Unlocking Creative Power
in Video Ads

Evaluate if you’re truly optimizing the potential of your video ads assets

1/ What’s a good video ad creative?

Think Performance first

At VideoRunRun, we firmly believe that a successful video must first captivate its audience and generate performance – clicks – before delving into branding.

In our approach, branding is viewed as an essential “overlay” to performance, emphasizing the significance of a well-crafted script over extravagant creative ideas.

While you may not win any prizes at Cannes, you’ll undoubtedly win the audience’s attention and engagement.

Video is the unique medium that can guide viewers through the marketing funnel—from discovery to website visits and eventual purchases.

Focus on your story arc

As for a content funnel strategy, a successful script for video ads follows a digital story arc that starts with a compelling hook and concludes with a clear call to action to engage audiences.

• 1. Capture Attention: Grab the audience’s attention within the first few seconds, even without purchase intent or brand recognition.
• 2. Address a Problem: Explicitly present a problem and provide a solution to establish relevance and engagement.
• 3. Highlight USP: Clearly articulate the Unique Selling Point of your product or service, offering reassurance and building credibility.
• 4. CTA for Action: Conclude with a clear and explicit call to action, prompting viewers to take the desired step.

An exemplary reference in effective video advertising is Dollar Shave Club. This five-year-old startup, acquired by Unilever for $1 million, created an iconic ad that revolutionized One-Step-Selling.

Behind its humorous facade lies a meticulously structured video, strategically funneling viewers and presenting rational arguments to drive immediate action.

Be device specific

A good ad is device-specific. As said by Evan Shapīro:

“Video is bifurcating into two main categories: long-form, premium, lean-back horizontal CTV content; and short-form, time-killing, vertical mobile content”.

Think 16:9 vs 9:16 to fit main usage and screen devices.

If you’re not sure about getting the “good” creative on a past or future YouTube ad, just share the url with us at contact[at]videorunrun.com so we can score its Creative performance potential.

2/ 3 questions to know how much you are optimizing your (existing) video assets

#1 Are you making full use of your existing video assets?

Begin by delving into your assets library, including Meta ads, TV commercials, YouTube content, and even User Generated Content or educational contents. Consider how you can transform these resources into diverse ad variations.

Take Advantage of Digital Testing with Versioning: In digital, we have the freedom to launch numerous creative variations. Embrace this flexibility and be proactive—don’t hesitate to diverge from the boss’s idea.

Here are a few versioning ideas you can start playing with:

• Explore options such as adjusting the call to action, altering the voiceover, changing language, or incorporating clips from a video marketplace. Even subtle changes in rhythm or the addition of a voiceover can make a significant impact.
• Of course, adapt each version to devices and formats specificities.
• Prioritize Hooks and CTAs
• If you find yourself with limited creative freedom, focus on refining Hooks and CTAs. These elements are the primary drivers of engagement and performance.

Anticipate Variations Before Launch:

Don’t wait until your campaign is live to make decisions. Create variations beforehand to avoid being caught in the decision-making process during the campaign.

This proactive approach not only streamlines the process but also provides a safety net—if the results are not up to par, you’re better prepared to adjust and test new versions.

#2 Creative Optimization: Do you Apply a Protocol?

When it comes to creative optimization, having a strong protocol is essential. The objective of these tests is straightforward: uncover the most effective combinations of audience and creative elements.

Embracing a test-and-learn approach provides brands with an optimal strategy to understand how creative messaging resonates with target audiences.

The finer details of your campaign contribute to richer insights, shedding light on the intricate dynamics between creative messaging and audience response.

Thus it’s essential to create granular campaigns for each combo Audiences/Creatives.

Consider employing an AI-powered tool for audience and video combinations during this phase. Technology enables you to optimize campaigns dynamically, unveiling creative patterns that resonate with your audience.

Facilitate Collaboration Across Teams:

Successful campaigns stem from collaborative efforts between media and creative teams. Insights derived from targeting should be a joint venture, integrating input from both creative and delivery teams.

Fuel campaigns with data and pivot your ads with creative teams, based on facts. It’s a virtuous circle that reinforces and secures the marketing creative teams as they turn information into new compelling ads.

#3 Content Fatigue: How do you process your next piece of content?

A successful advertising protocol revolves around a virtuous cycle, placing Creativity at the heart of team collaboration.

In this way, each video serves not only as a standalone piece but also contributes to refining subsequent ones, fostering brand consistency and performance marketing.

Hellio, French specialist in energy savings and thermal solutions, ran a first YouTube campaign starting with 6 variations made from existing assets by VideoRunRun.

Each video was then launched towards multiple audiences.
Then the ML and AI

• optimized automatically on the most performing combinations
• identified and restituted new Creative opportunities – from click triggers – leading to several video iterations during the campaign.

This campaign not only delivered outstanding exposure but also achieved engagement metrics that exceeded all of Google’s industry benchmarks. CTR rates soared by a remarkable 200% vs previous run, and the cost per visit plummeted by an astonishing 2,3X.

Next Step

You’re running YouTube Ads or planning to do so?

You’re willing to test CTV?

Contact us now to check how we can assist you to reach your goals.