Ad Creative Review to Boost ROI (April 2024)

Hi @marcusmauer, thanks for reaching out! Never too late! These ads generally follow our best practices. With that in mind, I do have a few optimization recommendations: 

-Run the top-performing, high-reach ad sizes, which are 300x250, 728x90, 320x50, and 300x600 as an optional. It looks like you’re running a 320x480, which has very limited reach, and a 160x600, which tends to underperform against the top-performing ad sizes. 

-Be mindful of white space. The Federated API ad, for example, contains a lot of white space, which is compositionally awkward and wastes precious limited real estate. To balance things out, use sizing to establish a clear hierarchy of importance. As a general rule of thumb, follow this structure: 
*Largest element: Heading copy/value prop 
*Medium elements: Logo and CTA (roughly size aligned) 
*Smallest element: Subheading copy, if you have it 

 -Make the CTA pop by enclosing it in a button (which should ideally be the brightest color of your pallet). 

-While your ad copy meets our recommended word count (10 words max for heading copy and 15 words max for heading + subheading copy combined), you want to ensure your copy is always active. For example, instead of “Federated API management reduces complexity in your dev cycle,” you can try something like, “Reduce complexity in your dev cycle./Discover federated API management today.”

Hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Thank you!  

Hi @Bradley Ross, these ads generally follow our best practices. I only have a couple recommendations: 

-Your ad copy is active; however, we suggest making the most of your real estate by emphasizing and supporting the value prop. For example, on the 728x90, instead of asking, “What can you achieve with Jenzabar?”, consider focusing on a KPI, stat, metric, etc., that prospects can achieve with Jenzabar.   

-Also, keep the CTA inviting. For example, instead of “Demo Now,” you can try something like, “Request Demo.”  

And below are the answers to your questions: 

-When building buying stage campaigns, the main thing to keep in mind is that the ad messaging should align with the target audience. Ideally, top-of-funnel campaigns (i.e., Awareness) should deliver engaging brand-building messaging to a high volume of prospecting accounts; middle-funnel campaigns (i.e., Consideration) should share value-driven messaging to accounts showing a higher level of intent to push them deeper into the funnel; and bottom-funnel campaigns (i.e., Decision/Purchase—these can be combined into one campaign, since the ad messaging should be similar) should convert high-intent accounts by addressing lingering questions and distinguishing yourself from the competition. Slides 59-66 of our Ad Creatives 101 deck (attached) include additional best practices for buying stage campaigns. 

-Instead of focusing on a number of ad sets, we recommend A/B testing. This is an effective way to drive up CTR, glean actionable intel, and keep your ad creatives fresh. To do this, launch campaigns with at least 2 distinct ad groups to start, featuring the top-performing ad sizes (300x250, 728x90, 320x50, 300x600) and one isolated creative variable each (for example, same visual, different copy). Once the ad groups have reached >50K impressions, turn off the lowest-CTR ad group and iterate on the highest-CTR ad group—by, for example, taking the winning copy and pairing it with a new visual. Continue tracking performance and iterating as needed to learn what works and what doesn't. 

-Lastly, the suggested frequency cap (number of times/day a user will see the ad) is 5-6 impressions per day. Consider limiting frequency cap to a smaller number (~3) for awareness campaigns to expand reach.  

Hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any follow-up questions. Thank you!