Facebook IQ: Digital Research and InsightsFacebook IQ: Digital Research and Insights

August 14, 2018

Creative Considerations for Direct Response Campaigns

See what creative strategies help drive consumer action for performance advertisers on mobile.

Not too long ago, marketing campaigns fell into distinct channels based on their objectives. Brand marketing heavily relied on TV, while direct response found its place on search. But today’s mobile-first world has blurred the lines between these traditional delineations. In mobile feed, brand and DR creative live next to each other, competing for consumers’ attention on the same playing field.

We’re continuing to see a rise in performance branding - creativity is just as important at bottom of the marketing funnel as it is at the top. So for traditional performance advertisers, what creative strategies influence their main business goals to drive action?

For DR advertisers looking to better connect with people and drive action, focusing on creativity and mobile-first formats can positively impact business results. And video is becoming ever more important to DR campaigns: In the past year, the number of advertisers using video in direct response campaigns across our platforms increased 3.8x.

Facebook has conducted multiple studies to better understand what creative elements drive action on mobile. And our findings showcase the importance of mobile-first creativity and mixed-asset campaigns for driving DR-results.

Download our full playbook Creative Considerations for Driving Action to learn more about the research behind these learnings.

Plan mixed-format campaigns

  • Including static image and video assets within the same campaign leads to better performance for DR objectives and results in more conversions than video-only or static image-only campaigns. Mixing and matching assets is key to engaging audiences and driving results.

  • In our study, Create to Convert, we added lightweight motion to static assets to create videos and learned that static-image plus video campaigns achieved conversion lift at a 17% higher rate than static image-only campaigns.

Basic Motion

Facebook Video ad examplePlay Icon

Branding in motion (Logo)

Facebook Video ad examplePlay Icon

Benefit in motion

Facebook Video ad examplePlay Icon

Demo in motion

Facebook Video ad examplePlay Icon

Have a clear message and focal point for static creative

  • Traditional static image assets need to have a clear message and focal point on the product or service being advertised to inspire action.

  • Product-focused creative drives business results more efficiently, with 71% more content views versus creatives without a clear product focus.

Optimize video ads for mobile viewing

Our studies showed that certain creative elements performed stronger for direct response video and correlated with higher conversion lift.

Make sure brand association is clear:

  • Show a logo, recognizable spokespeople, colors, products and/or visuals

  • Reinforce the advertiser name in any captions or superimposed text

  • Use the majority of the video to showcase the product or service being advertised

Use thumb-stopping creative to get noticed:

  • Choose attention-grabbing video thumbnails

  • Lead with shots of your products against vivid backgrounds, and make use of contrasting colors

  • Put your “hero” front and center

  • Try using quick movements and transitions in between scenes

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