Lead events.
Delivery
🏆
AZ-900 Cohort
10 June 2026
25 seats
Live online · 1.5h × 2/week · 3 weeks · prerequisites covered + labs + practice exams. Career-switcher grads = warm AZ-104 leads (~8× ticket).
B2B Path (C3) Meta Lead Ad → on-platform Lead Form (name · company email · company · team size · MS Partner?) → team enquiry → partner-funded onboarding. Kept on-platform = lower friction than the LP for business buyers.
03 Account Structure

Campaign Architecture

Three campaigns, each split into three geo ad sets = 9 ad sets total. Each campaign uses CBO (Meta distributes across geos by performance). No interest targeting anywhere — job title, demographic, and behavioural signals only.

CBO · 3 × 3 = 9 Ad Sets
💼
C1 — COTEC_AZ900_IT_PROS_[DATE]
Segments 1 + 3 (already in IT) · Objective: Traffic → LP · FB + IG · 40% of spend
$1,600 /mo
$53/day · 40% of total
C1-UK
United Kingdom
📍London · Manchester
👤22–50 · all genders · EN
⚙Job-title targeting
$533
~$18/day
33%
C1-US
United States
📍NYC · Chicago · LA
👤22–50 · all genders · EN
⚙Job-title targeting
$533
~$18/day
33%
C1-UAE
United Arab Emirates
📍Dubai · Abu Dhabi
👤22–50 · all genders · EN
⚙Job-title targeting
$533
~$18/day
33%
🚀
C2 — COTEC_AZ900_SWITCHERS_[DATE]
Segment 2 (career switchers) · Objective: Traffic → LP · FB + IG · Broad + self-selecting hook · 40% of spend
$1,600 /mo
$53/day · 40% of total
C2-UK
United Kingdom
📍London · Manchester
👤18–45 · all genders · EN
⚙Broad — hook self-selects
$533
~$18/day
33%
C2-US
United States
📍NYC · Chicago · LA
👤18–45 · all genders · EN
⚙Broad — hook self-selects
$533
~$18/day
33%
C2-UAE
United Arab Emirates
📍Dubai · Abu Dhabi
👤18–45 · all genders · EN
⚙Broad — hook self-selects
$533
~$18/day
33%
📥
C3 — COTEC_AZ900_B2B_[DATE]
Segments 4 + 5 (Partner owners + team managers) · Objective: Lead Generation (Lead Ads) · FB + IG · 20% of spend
$800 /mo
$27/day · 20% of total
C3-UK
United Kingdom
📍London · Manchester
👤30–55 · all genders · EN
⚙Job title + behaviours
$267
~$9/day
33%
C3-US
United States
📍NYC · Chicago · LA
👤30–55 · all genders · EN
⚙Job title + behaviours
$267
~$9/day
33%
C3-UAE
United Arab Emirates
📍Dubai · Abu Dhabi
👤30–55 · all genders · EN
⚙Job title + behaviours
$267
~$9/day
33%
⚠️
Learning-phase reality at $4K across 9 ad sets: C3's B2B ad sets sit at ~$9/day each — below Meta's ~$15–20/day floor to exit learning. Recommendation: launch C3 in one geo (UK) only at ~$27/day, expand to US/UAE once the first qualified lead lands. C1/C2 clear learning fine because they optimise for link clicks (cheap, high-volume), not the Purchase event.
04 Who We're Targeting

The 5 ICP Segments

From the Dan-confirmed AZ-900 ICP (v2). Five segments map to the three Meta campaigns. Hook = the opportunity; the mechanics (prerequisites, labs, schedule) live on the landing page — Dan's "six-pack" rule.

Note: Dan ranks the failed-exam and career-switcher segments #1 and #2. On Meta, the career-switcher is the strongest native fit.
Segment 1 · PRIMARYC1
Tried the Exam & Failed
Already in IT · 18–50 · UK/US/UAE/IN/PK
Their internal voice
"I sat the exam. I failed. I'm not sure if it's me or the training."
Top hook
"Failed AZ-900? It's not your fault."
Why they failed
Prereqs the course never taught · exams test understanding not memorisation · budget providers with communication gaps.
LinkedIn-native →
runs on Meta C1 in Phase 1
Segment 2 · PRIMARYC2
Career Switcher Into IT
Non-IT background · 18–45 · UK/US/UAE/IN/PK
Their internal voice
"I want into IT, but I don't have the attention span for a 40-hour week, the time off work, or bootcamp money."
Top hook
"Break into IT. 3 weeks. 1.5 hours at a time. $265."
Strategic value
The AZ-104 upsell funnel. Every grad is a warm ~8× lead. Run even at break-even on AZ-900.
IG + FB native
best Meta fit · C2
Segment 3C1
Using Azure, Wants the Cert
Same IT titles as Seg 1 · 22–45
Their internal voice
"My job already uses Azure but I never certified. Now my promotion / partner status depends on it."
Top hook
"Working with Azure but never certified? 3 weeks. 8 hours. Done."
Note
Collapses with Seg 1 into C1 in Phase 1 (no failed-exam CRM filter on Meta).
Folded into C1
secondary hook
Segment 4 · B2BC3
Microsoft Partner Owner
Founder/Director · 30–55 · 10–100 staff
Their internal voice
"Microsoft will pay for my team's training — but the funded providers' quality is terrible. My team didn't learn anything."
Top hook
"Microsoft will fund your team's certification. We deliver the quality the funded providers don't."
Deal size
5–25 seats × $265 = $1,325–$6,625. Decision cycle 1–3 weeks.
Lead Ad · C3
MS-funded loop
Segment 5 · B2BC3
Team Manager
Eng Mgr / Head of IT / L&D · 30–55 · 50–500 staff
Their internal voice
"My team needs baseline Azure literacy. Async courses had awful completion. I need someone who'll finish the course with them."
Top hook
"Get 25 of your team Azure-certified in 3 weeks. 1.5h sessions. 95% pass rate."
vs Segment 4
Paid from L&D budget (not MS-funded) → slower cycle.
Lead Ad · C3
L&D budget
Do NOT TargetEXCLUDE
Anti-ICP
Wasted spend — exclude in setup
✗ Existing Azure admins / AZ-104 holders (wrong product)
✗ Senior architects, 5+ yrs cloud (overqualified)
✗ Non-English speakers (course is EN)
✗ Anyone wanting in-person only (it's distance learning)
✗ "Fastest cheapest cert" buyers (compare to free MS Learn)
Killed from v1
"manager whose team uses Azure"
05 Detailed Targeting

Targeting Per Campaign

No interest targeting in any campaign — only Meta's Job Title (Demographics → Work), demographic, and behavioural classifications. Identical targeting across each campaign's three geo ad sets.

C1 — IT Professionals
Seg 1 + 3
Age / Gender / Lang
22–50 · All · English
Job Titles
Cloud EngineerDevOps EngineerIT TechnicianSoftware DeveloperInfrastructure EngineerSolutions ArchitectIT ArchitectSystems AdministratorCloud ArchitectIT ConsultantAzure EngineerAzure Developer
Lookalike (when ready)
Cotec alumni email list → 1–2% LAL per country. Pending GDPR/PDPL clearance from Dan.
Exclude
LP visitors / converters (once pixel has data); C2 audiences.
C2 — Career Switchers
Seg 2
Age / Gender / Lang
18–45 · All · English
Primary approach
Broad — no job-title filter. The hook "Want to break into IT?" self-selects. Let Meta optimise toward LP clicks.
Fallback (if CPC > $3 / CPL > $50)
Admin AssistantOffice ManagerCustomer Service RepOperations ManagerRetail ManagerTeaching AssistantProject CoordinatorHR CoordinatorAccounts Admin
Exclude
All C1 ad-set audiences (avoid IT-pro overlap).
C3 — B2B Decision Makers
Seg 4 + 5
Age / Gender / Lang
30–55 · All · English
Job Titles
FounderCEOManaging DirectorDirectorOwnerEngineering ManagerHead of ITIT ManagerHead of LearningL&D ManagerTraining ManagerHead of PeopleDelivery Lead
Behaviours (not interests)
Small Business Owners · Facebook Page Admins (business-owner proxy).
Exclude
C1 + C2 audiences once data is available.
🌍
English-only across all geos. This is both a product differentiator (native-English instructors) and a natural audience filter. ICP allows India + Pakistan as English-speaking geos — held for Phase 1.5 once UK/US/UAE economics are proven.
06 Budget Allocation

$4,000 / Month Breakdown

$133/day total. 40 / 40 / 20 across the three campaigns. Country split starts equal (33/33/33) inside each campaign — shift toward the lowest-CPL geo after 7 days.

$4,000
per month
C1 — IT Professionals
40%
C2 — Career Switchers
40%
C3 — B2B Lead Gen
20%
C1 — IT Professionals (Seg 1+3)
$1,600 /mo
$53/day
40%
UK · London + Manchester
33%
$533/mo
US · NYC + Chicago + LA
33%
$533/mo
UAE · Dubai + Abu Dhabi
33%
$533/mo
C2 — Career Switchers (Seg 2)
$1,600 /mo
$53/day
40%
UK · London + Manchester
33%
$533/mo
US · NYC + Chicago + LA
33%
$533/mo
UAE · Dubai + Abu Dhabi
33%
$533/mo
C3 — B2B Lead Gen (Seg 4+5)
$800 /mo
$27/day
20%
⚠ Launch UK only first (~$27/day)
100%
$800/mo
Why $4K works in Phase 1
Optimising C1/C2 for link clicks (Traffic) — not the $265 Purchase event — means each ad set easily clears Meta's ~50-event/week learning threshold even at ~$18/day (clicks are cheap and high-volume). The Purchase-event optimisation, which would need a much larger budget across 9 ad sets, is deferred to Phase 2 once the pixel has volume. The minimum to exit learning is ~$15–20/day per ad set — which C1/C2 meet, but C3's B2B lead-gen sets do not when split three ways, hence the UK-first launch for C3.
07 Phase 1 Targets

Path to 25 Enrolments

Illustrative funnel math — there is no historical Cotec ad data yet, so treat these as pre-launch targets to validate in week 1, not guarantees. Assumes CPC ≈ $2.50 → ~1,600 LP clicks on $4,000. Cohort capacity is 25 seats; demand beyond that opens a second cohort / waitlist.

Conservative
Validate first
LP conversion rate1.5%
LP clicks / mo~1,600
Enrolments~24
Cost per enrolment~$167
Fills the cohort
~1×
Target
Goal
LP conversion rate3%
LP clicks / mo~1,600
Enrolments~48
Cost per enrolment~$83
≈ CPE target ($80)
~2×
Strong
Upside
LP conversion rate5%
LP clicks / mo~1,600
Enrolments~80
Cost per enrolment~$50
Opens waitlist
~3×+
📈
The real economics are downstream. AZ-900 at $265 is the entry product — every career-switcher (C2) graduate is a warm lead for AZ-104 at ~8× the ticket. C2 is run for that LTV, not for AZ-900 margin alone. B2B (C3) bookings of 5–25 seats add $1,325–$6,625 each.

KPIs & Decision Rules

MetricPhase 1 TargetKill / Fix Trigger
Total enrolments25 in 30 daysBelow pace → expand geo, raise budget, test new hook
Cost per enrolment< $80Above → review LP conversion first, then creative
Cost per click (CPC)< $3Above → creative issue, test new hook
CTR — Feed> 1.5%< 1% at 2,000 imps → kill creative
CTR — Stories> 1.0%< 0.7% at 2,000 imps → kill creative
LP conversion rate> 5%Below → rebuild LP section; usual fix = clearer CTA
B2B lead-form completion> 8%Below → shorten form, remove one question
08 Creative Plan

Static-Only · 37 Assets

Feed (1:1, 1080×1080) + Stories (9:16, 1080×1920). Each single image ships in both formats. One 6-slide carousel per B2C campaign. Hook leads with the outcome — mechanics stay on the LP.

C1: 16 · C2: 13 · C3: 8
C1 — IT Pros
16
"Failed AZ-900? It's not your fault."
"96% pass rate. 1,000+ alumni. Microsoft, HP, IBM, EY."
"Working with Azure but never certified?"
Carousel "It's Not Your Fault" — 6 slides
5 single (×2 formats) + 1 carousel
C2 — Switchers
13
"Break into IT. 3 weeks. $265."
"Don't quit your job to switch careers."
Price comparison — $265 vs $20K bootcamp
Carousel "You Don't Need It" — 6 slides
≈4 single (×2 formats) + 1 carousel
C3 — B2B
8
"Microsoft will fund your team's certification."
"Async completion: 5%. Our cohorts: 95%."
"Get 25 of your team certified in 3 weeks."
"Microsoft funds it / We deliver it" split panel
4 single (×2 formats)
🚫
Banned (locked with Dan): ❌ "Microsoft exams are rigged" → use "exams test understanding, not memorisation" · ❌ Hormozi-style agitation blocks · ❌ money-back / job guarantees · ❌ dumping prereqs / labs / module lists on the ad (that's the LP).
🎬
Minimum pool
8 unique creatives / campaign
Keep at least 8 active at all times to prevent fatigue and feed Meta's algorithm.
🔪
Kill threshold
< 0.5% CTR at 1,000 imps
Pause and replace any single creative below the floor.
📉
Fatigue signal
CTR drop > 30% WoW
Rotate the creative out; queue a replacement from the prompt library.
📅
Weekly review
Every Monday
Promote winners, queue 2–3 replacements using unused formats.
🌍
Geo winner
CPL < $30 consistently
Increase that geo's budget share +15% per week.
🎠
Carousel winner
Beats all singles at 5× spend
Produce 2 more carousel variants before scaling budget.
09 Phasing

Phase 1 → Phase 2

Phase 1 is a focused 30-day Meta sprint to fill the 10 June cohort. LinkedIn — Dan's primary channel for the failed-exam and B2B segments — and the wider course catalogue come in Phase 2.

Phase 1
Meta Sprint
30 days · target 25 enrolments
LP rebuild to distance-learning format + $265 / £200
Agency + Cotec
Pixel on cotec.dev: Purchase + Lead events verified
SF Agency
Build C1 + C2 (Traffic) + C3 UK (Lead Gen), 9 ad sets staged
SF Agency
🚀 Launch — Day 1
Week 1: validate LP conv rate, CPC; shift geo budget to winners
SF Agency
Expand C3 to US + UAE after first qualified lead
SF Agency
Rotate creative on Monday cadence; kill <0.5% CTR
SF Agency
Switch C1/C2 to Conversions–Purchase once pixel has volume
Phase 2
Scale + Expand
Post-cohort
Stand up LinkedIn Ads account → Seg 1, 3, 4, 5
SF Agency
Add Meta retargeting once pixel pool ≥ 200 LP visitors
SF Agency
India + Pakistan geo test (English)
SF Agency
AZ-104 upsell sequence to AZ-900 grads (~8× ticket)
Microsoft Agentic AI Academy + Bootcamp campaigns
AZ-204 / 305 / 400 — same LP template, bullet + price swap
Phase 2 Course PipelinePlatformPriority
Microsoft Agentic AI AcademyLinkedIn + IG/FB1
Microsoft Agentic AI BootcampLinkedIn + IG/FB2
AZ-104 / 204 / 305 / 400LinkedIn3
10 Pre-Launch Gates

Nothing Launches Until Green

Open items from the ICP call + account setup. Launch execution waits on the LP rebuild, client access grants, and the creative set.

11 / 11 Pending
✗
LP rebuilt: distance-learning format, not 1-day in-person
Agency
✗
10 June cohort + session schedule / timezone confirmed
Cotec
✗
Stripe Payment Link live — USD primary, GBP secondary
Cotec
✗
Meta Pixel on cotec.dev — Purchase + Lead events firing
Agency
✗
BM partner + Ad Account access granted
Cotec
✗
Signed contract received
Cotec
✗
Creative set delivered (37 statics) + spec check
Agency
✗
B2B Lead Form questions confirmed with Dan
Cotec
✗
Alumni list for Lookalike — GDPR/PDPL consent
Cotec
✗
Mu'lin Advertiser Permit active (UAE geo only)
Cotec
✗
MS Learn AZ-900 module pull for LP "what you'll cover"
Agency

Decision Log

2026-06-02
Rebuilt on the AZ-900 v2 ICP (Dan call, 2026-05-21). Segments are now failed-exam, career-switcher, Azure-cert, and B2B partner/manager.
Prior version used the stale $4,500 "Microsoft + AI Copilot" ICP — wrong product, wrong audience.
2026-06-02
Meta-only scope. LinkedIn — Dan's primary channel for Seg 1/3/4/5 — deferred to Phase 2.
No LinkedIn Ads account set up yet. Career-switcher (Seg 2) is the strongest Meta-native segment.
2026-06-02
C1/C2 optimise for Traffic (link clicks), not Purchase, in Phase 1; switch to Conversions–Purchase in Phase 2.
9 ad sets can't each hit ~50 purchases/week to exit learning at $4K. Link-click events clear it cheaply.
2026-06-02
C3 (B2B) on Meta Lead Ads, launched UK-first.
On-platform form = lower B2B friction; UK-first keeps the ad set above the learning-phase budget floor.
2026-06-02
Dropped the prior Broad / Advantage+ and Retargeting campaigns. Retargeting returns once the pixel pool ≥ 200 LP visitors.
They belonged to the old AI-displacement structure; not in the partner's 3-campaign segment map.
2026-06-02
95% pass rate used across all creative (per Anton + ICP headline). Domain cotec.dev.
Resolves the earlier 95% vs 96% ambiguity; locked to the ICP headline figure.
SF
SF Agency
Cotec UK — Red Tulip Business Services Ltd
Cotec AZ-900 — Meta Ads Strategy · Phase 1 · v2.0
Built on AZ-900 ICP v2 (Dan × Anton, 2026-05-21)
$4,000 / mo
Phase 1 ad spend · 25 enrolments / 30 days