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- Great ads have this one thing in common
Great ads have this one thing in common
Also: The secret to nailing organic content.
Marketing Qualified
April 05, 2024
Hey there, and welcome back to Marketing Qualified. We hope you enjoy today’s topics!
Great ads have this one thing in common. What it is and examples out in the wild.
The secret to nailing organic content. Three hook styles that will grab anyone’s attention.
🤔 Great ads have this one thing in common.
Creating a great ad is hard.
It’s easy to get lost in the science of A/B testing, experimenting with channels, and data analysis. And don’t get us wrong, those things are important!
But it’s also important to remember that great ads are as much an art as a science.
Many B2C brands are great at the art of advertising.
Most B2B brands? Not so much.
We study marketing all day long. Along the way, we save and analyze the most engaging content to determine what makes it so great.
This means our swipe file gets pretty packed.
This week, we were looking through the ads we’ve saved over the past few months and noticed something surprising.
The best ads were the simplest ads.
They had few (or no) words. They were extremely straightforward in their concept.
But, they were exceptionally creative, unique, and true to their brand’s ethos in very tangible ways.
Here are a few of our favorites and what we love about them. More B2B brands should strive to create ads that are as genius as these.
Nike
When Caitlin Clark broke the all-time NCAA Division I scoring record, Nike put out this ad.
A very powerful message packed into very few words. And very true to Nike’s inspirational brand voice.
Guinness
Think about the last time you grabbed dinner or a drink with friends. Chances are your phones were out the whole time.
This ad from Guinness quickly plays on society’s screen time guilt and reminds us all of the importance of device-free social time.
McDonald’s
No words, but you still immediately understand the product’s value.
RXBAR
Let’s face it, sometimes marketing is just a bunch of B.S.
This ad acknowledges that in a funny and attention-grabbing way. Showing that RXBAR’s “no B.S.” brand promise extends beyond its ingredients list.
M&M’s
Ads don’t have to be in a traditional medium in order to be great. This experiential marketing campaign from M&M’s proves it!
📰 In the news this week.
❌ 8 reasons your ads aren’t converting.
🎥 LinkedIn is experimenting with a TikTok-like video feed.
👀 We're now in the era of de-influencing.
🤫 The secret to nailing organic content.
What’s the secret to nailing organic content? Attention grabbing hooks!
Here are 3 hook styles to use to catch anyone’s attention.
1) Teach “How to”
“How to [big promise]:”
Examples:
How to win on the internet:
How to establish rapport on a sales call in the first 15 seconds:
2) Start a story
“I [surprising action you took], and [timeframe] later [sudden twist]”
Examples:
I ignored my boss and stopped tracking MQLs, and 30 days later I realized it was the best marketing decision I ever made.
I cut my ad budget by 70%, and 4 months later we’re getting more qualified leads than ever.
3) Show “How I”
“How I [personal achievement] without [pain point].”
Examples:
How I post on LinkedIn every day without being cringy and annoying.
How I increased organic site traffic by 120% without buying any backlinks.
Credit to Matt Barker who shared these templates.
😂 Marketing meme of the week.
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