Connor Lewis credits his agency's success to his prior in-house SaaS role. This experience provides a deep understanding of the internal budget battles, political intricacies, and risk aversion that external agencies often miss, allowing him to serve clients more effectively.
The most successful software video ad script follows a repeatable structure: start with a specific pain point, mention the brand name early, and then demonstrate the product's features and benefits as the solution. This formula, used by market leaders like Monday.com, is proven to hook viewers and drive conversions.
By placing its software in an absurd, unexpected context—a Viking camp—Monday.com breaks the viewer's expectation of a boring office-based ad. This subversion of creative norms makes the ad memorable and engaging, proving that B2B advertising doesn't have to be conventional to be effective.
The Zapier "Zap" ad, while creative, failed to acquire new users because it didn't explain what the product does. For top-of-funnel ads, product education is crucial; if a viewer walks away confused about the product's function, the ad has failed, regardless of its entertainment value.
Instead of shooting one version of an ad, film the same core creative but with five or six different opening lines (hooks). This is nearly free to do on set and provides a wealth of testable assets to discover which pain point or message resonates most with your audience, dramatically improving campaign performance.
A single "hero" script can be expanded into a massive number of testable ads. This "Sudoku Method" involves creating multiple hooks for different ad lengths (30s, 15s, 6s). For example, three hooks for each of the three lengths turns one creative concept into nine distinct ads, maximizing a single shoot's output.
The choice between human actors and animation depends on funnel stage. Humans are better at disarming cold, top-of-funnel audiences who don't know your brand. Animation is more effective for warmer, mid-funnel audiences who are already aware of you and just want to see how the product works.
While AI video generation isn't ready for public-facing ads, it's an invaluable internal tool. Use AI to create visual storyboards and concept frames. This helps non-video stakeholders understand the creative direction and story beats, ensuring alignment before the expensive shoot begins.
To get budget approved, don't ask to "make a video." Instead, identify a specific business problem and pitch the video as the solution. For example, frame it as "We lose deals at stage three because prospects can't explain our value to their boss, so we need an explainer video." This shifts the focus from a cost to an investment.
Make a large production budget more palatable by reframing the numbers. First, calculate the cost per asset (e.g., "$40k for 20 videos is $2k per video"). Second, emphasize the asset's long shelf life, showing how it will be used for years on homepages, in sales decks, and at events.
A single shoot day can be maximized by meticulously time-blocking the production of different assets. For example, shoot a complex launch video in the morning, a simple talking-head explainer after lunch, and then use the remaining time to film several direct-to-camera ads for testing.