Daily thread: the meta worth the hype? [v5]

This came up at a meetup recently and the room was split, so curious what the broader community thinks. For context, I am working with a pretty modest budget so high-end suggestions probably will not land.

Mostly thinking out loud — feel free to push back hard. Quick context: I am relatively new to this and trying to find my footing. I tried three different approaches and none of them felt quite right.