Part of: Ad creative
Ad creative strategy for ecommerce
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.
Is this right for you?
Who it is for
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.
When it is not
Stores that do not run ads yet and have no tracking to learn from, and stores with no settled brand, which should start with branding. Also anyone who already knows the message and wants finished ads, who is better served by static ad design.
What is included
- A written creative brief covering audience, offer, proof and the action you want
- A messaging hierarchy, so the main point, the support and the call to action are clear
- Two to four concept routes in rough form, for you to choose from
- A testing plan that changes one idea at a time
- A simple log of what each ad tried to say, so results mean something later
- A plain briefing note for whoever designs the assets, whether that is us or someone else
Creative strategy decides who an ad is for, what it says and how you will tell whether it worked, before anyone designs anything. We write a short brief, a clear order of messages and a small testing plan. It suits online stores that run ads and want each one to have a reason to exist. We do not promise that any ad will perform.
This page is part of ad creative.
Who it’s for, and when it isn’t
It suits stores that already run ads, or are about to, and feel the message keeps shifting. Perhaps every ad leads with something different, or the designer is guessing because nobody has written down what the ad is meant to do.
It is not the right fit if you have no tracking, because you will not be able to learn from the tests. It is also not right if your brand is still unsettled. In that case start with branding. If you know your message and just need the ads made, go straight to static ad design.
What’s included
- A written creative brief covering the audience, the offer, the proof and the action you want
- A messaging hierarchy: the main point, what supports it and the call to action
- Two to four concept routes in rough form, so you choose before we polish
- A testing plan that changes one idea at a time
- A simple log of what each ad tried to say
- A plain briefing note for whoever designs the assets
The brief, concepts and testing plan come as a slide deck (PDF), talked through on a call.
How we do it
We gather what exists, write the brief, sketch a few routes and then plan the tests. You approve the brief first and choose the route second. After that the work moves to design, either with us or with your own designer.
We keep the plan small on purpose. A plan with twelve ideas teaches you nothing, because you cannot tell which one mattered.
How strategy and paid media work together
Creative and media buying are two halves of one job. Google Ads decides where an ad runs, who sees it and what you spend. Creative strategy decides what that person reads when it appears. If the media is well run but the message is vague, you pay to show a vague message to the right people.
Strategy also makes media results readable. If we know what each ad was trying to say, the figures from display ads or search reports tell you something. If every ad says something different, a good week and a bad week have no explanation. We plan the two together, and we judge them against your own sales figures, not only what an ad platform reports.
For the wider picture of choosing channels and budgets, see PPC.
What it costs
Creative strategy is priced as a defined piece of work, so you know the fee before we start. See the pricing page 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.
What we measure
We measure against the question each test was set up to answer. That might be which message gets more people to click, or which one leads to more orders. We read those figures next to your store’s own sales records, because ad platforms often take more credit than they deserve.
We report what happened and what we think it means, including when the answer is “not enough data yet”. We do not promise results.
Not sure where to start?
A creative review will tell you what your current ads say, what is working and what to fix first.
How we do it
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: Gather what exists
We look at your current ads, product pages, customer questions and what you already know about why people buy. We ask for past ads and how they performed, reviews, any customer research and your brand guidelines.
Step 2: Write the brief
We agree who the ad is for, what it says, what proof backs it up and what you want the person to do next. You approve it before any design starts.
Step 3: Sketch the routes
We set out a few different ways to say it, in rough form. You choose a direction, so nothing is polished before it is agreed.
Step 4: Plan the tests
We choose what to test first, how long to run it and what would count as a useful answer. We keep the plan small enough to read.
What it costs
We price this by what you need, so you can start small and add stages later. You see the quote in writing before work starts. Our pricing page explains how we approach design and creative work.
Questions people ask
What is creative strategy, in plain terms?
It is the thinking before the design. It settles who the ad is for, what it says, what backs that up and how you will tell whether it worked. Without it, design tends to become decoration.
Do I need this if I already have a designer?
Not always. If your designer works from a clear brief and you test ideas in a planned way, you may not. If the brief is usually "make an ad for this product", a strategy piece can save them, and you, a lot of guesswork.
Will you run the ads as well?
We plan the creative so it fits the way your campaigns are run. Running the campaigns is a separate job, covered by Google Ads and Display ads management. We can create the creative for social ads, but we do not manage social media accounts or campaigns.
What do I need to give you?
Your brand guidelines, current ads and how they performed, product images, customer reviews and read-only access to your campaign reports. If something is missing, we work with what there is.
Can you promise the ads will perform better?
No. We can make the ideas clearer and the tests easier to read. We cannot promise that any ad, message or campaign will lift sales, and we say so.
How many ideas should we test at once?
Fewer than most people think. Each test should change one thing, so you can tell what made the difference. We usually start with a small set and widen it only once there is something to learn from.
Ready to talk it through?
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.