Part of: Design and creative
Ecommerce ad creative
Ad creative is the strategy, design and templates behind your ads and emails. We help you test ideas, keep assets on brand and make them easy to reuse.
How to choose
A quick comparison of the services in Ad creative.
| Service | What it is | Best for | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creative strategy | Creative strategy decides who an ad is for, what it says and how you will find out whether it worked. It comes before any design, and it makes your paid media easier to read. | Stores that run ads and are not sure what to say, or whose ads each say something different. Also teams that want a testing plan rather than a guess. | Read more about Creative strategy |
| Static ad design | Static ad design is the making of ads and social assets that sit still: images with a clear message, set up in the formats each platform needs and handed over in files you can edit. | Stores that know what their ads should say and need them designed well, consistently and in every format the campaigns use. | Read more about Static ad design |
| Dynamic creative | Dynamic and automated creative builds ads from your product data using templates. The design job is the template and its rules, so every ad still looks right when a product image or title is unusual. | Stores with a large or changing catalogue, a clean product feed and ad campaigns that already use it, which want the resulting ads to look like the brand. | Read more about Dynamic creative |
| Email layout design | Email layout design makes modular templates that look like your store, read well in every inbox, respect dark mode and stay accessible. It is the design side of your email marketing. | Stores whose emails look different from the website, look wrong in some inboxes, or take too long to put together each time. | Read more about Email layout design |
Creative that performs and stays on brand
An ad has a few seconds to be understood. What it says and how it looks decide whether someone stops. Ad creative covers the thinking behind that, the design of the assets and the templates that let you make more without starting again.
How to choose
| If this sounds like you | Start with |
|---|---|
| You are not sure what to say, or every ad says something different | Creative strategy |
| You know the message and need ads and social assets made | Static ad design |
| You have a large catalogue and want ads built from your product feed | Dynamic and automated creative |
| Your emails look different from your store, or break in some inboxes | Email layout design |
The four parts
Creative strategy
Strategy comes first. It covers who the ad is for, what it says, and a plan to test a few ideas rather than guess at one. Without it, design is decoration.
Static ad design
Static ads and social assets in the formats you need, with product images treated consistently and files you can edit later. Formats and sizes vary by platform and change over time.
Dynamic and automated creative
Where you have many products, ads can be built from your product feed using templates. Done well, they stay on brand with little manual work. The design job is the template and its rules, so it still looks right when a product image or title is unusual. On Google that means Performance Max and dynamic remarketing, using your Merchant Center feed. On Meta it means Advantage+ catalogue ads, once called dynamic product ads.
Email layout
Email layout design builds modular templates that render well across email apps and respect dark mode. The design side connects directly to email marketing, which decides what to send and when.
How creative and paid media fit together
Creative and media buying are two halves of one job. PPC decides where ads run, who sees them and what you spend, and shows what the creative did. Ad creative decides what people see. If you only change one, you lose half the benefit. We plan the two together and judge results against your own sales figures, not just what an ad platform reports.
Both depend on a clear brand. If that is not settled, branding comes first.
What it costs
Ad creative can be priced per batch or monthly. See pricing for how we approach it.
One-off creative is priced at an agreed hourly rate. If you have a digital marketing retainer with us, ad creative for the channels we run is often already covered by it. See the pricing page.
Not sure where to start?
A creative review covers ads and emails as well. It will tell you what is working, what is not and what to fix first.
Each service in Ad creative
Creative strategy
Creative strategy decides who an ad is for, what it says and how you will find out whether it worked. It comes before any design, and it makes your paid media easier to read.
Static ad design
Static ad design is the making of ads and social assets that sit still: images with a clear message, set up in the formats each platform needs and handed over in files you can edit.
Dynamic creative
Dynamic and automated creative builds ads from your product data using templates. The design job is the template and its rules, so every ad still looks right when a product image or title is unusual.
Email layout design
Email layout design makes modular templates that look like your store, read well in every inbox, respect dark mode and stay accessible. It is the design side of your email marketing.
How it works
Every project is different, so timings depend on its size and complexity. You get a realistic timeline in writing before work starts, and we never promise results by a date.
Step 1: Brief
We agree who the ad is for, what it says and what it should make them do.
Step 2: Concept
We sketch a few routes, so you choose a direction before we polish anything.
Step 3: Produce
We design the assets in the formats you need, with files your team can edit.
Step 4: Learn
We look at what the ads and emails did and plan the next round from that.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between ad creative and PPC management?
PPC management decides where ads run, who sees them and what you spend. Ad creative is what people see when they get there. They work best planned together.
Can you work from our brand guidelines?
Yes. If you do not have any, we can create a short set first, so every asset starts from the same rules.
Do you make video?
We make motion graphics, such as animated product ads and animated versions of static designs, made in Cavalry.
How many ad variations do I need?
Fewer than most people think, if each tests a clear idea. We start with a small set and expand based on what we learn. We do not promise that any ad will perform.
Will you design emails as well?
Yes. Email layout design builds modular templates that look right across email apps. We can also build and load them into your email platform, such as Klaviyo.
Do ad platforms have size rules?
Yes, each platform has its own formats, sizes and text limits, and they change. We check the current ones at the start of each project and design to them.
Not sure which to choose?
Get a free UX and conversion review of your website, focused on how your creative affects performance. A subject matter expert at Advent reviews it, and we aim to send it within 5 working days.