It’s not a secret that not all digital ad campaigns are about instant clicks and conversions. In many cases, programmatic display campaigns should be used to influence — then when customers are ready to engage, your client’s brand is top-of-mind.

What drives that influence is well-planned and well-designed ad creative with a powerful message.

And never has that been more important than here in 2020. According to a recent Q&A on streetfightmag.com, the 2020 holiday season will see a surge in e-commerce, and shoppers will be spending earlier than normal to account for ongoing worries about shipping delays.

What does that mean for marketers? It means a crowded marketplace, potentially higher CPMs, and an all-out battle for eyes on ads.

As we look ahead to the holiday shopping season following a brutal year, let’s talk about the top five ways to make sure the ad creative is providing the right message to the right person at the right time this holiday season.

1. Be ready with multiple creative refreshes. Our standard advice is to refresh creative at least once every 30 days, any longer and your image and message grows stale and becomes a blind-spot. Brian Bowman, founder, and CEO of Customer Acquisition says this holiday season will need more frequent refreshes to fight creative fatigue and drive conversions. And developing holiday-themed creative is a must to stay relevant.
2. Message over design. A good design can attract the eye, but it’s the message that resonates with the consumer. Is your client a local business? Say that. People are looking to support local businesses. Are they concerned about keeping customers and employees safe? Offering extended hours, delivery?
3. Keep it simple. Always good advice right? Scaling back the busy creative with a short message will help consumers know the point right away. Here’s one of our all-time favorites:

It brings about the feeling of being out in nature with a simple message and a clear call to action. Speaking of the CTA … .

4. Have a clear call to action. Our partners at Simpli.fi stress this in their research. Creative performs best with a short, descriptive CTA (that appears on every frame of a .gif ad). They recommend three words of less: Watch Video, Buy Now, Discover Your Style, Start Here, Subscribe Now, Shop Surprise Sale, etc. And always place your CTAs in a button — our brains are trained to look for something to click.
5. Display your brand. Seems obvious right? This goes back to #3. If your creative is too busy, your client’s logo could get lost. It’s that logo, that brand that will be seen repeatedly for that consumer recognition. And don’t forget to pair online and offline ads. Use the same colors, fonts, and messaging across all marketing channels.

We’re excited to see so many businesses coming back online in our local communities. It’s been a rough year, but all the data points to a happy holiday season for businesses and consumers alike. How can we help?

For more creative best-practices, contact your January Spring Sales Coach.