How To Make Display Ads That Work

1. Optimising Display
Ads
Praveen Rajaretnam
Co-founder, Wooplr
Advisor, Cupick & 1Thing
Startup Consultant
LEARNINGS ON DIGITAL SERIES

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
facebook.com/LearningsOnDigital

But First, Follow Best Practices
Setup Measurement Tools
Define Your TG
Create Personas
Plan & Set Goals
Be Data Driven
Optimise the Funnel
Research
Digital Marketing 101

Don’t you want to make an ad
like this?

1
• Why does the ad matter?
• Does the copy and design
communicate clarity?
• Does it evoke the desired emotions
in the consumer?
It should state its objective clearly

2
• It should meet or exceed the expectations
set. In order to do this, empathy is key
• Treat every interaction as an opportunity
to get to know needs better
It should deliver on the promised value / utility
as advertised

3
It should impact / delight the consumer

To understand,
and be understood.

HOW DO YOU DO THAT?
01 Simple Layouts 02 Concise Copy
Keep it to the point.
03 Legible Text
Text in the ad should be clearly
readable on all screen sizes
04 Tappable CTA
Make the call-to-action (CTA)
big & inviting (tappable size)
Aa

Startup L. Jackson
The data does not share your opinion.

• 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 focus group
• 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
• Speak to your users. Listen more!
• Also, you cannot reach an individual
through generalities
Reject self-as-user mindset to avoid bias

BEING LED BY HYPOTHESIS
• Celebrity looks drives more sales
• Major e-commerce players (and 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
landing page which led to increased drop-offs
• We 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)

Startup L. Jackson
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.

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

Startup L. Jackson
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 copy
2. You will have to make do with what is
available
3. Look for innovative ways to break out of
the constraints
4. Remember, your competitor faces the
same limitations as you
(when evaluating different ad platforms / networks)

Women
Women 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 cities
Urban. Independent. Working.
Home makers who spend
considerable time online.
SEC A/B households
Monthly disposable income from
INR 3,000 to INR 30,000. Shops
via e-commerce
18-30
18-24 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
• Project MAN REPELLER launched
• Aimed at making our ads extremely
unappealing for men (see rules on the right)
The Rules

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

USE AD PLATFORMS FOR THEIR STRENGTHS
• Who your friends are
• Who you chat with
• TV Shows, movies & brands you love
• News you care about
• What you search for
• What’s in your Inbox
• Directions you map to
• What’s in your Android device
* Based on this article by Josh
knowsknows

CREATE CONTENT & ADS FOR PLATFORMS
• Ad platforms are unique and cater
to their audiences using vastly
different mechanisms. So, treat them
differently.
• Leverage each platform for their
strengths
• Create content and ads specifically
for those platforms
INTENT
IMPULSE

TAKEAWAY #5
• Leverage the platform’s constraints to your
advantage – it gives you a leg up over your
competitors
• Make creatives & ads for specific platforms
(what works on Facebook does not necessarily work for
AdWords, and vice-versa)
Look at the system as a means to an end
– not an end in itself

Startup L. Jackson
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.
(to paraphrase in this context)
INCLUDE WOMEN DURING THE CREATIVE PROCESS

MAKE SURE YOUR CREATIVE TEAM IS DIVERSE
01Get 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)

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 OgilvyLEARNINGS ON DIGITAL SERIES

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 ANALYSIS
Creative analysis can be broken down into:
01 Background Analysis
Solid vs natural backgrounds
02 Colour Palette Analysis
Contrast trumps Colour.
2 primary, 2 secondary , 1 tertiary
03 Right Typography
Use the right font for the right
image. Pair fonts well
04 Use of Subjects
A/B test with subjects, visage
visibility, emotions et al.
05 Copy Analysis
0-60 characters. 60-140 characters.
140+ characters. Use action words
in the beginning of the copy
06 Use of Elements
Heading, 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 OgilvyLEARNINGS ON DIGITAL SERIES

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 readable
colour description

RESULTS
CPI: $0.39
CTR: 3.9% | CVR: 20.5%

TAKEAWAY #8
• Not every creative needs to be
about your product
• Experiment around ideas and
themes
Explore non-product themes to communicate
(color, festivals, concepts)

• Note bolder, taller fonts.
• Shorter statements
• Leading with action words in the copy
• Reduce clutter
TYPOGRAPHY & COPY ANALYSIS

WHAT GOES INTO A SUCCESSFUL AD CREATIVE?
Image
60%
Copy
10%
Targeting
30%
Criteria
**Data applicable only for generic ads on fashion themeLEARNINGS ON DIGITAL SERIES

Colour Palette
Analysis + Tools
1. Color Hunt
2. Coolors
3. Colorco.de
Typography Tools
1. Font Flame
2. FontPark
3. Font Squirrel
Free Stock Image
Repositories
1. Stocksnap.io
2. allthefreestock.com
3. Pixabay
4. Unsplash
5. Stock Up
Other Tools
1. Multicolr Search
2. Easel.ly
TOOLKIT FOR CREATIVE ANALYSIS
Aa

• 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: 70 paise Clicks 17.5k | Shares 1200+ CPC: 90 paise 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 #9
• 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 decisions
5. Humour works
Colin PowellLEARNINGS ON DIGITAL SERIES

Startup L. Jackson
People who think they want a world without
digital ads don't understand how the Internet
funds its awesome diversity.

Whenever you find yourself facing a
tough problem,
tell yourself…

THE DATA DOES
NOT SHARE YOUR
OPINION.
Startup L. Jackson
IN SUMMARY

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How To Make Display Ads That Work

How To Make Display Ads That Work

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