how to make betters ads on digital

1. Optimising Creatives

Praveen RajaretnamCo-founder, Wooplr

LEARNINGS ON DIGITAL SERIES

About Wooplr

Women’s Fashion Discovery & Shopping Platform

Launched 2013 | 1.3 MM installs | 40% organic acquisition

Condensed Playbook(to be taken with a pinch of salt)

Disclaimer

• This is not a ‘How to’ guide• Few tactics mentioned might be one-off

• Apply the learnings

• Takeaways are meant to provide inspiration to experiment – do not adopt them blindly• Use them / incorporate into your own digital strategy

• These are my learnings• So, take them with a pinch of salt• Remember, experience alone teaches you

But First, Follow Best Practices

Setup Measurement Tools

Define Your TGCreate Personas

Plan & Set Goals

Be Data Driven

Optimise the Funnel

Research

Digital Marketing 101

First Mantra

“Startup L. Jackson

https://twitter.com/StartupLJackson/status/496357316455714816

The data does not share your opinion.”

Case Study#1

• In the initial days, followed the principle, “If I wouldn’t click on the ad myself, never put it up.”

• The creative was designed by men for a TG of women

• Unsurprisingly, led to more men than women clicking this ad

CASE OF BIAS

• Created a sample group of women• Understood requirements, involved the TG in the creative

process and took their feedback• New ads reduced clicks from men and improved conversions

HOW WE SOLVED IT

TAKEAWAY #1

• More importantly, beware of confirmation bias during the creative process

Avoid bias

Case Study#2

BEING LED BY HYPOTHESIS

• Celebrity looks drives more sales• Every major e-commerce player (and even

brands) at that time used this route in their ads

• So we decided to create a celeb lookbook ad set to acquire users

• Everyone was convinced that these ads will perform better than existing sets

FIRST SET OF CREATIVES WERE LAUNCHED• Sample group approved the creatives (100% gave thumbs-up)• Launched with high expectations

PERFORMANCE OF AD SET 1

• Performance• Cost per install (CPI) was 50% higher

• Blunder• We were so convinced about the route (of

using celebrity lookbooks), we decided that it was the creative that wasn’t working

• We ignored data completely• We went back to the same women who thought

this creative was ‘very good’ to ask what was wrong with it

CHANGES MADE

• Using the natural background of the celebrity photo to add authenticity• The apparels look too cluttered. Focus to be put on the main apparel only

SECOND SET OF CREATIVES WERE LAUNCHED

• The women loved this creative set as well• Expectations on the ad set were still high

PERFORMANCE OF AD SET 2

• Performance• Cost per install (CPI) increased further by 78%

• Blunder• We continued to ignore data• In the medical world, when the treatment doesn’t

work, the doctor doesn’t change the prescription – she changes the diagnosis

• In our case, we changed the creatives (the prescription) instead of looking at the data

• We changed the creatives again besides trying different targeting and copy options

• Thus, we continued to treat the symptoms rather than the disease

ANOTHER SET OF CREATIVES WERE LAUNCHED

• We went back to the drawing board (still convinced about the route)• We decided to drop the celebrity altogether and focus only on the apparels with the copy doing the rest• The CPI improved marginally on the previous set

WHAT THE DATA TRIED TO TELL US

• Click through rate (CTR) was higher than average for the original creative set 1

• However, the Conversion Ratio (CVR) had dropped considerably which affected the CPI

• This indicated a disconnect between what was advertised and what the user saw on the Wooplr landing page (Play store) which led to increased drop-offs

• We had completely ignored the CVR parameter

• Subsequently, we put more focus on brand messaging and ASO

Relevance score of ad

CTR x CVR

TAKEAWAY #2

• But remember, certain insights can be unraveled by building empathy alone

Look at all data available before making a decision

TAKEAWAY #3

Focus on relevance.

Make sure the ad shown is useful (use Pareto principle)

Second Mantra

“Startup L. Jackson

https://twitter.com/StartupLJackson/status/583461487512981504

Don't let anyone tell you reinventing the wheel is a stupid idea. These people would be content pulling a wooden cart behind a

horse. ”

Case Study#3

EXPERIMENTATION

• When Facebook introduced carousel ads (MPA), we looked at how other brands were using it. We were not convinced that it would work for us and decided to take a different approach

• We tried a completely new concept of using content in ads (for e.g., style tips, DIY, etc.)

PERFORMANCE OF THE AD SET

CPI DROPPED BY

20%DAILY INSTALLS WENT UP BY

300%

• The ad broke away from the conventional ads at that time by not pushing the consumer to buy something

• The ad was informational – in fact, it looked less like an ad and more like a story on their feed

WHY THE AD WORKED

TAKEAWAY #4

Create distinctive,

high-relevance,

high-quality content

• Be original – it helps to create and build your brand identity

• Never stop experimenting• And sell less

Third Mantra

“Startup L. Jackson

https://twitter.com/StartupLJackson/status/195227102872743937

Ask not what my platform can do for you, but what your app can do for my

platform. ”

STOP FOCUSING ON CPI

1. Instead focus on the creative and copy2. You will have to make do with what is

available3. Look for innovative ways to break out of

the constraints4. Remember, your competitor faces the

same limitations as you

(when evaluating different ad networks)

Case Study#4

WomenWomen who love shopping, dressing up, street fashion and labels alike. Goes to malls, flea markets. Inspired by Bollywood fashion and her peers. Checks fashion online.

Tier-I citiesUrban. Independent. Working.

Home makers who spend considerable time online.

SEC A/B householdsMonthly disposable income

from INR 3,000 to INR 30,000. Shops via e-commerce

18-3018-24 followed by 25-30 and then 30+

Wooplr’s TG

1. Gender targeting on many platforms was either not available or was ineffective.

2. Spillover (>40% men) on the Wooplr app was common

3. Communicating to the right set of women proved a major challenge

Problem Statement

CHALLENGES FACED ON AD PLATFORMS

SO WHAT DID WE DO?

1. No faces / belly buttons

2. More emphasis on the product

3. Use of elements (colors, copy, etc.) that are unappealing to men

• Launched the Man Repeller project• Aimed at making our ads extremely

unappealing for men (see rules on the right)

The Rules

THE ‘MAN REPELLER’ ADS

PERFORMANCE OF THE AD SET

• Spillover reduced to less than 20% across all platforms

• Ratio of acquisition from Tier I to Tier II cities improved, thus attracting the right segment – resulting in higher D30 retention stats

TAKEAWAY #5

• Leverage the platform’s constraints to your advantage – it gives you a leg up over your competitors

Look at the system as a means to an end

– not an end in itself

Fifth Mantra

“Startup L. Jackson

https://twitter.com/StartupLJackson/status/394191197243056128

You've got 99 developers and a woman ain't one.

No s**t you're having culture problems, I don't feel bad for you son. ” (paraphrasing)

INCLUDE WOMEN DURING THE CREATIVE PROCESS

MAKE SURE YOUR CREATIVE TEAM IS DIVERSE

01 Get comfortable

02 Think outside the box

03 Work as a team 04 Humour

helps!

• Having women in the brainstorming process (even if they are not part of the creative team) goes a long way

• Do not include too many people during ideation as that usually leads to confusion (too many perspectives)

Case Study#5

“

”

The best ideas come as jokes.

Make your thinking as funny as possible.

BRING IN HUMOUR

• Create an environment where inhibitions are low

• Let all ideas flow through. Don’t dismiss any idea

• Keep it light (add some silliness)

David Ogilvy

HUMOUR ELEMENT IN ADS

• A casual conversation led to a fun concept (see right image), post which the language was polished

• Although CPI was higher, stickiness improved (higher D7 retention)

• Thus, using humour actually increased loyalty

CASUAL IDEA / CONCEPT

LED TO THIS AD

TAKEAWAY #6

• Humour helps connect with and earns the trust of customers – and hence results in better loyalty

• Humour also makes the brand more human• Don’t make the ads too clever – they might just

go over the head

Less wit, more slapstick humour

Keys to making better creatives

PERFORMING CREATIVE ANALYSISCreative analysis can be broken down into:

01 Background AnalysisSolid vs natural backgrounds

02 Colour Palette AnalysisContrast trumps Colour. 2 primary, 2 secondary , 1 tertiary

03 Right TypographyUse the right font for the right image. Pair fonts well

04 Use of SubjectsA/B test with subjects, visage visibility, emotions et al.

05 Copy Analysis0-60 characters. 60-140 characters. 140+ characters. Use action words in the beginning of the copy

06 Use of ElementsHeading, Sub-text, CTA, Logo, Play Store / App Store Badges

Aa

“

”

Never stop testing,

and your advertising will never stop

improving.

EXPERIMENT

1. Tested a creative with 18 variants once

2. Gained insights on spectrum analysis, placement of elements and typography

David Ogilvy

TAKEAWAY #7

• Text / CTA should be on the right• Creative should have preferably have one dominant human

readable colour (revealed by Spectral Analysis)

Multivariate testing unravels unique insights specific to your TG. Apply them.

SPECTRAL ANALYSIS

Medium Rich Blue

Note: Spectral Analysis is not suited for product images

1. Average HSV (235, 73, 38) | (26, 32, 97) | #1a2061

2. RGB Colour(most representative of image)

(34, 43, 96) | #222b60

3. Human readablecolour description

• Note bolder, taller fonts.• Shorter statements• Leading with action words in the copy• Less clutter works

TYPOGRAPHY & COPY ANALYSIS

WHAT GOES INTO A SUCCESSFUL AD CREATIVE?

Image60%

Copy10%

Targeting 30%

Criteria

**Data applicable only for generic ads on fashion theme

Colour Palette Analysis + Tools1. Color Hunt2. Coolors3. Colorco.de

Typography Tools1. Font Flame2. FontPark3. Font Squirrel

Free Stock Image Repositories

1. Stocksnap.io2. allthefreestock.com

3. Pixabay4. Unsplash5. Stock Up

Other Tools

1. Multicolr Search2. Easel.ly

TOOLKIT FOR CREATIVE ANALYSIS

Aa

Case Study#6

• Use simple, straight-forward images for content marketing• Avoid using copy in creatives• Use bright, vibrant images to communicate the theme

CREATIVES IN CONTENT MARKETING

5 HAIR FIXES UNDER 5 MINUTES 20 WAYS TO KISS: LIP ESSENTIALS

CPC was 70p Clicks 17.5k | Shares 1200+ CPC was 90p Clicks 52k | Shares 5300+

• For emails, use a small cover image (<25KB) so that it loads quickly• For in-app notifications, communicate the intent clearly (copy is critical)

CREATIVES IN PUSH NOTIFICATIONS & EMAILS

IN-APP NOTIFICATION EMAIL COVER IMAGE

TAKEAWAY #8

• Email• Push / In-app Notification

• Content Marketing

Concepts can be extended to every measurable medium

“

”

There are no secrets to

success. It is the result of preparation,

hard work, and learning from

failure.

WRAPPING UP

1. Keep experimenting. Innovate. (research)

2. Create distinctive, high-relevance, high-quality content (sell less)

3. Build empathy. Listen to users (avoid bias)

4. Be consistent in making decisions5. Humour works

Colin Powell

…AND REMEMBER,

WHENEVER YOU FIND YOURSELF FACING A TOUGH PROBLEM,

TELL YOURSELF…

“”

THE DATA DOES NOT SHARE YOUR

OPINION.

Startup L. Jackson

IN SUMMARY

Get in touchpraveen@wooplr.com

@prajaret(Twitter & Slideshare)