Sourcing High Impact Creatives
The report contains CPM trends, benchmarks, calendars and ad creative examples. This is the exact document we use to plan peak season for our clients that include Simba Sleep, GRIND or TRIP Drinks.
Table of Contents
The Power of Ad Creatives: Driving Performance in the Age of AI
Creating Breakthrough Ads
Over the years we have analysed, briefed, optimised and deployed thousands of ads for our clients that drove millions in incremental value. As a result we have explored dozens of different ways to get ad creatives made.
If you work for an ecommerce brand or if you are just getting started and are looking for ways to source creatives, the article below is for you.
Below you will find a list of places where you can get highly effective ads made, things to watch out for, questions to ask and other ideas on how to get the most value. Recommendations below can be great to source ad creatives on their own or can work in synergy with an existing creative team to increase outputs and improve effectiveness. Price per content can range from sub £100 (gifting creative) to five figure sums. In short, menu below is for everyone.
If there’s such a thing as giving away the playbook, this might be it. Buckle up.
Specialist Ecommerce Ad Creative Agencies
Over the years we have analysed, briefed, optimised and deployed thousands of ads for our clients that drove millions in incremental value. As a result we have explored dozens of different ways to get ad creatives made.
If you work for an ecommerce brand or if you are just getting started and are looking for ways to source creatives, the article below is for you.
Below you will find a list of places where you can get highly effective ads made, things to watch out for, questions to ask and other ideas on how to get the most value. This is behind the scenes look on how we work with our clients.
The suggestions that follow are versatile. They can either stand alone as your primary source for ad creatives or collaborate seamlessly with your in-house creative teams to amplify output and boost effectiveness. With price points ranging from under £100 for creative gifts to lavish five-figure investments, there’s something in this roster for every budget.
If there’s such a thing as giving away the playbook, this might be it. Buckle up.
There are great specialists agencies that are focused on developing ads that convert.
There are agencies such as Nusa Films, Aura Ads, Aray Social, Fraggel Productions to name a few. Some offer end-to-end to content productions, some specialise in producing creator type content only.
We love working with specialist paid social agencies as they live and breathe performance ad creative and have a strong pulse on the market in terms of what is working today.
If you have an in-house media team or an agency, the relationship between performance team and specialist ecom ad agencies can produce some killer results: media and ad ops implement testing frameworks, gather the data, roll-up for insights that go beyond a single ad creatives. Specialist paid social creative agencies absorb the insights, lean on their expertise and produce killer ads.
Creator Platforms
Creator platforms are great.
For extremely low cost you can generate high quality, effective ad creative that drives results.
There is a spectrum of options – some platforms, such as Capssion or TikTok Creator Marketplace can help you tap into a wide array of creators for extremely low cost. Others are more sophisticated and offer more capabilities. In addition to Capssion and TT Creator Marketplace, we also work with Insense and Billo.
Beauty of creator content is that:
- Often content can be extremely effective independently (creator content can be very effective at generating conversions on its own). To make this work, you’ve got to have very tight briefs.
- Creator content can be repurposed (e.g. as part of a mashup or play a role in more refined high production ad)
- Creator ads can be whitelisted (you run ads from @creator handle) – something we love doing for our clients.
In addition to monitoring creative hit rate, we also recommend to consider the following.
- Can you screen and pick your own creators? Some brands we work with are very specific on how they want their products to be represented. In the ideal world you want to be able to screen and pick your own creators. On the other hand, other platforms might not give you the flexibility to choose creators, but often they are more cost effective and can give you more volume.
- Can you send briefs easily, and request revisions? Briefs are incredibly important. If you can use data to inform decision making and briefing you’ll be able to get killer CGC content that will convert. You want to avoid getting lots of random content that has nothing to do with what you have to sell.
- Can you whitelist creators? Whitelisting is incredibly effective regardless whether we are running campaigns on Meta or TikTok. In the ideal scenario you’d look for platforms that allow you to arrange whitelisting.
- Paperwork – look for platforms that handle all of the paperwork related to contracts, signing, paying, rights to content, etc.
On demand platforms & self-serve tools (DIY)
This category could be further segmented as there is a plethora of tools available, but for now we are talking about platforms such as NLC, Promo, Kimp.
Simple fee structures, clear deliverables, fast turnaround times.
Beauty of platforms such as NLC is that they allow you to get very well made ads quickly. They are more hands on.
One great use case of NLC or Kimp is the increased creative demands in peak trading periods (think BF, Christmas, last minute sale changes, etc) – turn around times typically are extremely fast.
Content Studios
Content creation houses such as DreamFactory are shaking things up. If you need fresh, beautiful content produced, this might be it. For a fee you can get access to their studios and network of professionals who will help you get your next batch of content produced.
Friends in the space, some of our past and current clients have used DreamFactory and have all developed some killer content.
End to end content production all under one roof.
Freelancing Marketplaces
Freelancer networks are often overlooked, but if you know what and who to look for, freelancing marketplaces such as Upwork can be a goldmine of talent who can make your ads.
The beauty of freelancing marketplaces is that they can be used to produce new content or increase the lifespan of your existing content, e.g. to stitch up hi-fi, lo-fi and CGC to create ads that tell compelling stories. If you’ve got old
Marketplaces are full of motion designers, animators, 3D designers who can help you create ad creatives that perform. The beauty is that often you can find people that have previously created ads for 7, 8 or even 9 figure ecommerce brands. You just need to be extremely clear on what you are after.
If you are using Upwork (or any other freelancing marketplace), in the job post state clearly that you are looking for someone with experience in creating ecommerce ads, state clearly that freelancers should be familiar with what makes an ad effective, also ask for their portfolio. You’ll be surprised what you can find!
Once you have a network of freelancers with experience, magic can happen.
Closing Thoughts
That’s all! Hope you managed to get at least one single insight from the article above.
At the heart of our operations is an unwavering commitment to ensure our clients harness the maximum potential and achieve the most substantial ROI from their marketing dubets.
Let’s be clear: we’re not in the ad creative business, nor do we have ambitions to veer in that direction.
The article above merely highlights a snippet of the diverse tools and partners we lean on to deliver excellence. While the modern landscape makes content sourcing seemingly effortless, a staggering number of brands still falter in their ad creative execution, leading to squandered opportunities and inconsistent results. It’s a volatile game; ads can either skyrocket in performance or plummet disastrously. And often, brands are left grappling, unable to decipher the ‘why’. That’s precisely why we stress the significance of metrics like the creative hit rate and the spend-on-ad-production. Moreover, implementing a robust creative testing structure is paramount. Without it, brands risk adopting a haphazard strategy, making scalable and consistent results an elusive dream.
