Top Creative Performance Insights for 2022

At the end of 2021, we took our time to analyze the creative highlights of the past year to figure out what made the biggest impact and what we could learn. In this post, we’ll go through some of the most interesting and useful findings the yellowHEAD Creative team discovered in the past year, and help you kick 2022 into high gear with powerful ads.

Table of Contents

• 1. One Message. One Ad.
• 2. There’s No Second Chance To Make A First Impression
• 3. The Gift That Keeps On Giving
• 4. Be Native to the Platform
• 5. Spread Out Creative Testing
• 6. Let Influencers Influence
• 7. All Aboard the Trend Train
• 8. Visualize Your Viewers
• 9. Data-Based Creatives are Da-Best Creatives
• 10. The Power of Cinemagraphs
• 11. Charge Into Battle!
• 12. Always Innovate and Never Stop Experimenting

1. One Message. One Ad.

Make sure your ad has a clear message and distinct voice. According to our findings, it’s better to create multiple ads that each focus on a single message than a single ad that crams in multiple messages.

2. There’s No Second Chance To Make A First Impression!

The first few seconds of a video are the most valuable. After testing and comparing different editing methods, we’ve found that ads showing the brand logo, CTA, and main message right at the beginning tend to perform best. So, make sure to include all of these in the first 3-5 seconds of your video.

See more of our creative findings in our full Social Casino Ad Creative Benchmark Report.

3. The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Iterations, alterations, duplications – it doesn’t matter how you phrase it, as long as you make them! Got yourself a top-performing creative? Time to milk it until the last drop. Do that by altering the ad, but make sure not to change too much (or not enough). Also, regularly track the results to make sure that the ad keeps performing well.

4. Be Native to the Platform

Always be aware of the platform you’re advertising on. For example, slow-paced videos will never work on TikTok. If necessary, re-edit your ad so it would fit the tone of each of the platforms.

5. Spread Out Creative Testing

As recommended in the previous insight, we can try to plan everything in advance by creating a custom-made ad for a specific audience or platform, and that’s smart! But, at the end of the day,  we’re talking creative here, so expect the unexpected. There are new trends and game-changers created every day. Maybe the next one will be yours?

You can spice things up by testing your creatives on a variety of different platforms,
occasions, audiences, locations, timings and forms. You might be surprised by the results!

6. Let Influencers Influence!

An influencer can have the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others. Influencers are your marketers on the inside; they make regular posts about the topic of their expertise and generate large followings of enthusiastic, engaged people. The right influencer can be a significant asset for a brand and help them achieve their marketing objectives.

7. All Aboard the Trend Train!

Stay in the loop! RTM (Real Time Marketing) is the online manifestation of the phrase “hitting the iron while it’s hot”, and you should do so with an engaging RTM ad that can perform faster and stronger than any other creative in your arsenal. Trends come and go, but when they’re relevant – they’re strong. Use them to your advantage — ride their success!

8. Visualize Your Viewers

This works on two levels:

1. Visualizing your audience let’s you understand them on a deeper level and answer their needs better.
2. Literally visualize your users: if you’re targeting females, make the cursor a woman’s hand.
   Help your viewers see themselves using the product.

9. Data-Based Creatives are Da-Best Creatives

There is a new wave on the horizon of making data-based decisions with creatives.

Our creative analytics platform, Alison, looks at thousands of data points to make recommendations on top-performing elements to incorporate in an ad, suggest how to rejuvenate a fatigued creative, and even provide competitive intelligence so you can stay ahead.

10. The Power of Cinemagraphs

Cinemagraphs are still photographs in which a minor and repeated movement occurs, and are published as an animated GIF or in other video formats.

Basically, it’s a short repeating video containing your ad’s highlights.

Never underestimate the power of a moving banner – silent but deadly.

11. Charge Into Battle!

Remember: You are battling for your audience’s attention. Don’t go in unprepared! Make sure your creative is equipped with everything it needs (especially for TikTok, Youtube Shorts, and Instagram Reels). These include:

• Having a presenter
• Including a phone showing the product
• An image or green screen of the product in the background
• Titles
• Subtitles
• Synced visuals and audio

With creative performance ads, appeal to as many senses as possible. Armor up and go win!

12. Always Innovate and Never Stop Experimenting

As creative people and marketers, we know it’s all about finding the right idea at the right time. Sometimes success lasts longer and sometimes it’s short-lived, but we must always keep searching for the next big thing.

So, for 2022 we suggest creative teams stay up-to-date on all ad types, new features, trends and memes. And once your amazing ad creative is live, stay on top of all the campaign results to make sure you’re getting successful creative performance.