Creative strategy for paid media
Creative strategy for Google and Meta Ads
When ads stop working, making more versions of the same idea rarely helps. I start with the question the customer is weighing up, then turn it into angles, hooks, copy and briefs.
Management starts at US$1,700/month per channel. A defined project is quoted at a fixed price before work starts. The initial project review is free.
The ad and landing page answer the same question. Each test has a reason, a useful measure and a rule for what happens next.
Start Free ReviewThe page must keep the promise made in the ad
An ad can earn attention and still lose the sale after the click. The message should stay consistent from the first frame to the landing page, form or checkout.
Find the buying question
Review the product, offer, existing ads and available customer material. Separate what people have actually said from assumptions we still need to test.
Build the execution brief
Define the angle, opening hook, supporting proof, script or copy and next action. Adapt the execution for paid social, YouTube or Demand Gen when those channels fit the project.
Connect the test to the business result
For ecommerce, check the product page and buying questions. For lead generation, check the enquiry and follow-up. Judge the creative using available sales or lead-quality evidence.
Self-initiated demonstration
One idea, from the ad to the enquiry.
This example uses my own services to show how I develop a message. It is an illustrative brief, not a client campaign or a performance result.
The brief
Speak to the owner getting enquiries that rarely become customers.
- Audience assumption
- A service-business owner already running ads. This is a chosen scenario, not a customer-research finding.
- Communication goal
- Explain why lead quality needs a closer look before spending more.
- Proposed angle
- Follow the enquiry beyond the form submission.
Carry it onto the page.
The landing page should explain what I review, show relevant evidence and ask about the business goal. It should not promise cheaper leads without understanding their quality.
Test a useful question.
Would a lead-quality message bring more suitable project enquiries than a general campaign-management message? Compare the enquiries against the same fit criteria, alongside spend and volume.
Use what the test shows.
Review the enquiries and conversations the test produces, then refine one part of the message at a time.
Creative and technical experience
The message and the page belong together.
Radio and photography gave me experience with voice and images. Building websites and running an ecommerce business brought the buying decision into the work. Today I use that background alongside paid media, landing pages and tracking.
Read my career storyQuestions about creative strategy
How much does creative strategy cost?
A defined project is quoted at a fixed price before work starts. Paid-media management is separate and starts at US$1,700/month per channel, with any spend-based fees agreed in the proposal. The initial project review is free.
Is creative strategy the same as designing ads?
Design is one part of the execution. Creative strategy starts with who the ad is for, what they need to understand and why they might hesitate. That informs the angle, script, copy, format and test.
Can you work with our designer or video editor?
Yes. I can develop the brief, hooks, scripts and testing plan, then review the execution with your team. We agree who produces each asset before the work starts.
Does this include the landing page?
I review the message people see after the click. Copy, page design or implementation can be included when the project needs them, with a separate agreed scope.
What does your next ad need to explain?
Share the business, the offer and where the current creative falls short. We can discuss ongoing paid media and creative support or a focused brief.