What is creative diversification? 5 strategies for upgrading your ad creative As media planners, we spend a lot of time thinking about placements and formats. Which platforms does our target audience use most? Should we appear in contextual environments or in social feeds? While these questions are important, there's something even more fundamental to consider: creative diversification. In the fast-evolving landscape of digital advertising, the spotlight is now firmly on creativity. As marketers navigate the terrain of AI-powered ad tools, a critical insight has emerged: creative is the next frontier for achieving unparalleled ad performance. Ads with diversified creatives report up to 32% improvement in CPA and 9% enhancement in incremental reach. What is creative diversification? The challenge for marketers is stark: attention spans are dwindling, with Gen Z clocking out from ads after a mere 1.3 seconds. How can you create content that captures their elusive interest and combats creative fatigue? Henry Kelly, Head of e-Commerce at Meta, offers a beacon of hope. According to Kelly, "Creative is targeting." It's the gateway to crafting narratives that resonate uniquely with specific audiences. Creative diversification, the art of embracing a variety of ad formats and concepts, emerges as the catalyst for reaching new audiences, rejuvenating engagement, and spurring action. One such example is Meta's Advantage+ solutions and their impact on campaign efficiencies. It's creativity that holds the power to drive results and business outcomes. The statistics bear witness to the power of diversification. Ads with diversified creatives report up to a 32% improvement in CPA and a 9% enhancement in incremental reach. It's more than just eye-catching visuals; it's about telling the right story to the right audience. Kelly aptly underscores, "Creative is the vehicle to authentically engage with your audience." So, what can marketers glean from this creative awakening? 63% of 18–34-year-olds trust what influencers say about a brand more than the brand itself. 5 strategies for upgrading your ad creative: Visual Distinctiveness: To attract a broader audience, consider visualizations that resonate with less-reached demographics. Tailor your creative with diverse imagery and messaging. Humanized Content: In an era where relatability reigns supreme, embrace user-generated content (UGC) and "lo-fi" creative alongside polished brand assets. Being not only true-to-brand but True-to-Life speaks volumes in a world bored of polished perfection. Collaborate with Creators: Harness the trust creators have already built with their audiences. 63% of 18–34-year-olds trust what influencers say about a brand more than the brand itself. Their unique perspectives can breathe life into your brand narratives, expanding your reach and deepening affinity. Experiment with Placements: Customize creatives for different placements, tailoring them to audience behavior and platform-specific best practices to maximize your brand's exposure. Embrace AI: In this age of AI, relinquishing some control over brand assets can yield remarkable results. AI can optimize and personalize ad content at scale, tailoring messages to individual preferences. Embrace AI-driven creative strategies, allowing the algorithms to identify the most effective messaging, visuals, and placements to engage your audience. The message is clear: the era of creativity has dawned on advertising. By embracing creative diversification, influencers, and AI, you can navigate the dynamic digital landscape and gain a competitive edge. It's not just about catching eyes; it's about captivating hearts and minds. As you embark on your advertising journey, remember: in this realm, creative is indeed the new black. This piece originally appeared in our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter. For more tips, research, and analysis; subscribe for free here .

Exverus' Associate Director of Programmatic Marketing, Sean Edwards, published a full article on Adweek explaining why food and beverage brands should advertise on YouTube. For more marketing & advertising tips, research, & analysis, subscribe to our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter here .

Disproportionately focusing on short-term performance over long-term brand-building will hurt your overall success. The Long and Short of It If you took any marketing classes in college over the last decade, chances are good that you've read that reliable staple The Long and Short of It (TLASOI) by Peter Field and Les Binet. On the book's 10th anniversary, the concepts inside still feel fresh and relevant to our brand campaigns today. Nationwide, brands have been cutting their marketing budgets due to inflation and fears of recession. When times are tight, many marketers feel the pressure to close the sale and place a disproportionate emphasis on short-term performance metrics -- that's understandable! But be careful not to lose sight of the long-term brand trajectory. While the immediate ROI metrics can look attractive and seem to reinforce this approach, we caution marketers not to get short-sighted and overlook the importance of long-term brand-building. This mistake is called short-termism -- here's why it must be overcome to ensure brand success. W hat is Short-Termism? The Difference Between Long and Short Tactics Any Channel Can Support Long or Short Goals Balancing the Duality What is Short-Termism? In TLASOI, Field and Binet identified two distinct yet interconnected communication approaches. The "long" refers to a focus on brand-building over a three-year-plus timeframe, while the "short" emphasizes sales activation within a 12-month horizon. Short-termism is the marketing fallacy of focusing too heavily on acquiring new customers and activating sales, at the expense of building long-term customer retention and loyalty . Forces such as the rise of digital media suppliers, the emphasis on proving advertising value, and a lack of statistical skills can steer marketers toward shortsighted strategies. The Difference Between Long and Short Tactics Identifying what constitutes the "long" and the "short" in real-world scenarios can be challenging. It's important to recognize that both share the same overarching purpose but operate at different speeds. The short-term, sales activation component is evident in calls to action like visiting a website, purchasing a product, or responding to limited-time offers. In contrast, long-term initiatives aim to create lasting memories that drive enduring changes in behavior, such as building awareness among new consumers or driving consideration for premium products. Both long-term brand building and short-term sales activation contribute significantly to commercial success. The key lies in striking the right balance between these approaches for optimal results. Any Channel Can Support Long or Short Goals Misconceptions often arise when assigning media exclusively to one approach or the other. While certain media may align more closely with either the long or the short, any medium can serve both purposes effectively. Digital media, often seen as a short-term tool, can also be harnessed for long-term brand-building objectives. “You have to produce results in the short term. But you also have to produce results in the long term. And the long term is not simply the adding up of short terms.” - Peter Drucker, The Practice of Management Balancing the Duality The infamous 60:40 rule of marketing recommends 60% of a marketing budget be allocated to brand-building and 40% to sales activation. Though certainly oversimplified, the 60:40 rule still holds up as a general guideline to help marketers maintain a perspective of their overall goals and avoid short-termism. Of course, you should modify those percentages to serve your specific brand! The professional media planners and buyers at Exverus help CMOs and brand leaders overcome short-termism and set their brands up for lasting success every day. If you have questions about media strategy or balancing the many available channels, drop us a line on the contact page or comment below. We'd love to hear from you! This piece originally appeared in our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter. For more tips, research, and analysis; subscribe for free here .

For brands looking to take customer interactions to the next level, we're in a new era in conversational AI. If you've ever been on the receiving end of a wrong reply or misinterpreted AI command, you'll know it can make you question the validity of everything the bot has to say. ChatGPT is looking to bridge the gap between AI and direct customer engagement with its new plug-in architecture. How do brand plug-ins work? Companies like Instacart, Kayak, and Klarna are already using ChatGPT’s plug-ins to seamlessly integrate their platforms with users. With the Kayak plug-in enabled, a potential customer headed on a trip can ask ChatGPT open-ended questions like, "How much would it cost to travel to Bali in September?" and the system will relay Kayak's data. Or if a person is tasked with preparing a celebratory meal for their partner, they can ask ChatGPT, "What's the best meal to cook for my wife's birthday?" and receive recipe ideas with an ingredient list to turn into an Instacart order. In addition to driving more revenue for brands, plug-ins solve one of the most significant issues of AI-powered platforms: accuracy. With full knowledge of a brand's data in tow, ChatGPT will be able to effortlessly answer any question a potential customer may have. How should brands prepare? For starters, brainstorm ways to integrate your brand's digital experience with ChatGPT's plugin architecture. How can you provide personalized, contextual journeys for your customers within a conversational framework? Another way of thinking about it might be: what information do I wish I could more easily convey on my website without needing to rebuild or redesign my site? What would make the digital experience more user-friendly and dynamic? Next, examine how the early adopters are leveraging AI. Take note of the nuances that make their integrations successful and start mapping out ways to optimize your customers' experiences with your own plugin. But look before you leap. The first-to-market plugins are revealing issues with UI/UX on apps and websites. If you are pushing buyers to make a purchase - á la Instacart - ChatGPT can't process the purchase, it will redirect back to the brand's e-commerce platform. Lastly, there are security concerns. With plugins, ChatGPT can now interact with live websites, PDFs, and real-time information which has opened a whole new world of possibility and risk. Security researchers are warning ChatGPT users of "prompt injections," which essentially means that third parties can "hack" the AI responses by adding commands to content that would change the information the user receives without his knowledge. Is all of this terrifying, or terrifyingly exciting? It's surely a bit of both. Staying close to this topic is critical for understanding and preparing for the next chapter of how consumers will behave and businesses will operate. This originally appeared in our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter. For more tips, research, & analysis, subscribe for free here .

Social commerce (buying products directly thru social media apps) hasn't fully caught on in the West as it has in Asia. But we think it still can! Exverus President Bill Durrant explains how in a full-length op-ed published on MediaPost . For more marketing & advertising tips, research, & analysis, subscribe to our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter here .

Exverus Media Director Ian Clark spoke to Lisa Lacy at Campaign about how post-cookie UX will (or won't change) for digital consumers as Google phases out its third-party cookie data. For more tips, research, & analysis, subscribe to our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter here .

Digiday exclusively published our research on Generation Zennial, the microgeneration between millennials and Gen Z, which most marketers misunderstand. This news appeared in our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter. For more tips, research, & analysis, subscribe for free here .

Exverus President Bill Durrant wrote an op-ed in MediaPost about why performance media (or performance marketing) no longer works the way it used to. This news appeared in our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter. For more tips, research, & analysis, subscribe for free here .

Exverus received a glowing, feature-length review from Michael Burgi, Senior Editor at Digiday. We talked about our expansion into programmatic marketing, something not many small agencies can do. This news appeared in our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter. For more tips, research, & analysis, subscribe for free here .

Exverus Media is named the 2020 Silver Small Agency of the Year: Media by Ad Age ! Read our full-length editorial celebrating the win. This news appeared in our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter. For more tips, research, & analysis, subscribe for free here .