Achieve Big Screen Impact on the Small Screen

Can you recall the last digital ad you saw? Probably not. In general, memorable digital ads have become a rarity. Most creative teams expend the majority of their time upstream on campaign ideas for the big screen. As a result, teams supporting small screen campaigns end up with insufficient resources to deliver high-quality ads at scale. As growing demands limit capacity, they also establish a more competitive landscape. Unfortunately, this means quality takes the hit at a time when it’s needed the most. So what can marketers do to make a big impact across countless small screens?

Modernize your advertising 

Think back to the Mad Men era. Ad placements and opportunities for personalization were minimal. Brands might have engaged with creative and media agencies in establishing a winning idea and then purchased a few placements — a TV ad here, magazine space there — but the workload was manageable. Not to mention, ads were aimed at a wider audience.

Fast forward to 2019, where there are more connected consumers than ever, across an ever-fragmenting number of channels, devices, and screens. Creating digital ads at scale has become a daunting task. And, because of perceived complexities when delivering high-quality personalized creatives, most brands play it safe. They resort to a “one creative fits all” strategy that inevitably yields static and one-dimensional ads which don’t have a fighting chance at breaking through the digital noise. 

There is a way to maintain the quality of yesteryears without compromising reach or budget. A  Creative Management Platform (CMP) is a technology that makes 1000s of beautiful ads across 100s of digital channels in less than half the time. The CMP software eliminates the manual work (and human error) of reformatting, communicating across a disjointed workflow, localization, and translations. In fact, our Data Insights team found that using Celtra’s CMP saved clients an average 75-80% on production time through reusing creative assets. Imagine what your team could deliver with that extra time. 

Climb the Creative Ladder 

It’s time to create like a big brand (and this applies to many large-scale brands too). Consider Heinken’s advertising strategy. If you recall some of their ads, you’ll notice that they avoid the pitfall of cliches. As Morelli-Verhoog, Heinken’s previous senior director global marketing capability, put it, the brand steers clear of, “the usual boys, the banter, the beach and scantily dressed good-looking girl, with the backlit shot of the beer at the end.” 

Heinken’s stand-out quality can be partially attributed to “The Creative Ladder”,  an internal system of assessing ad quality.

It’s easy to write off this example by pointing to Heinken’s size, prominence, and therefore extensive resources — they even have a team devoted to ranking advertisement quality. Their capacity is indisputable, yet with the right technology, brands of all sizes and budget constraints can achieve greater production ease. 

Creative is key 

Creative ideas are more important than ever before. It might be a jungle out there, but cutting corners on quality simply won’t deliver the results your brand needs. Begin by evaluating your current process and its results. You might be surprised by how much time monotonous tasks are eating up. Time that could be better spent on what really matters — superior creative experiences. 

Want to learn more about delivering better ads? Email us at marketing@celtra.com.