According to analysis by strategist Peter Field, the industry's reliance on cheap, low-attention media forces the creation of dull creative. To improve creative effectiveness, marketers must first address the foundational problem of their media strategy before attempting to fix the creative work itself.
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The debate over ad "quality" is often based on subjective opinions of brand fit. A more effective definition of quality is its ability to achieve the primary business objective: selling the product. Unconventional creative that drives sales, like Olay's "cat with lasers" ad, is by definition high-quality.
A low Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) might seem successful, but it could be hiding inefficient creative. Optimizing creative strategy could dramatically lower CAC further (e.g., from $39 to $16), unlocking greater profitability and scale, especially as you increase ad spend.
Stop planning creative and media buys simultaneously. Instead, post creative organically first. Then, exclusively allocate media spend to amplify the content that has already demonstrated strong consumer engagement, forcing creative to be effective on its own merit before receiving paid support.
One-off creative hits are easy, but replicating them requires structure. Truly creative marketing integrates storytelling into a disciplined process involving data analysis (washups, SWAT), strategic planning, and commercial goals. This framework provides the guardrails needed to turn creative ideas into repeatable, impactful campaigns.
If your creative assets aren't culturally relevant, you're forced to overspend on media to achieve impact. Truly resonant content generates organic reach and makes paid amplification more efficient, a key argument for CFOs on the value of creative investment.
With Meta's Andromeda algorithm automating audience targeting, the primary reason for poor ad performance is no longer incorrect targeting settings. Wasted money is now almost exclusively a result of insufficient or non-diverse creative, making creative strategy the most critical component of a successful campaign.
Peter Field's analysis, applying attention data to media costs, reveals TV's high value. With an average 14-second attention span versus 1.7 for in-feed ads, TV's attention-adjusted CPM is extremely low. It also captures over 50% of Gen Z's media consumption, busting the "TV is dead" myth.
Extensive behavioral research on ad performance reveals a clear pattern: simplicity is superior. Creatives with multiple storylines, clutter, and excessive detail create cognitive load and reduce effectiveness. The best-performing ads feature a single, clear message that is easy for the human brain to process quickly.
Many marketing departments favor billboards and TV ads, relying on 'fake reports' with inflated impressions. Meanwhile, social media, where brand and sales are actually built, remains underpriced and undervalued.
Solely judging marketing by last-touch attribution creates a false reality. This narrow metric consistently favors predictable channels like search and email, discouraging investment in brand building and creative storytelling that influence buyers throughout their journey. It's a losing battle if it's the only basis for decision-making.