It's a long-standing 'debate' around the office - who takes credit for the latest uplift in our sales report?
Was it my excellent media buying strategy and segmentation - reaching the consumer at just the right time? Or how about us getting to 5 stars on Trustpilot and the brand team adding it to some recent comms? What about the tweaks to the creative we made on our re-targeting campaign?
The reality is, as expected, a combination of all of them - but the value of the right creative might surprise some people. Recently marketers (read digital marketers, brought up on a diet of last click and performance media) have placed too much value on the bottom of the funnel; PPC ads with strong CTAs, re-targeting banners, and onsite optimisation.
The reality is that your creative - across every touchpoint - is the key to your successes.
In a recent survey by Nielsen across several hundred live campaigns, they conclude that creative makes up almost 50% of the contribution to any given sale - less than in the golden days of Mad Men perhaps, but significantly more than the excel-driven analysis of marketing performance today would credit.
Of course, great creative is made up of multiple aspects - the most successful drive cut through, or in branding language, deliver Mental Availability (LINK) - the likelihood of your ad or brand being recalled at a critical junction in your customer journey.
Focus on the problem you're trying to solving for them, show the product being used if you can and be clear on the benefits you provide. Ensure your brand is front and centre, make it stand out in the first frame or piece of copy. The Neilsen report shows that the brand makes up a significant 15% of the value the sale - don't waste it.
Crucially, work with the media/segmentation plan you've got laid out - it might not be as all-powerful as you'd once thought, but it's still made up the remainder of the value creation. Map out your customer journey in full and really ensure your creative (both design and messaging) is both consistent and appropriate at each step.
Identify what creative you have in play and try to look at it through your customer's eyes - what am I doing to catch and maintain their attention? What am I expecting them to take away from this usually brief engagement with my brand?
The Fast Thinking Platform allows you to upload all of your creative and segmentation direct from your advertising partners at the click of a button - no more messy screengrabs and post-it-notes required. Click here to view a 3-minute demo of how we could help you today.
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