Ad creative can be one of the most valuable ways to optimize a media campaign and maximize your results. The right ad creative will increase your engagement, click-throughs, and conversions.

When testing ad creative, you should start with your broadest and most impactful elements. We recommend starting with your ad creative “hook” - the message that engages the consumer.

Understanding which creative hooks are most effective for your consumers can be the most important insight for your media campaigns.

1: Memorable catchphrases

Highlighting your brand tagline or campaign catchphrase is a great way to build brand awareness.

The tagline should be memorable and align with the brand. Consumers should naturally think of the brand when they think of the catchphrase.

Campaigns that use the element of a catchphrase do not drive direct conversions. Instead, we’ll monitor engagement on the ads and search volume around the catchphrase or brand to determine success.

2: Community & brand values

People naturally want to be a part of a group and purchase from brands that align with their values. We can highlight a brand’s community and identity to take advantage of this consumer behavior. We would expect that consumers who want to be a part of the brand’s community or align with the brand’s core values would engage with the ads.

The brand’s community and values are powerful messaging for building brand awareness. However, the messaging is unlikely to drive considerable conversion volume. Instead, monitor brand search volume and use brand lift studies to determine the campaign's impact.

3: Focus on a feature

As consumers engage with the brand and start exploring products, we can evolve our messaging. At this stage, we’ll start speaking about product features and benefits.

We’ll use our messaging to help differentiate our products from competitors and the overall market. Our goal is to convince consumers to continue to engage with our products and learn more about our brand.

You’ll measure the success of these ads based on the click-through rate. The higher the click-through rate, the more engaging the ad and the more the messaging resonates with the target audience.

4: Testimonials & influencers

Another way to differentiate the brand and its products are through customer, influencer, and press testimonials.

When consumers are researching a brand online, one of their core needs is to reduce their risks. The customer wants to confirm that what they’ll receive is highly valued and exactly what they’re looking for. Testimonials add credibility to the ad messaging and build confidence with the consumer.

Ad creative that features testimonials is meant to engage consumers and encourage them to learn more about the products. We’ll monitor the overall click-through rate to determine the effectiveness of the ad creative.

5: Differentiated offers

Once consumers have engaged with the brand and considered the products, they should be prepared to purchase. However, some consumers will still be unsure and may need an additional incentive to complete their order.

At this stage, we’ll recommend a brand message and offer. The offer could be a simple welcome discount or free shipping. More complex and compelling offers can drive incremental sales.

If you can do something more complex, we recommend considering an offer of a gift with purchase, a gift card for a friend, or the chance to try the product before purchasing.

The more compelling the offer, the more likely the consumer is to convert. When measuring the success of these ads, we’ll look at both click-through and conversion rates. We want to know that the ad was compelling and engaging but also led to a purchase.

What now?

Brands focused on scaling their business need to know what motivates their customers to purchase. Testing different messaging hooks at each customer journey stage will help you understand how your consumer engages with your ad creative.

Use our learning agenda template to organize your campaign experiments, and check out TryNow to give your customers a chance to try your products before they buy.

Want to learn more about how we can help you grow and scale your brand? We’d love to hear from you.

Reach out to QRY: hello@weareqry.comReach out to TryNow: hello@trynow.io