Quality creative can boost display and desktop ad performance

Small tweaks to ad creative can make a big difference in the performance of display and desktop ads, according to a new study from Magna Media Trials and Yahoo.

The study found that “quality” creative—defined as ads with strong imagery, calls to action and informative messaging— drove 56% of a consumer’s intent to purchase, and that ads with those characteristics can result in 23% more recall than ads without them.

The goal of the study was to quantify the impact of creative on metrics, since “creative can often fall by the wayside,” said Kara Manatt, executive VP and managing director, Intelligence Solutions at Magna.

The study found that “no amount of great media can make up for mediocre creative,” Manatt said. “You can do a great job targeting, you can get the ad in front of the right people at the right time with no clutter and get their attention, but creative ultimately plays a significant role.”

The study surveyed 4,100 respondents across 61 metrics and tested display ads for desktop and mobile devices for Mediabrands clients in the U.S. spanning the auto, food delivery service and CPG categories. “We wanted to break down the different components of creative quality to understand what levers our clients can move to create more effective ads,” Manatt said.

The types of ads tested for each brand included control ads; ads with basic imagery and a simple call to action; and ads with optimized creative. Optimized ads had improved imagery, enhanced call-to-actions, contained more informative messaging, or utilized all these creative enhancements at the same time.

Users were asked to identify which ads they considered “aesthetically pleasing,” “fun to look at,” “communicated valuable information,” “high quality” and “able to stand out from other ads on the same page.”

The results also found that marketers would be best served to customize their creative choices across devices, such as including compelling calls to action on mobile or prioritizing imagery to attract attention on larger desktop screens.

Improved imagery on desktop led to 23% higher search intent and a 50% increase in improved message association, the study found. On mobile, ads with explicit brand propositions stayed on screens for eight seconds longer, saw a 27% increase in brand consideration and prompted 32% more consumers to look for deals.

Improving call-to-action with direct messaging and strong design increased the likelihood of a consumer visiting a brand's website by 41% and their likelihood to look for offers or deals rose 77%. 

Logo placement also plays a role. Many ads had their logos at the bottom right, and moving them to the top left made a big difference in metrics. “The ad did a better job of getting people to want to search for the brands specifically simply because the logo is moved,” Manatt added. 

The study found that strong visuals drew in users looking to buy. Those in the market for a product were 20% more likely to notice and 13% more likely to enjoy display and desktop ads with improved visuals, such as a human presence, product images or prominent logo placement. 

While the study only covered display ads on mobile and desktop, Manatt believes these results will translate across video advertising. She said Magna plans to expand the study to video in the next year.