Welcome back to a new edition of Nice Ads. This week, we're going to be going over
The UGC format that actually converts
A creative static ad format for you to test this week.
Let's jump straight into it.
ColonBroom
This first ad is one we made quite recently for one of our clients, and what I wanted to go over was the shift we are seeing across all our clients with UGC.
Three or four years ago, the most popular type of UGC that you'd see and would constantly perform would be what I deem as traditional testimonial: you have a creator speaking directly to the camera and then intercut some B-roll footage of them as well as the product being used. Insert some music and captions; done.
Whereas now, often enough, the less effort put into UGC videos, the better they perform. For example, this one did have cuts, although we never cut away to B-roll. The only time we showed the product was when it was being held by the creator. It's very similar to what you'd see on organic social, and I think that's why it's working so well. You'll see this reflected in my next example as well.
At the end of the day, consumers know what an ad looks like. I don't think that's a bad thing. I think it's something we can use to our advantage sometimes, but I think consumers are over traditional UGC in certain niches and demographics.
And I think part of the job as a creative strategist is to test every type of creative and see what resonates with the customer. Because, although I'm saying this now, there is a fairly good chance that I might be completely wrong when it comes to who you're selling your product to.
If you're really struggling to make ads yourself, then why don't you jump on a call with me, and I can see how my agency can help. You can apply to work with us here.
Manors Golf
So this is one of my favourite golf brands at the moment. I think they do some brilliant apparel, some incredible campaign videos, and better and better paid media creative. This links back to the first example that I showed: no force, easy to consume, speaking to the camera, UGC content.
The creator is on a golf course, wearing the apparel, talking about things that a potential customer might not know about the product. It's really clear and direct. If you're in the market for clothing like this, then you're probably going to pay attention to this ad. The important thing here, I think, is the cast in this person. They're within the demographic, they're in a familiar location to the customer, so it puts the viewer at ease and probably fits quite well into their social feed already.
I think this just comes back to the fact that you need to strip down what you think makes a good ad, rather than thinking about your videos on such a massive scale. It might be worth just getting back down to basics and seeing if that converts, because if it does, then you've just saved yourself hours, potentially even days, of work.
TLDR:
Spending more time on a creative doesn't always mean it's going to perform
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Carpe
I've not seen a static ad like this before. I think it's super smart, just from an art style perspective. I think we're often bombarded on our feeds with fancy-looking graphics or sticky note ads. When I saw this, it was quite refreshing because I hadn't actually seen anything like this before.
It uses all the benefits that you get with physical copy on screen, but done in a way that people haven't seen before. It's likely to capture the customer's attention much more than the other styles I mentioned earlier.
I think because so many static ads look the same, you have to put in more effort to make them stand out now, particularly with the rise of AI. If that means doing a little bit of arts and crafts, I think you should take it, because I think the benefits will always be worth it.
TLDR:
You need to get really creative with your static ads to make them convert
That's all for this week's nice ads. Appreciate your reading, as always. I just released a brand-new video on YouTube going over some of my favourite hooks, and this week I hit 20,000 subscribers, which is incredible. If you are one of the lucky few who have been watching my videos, I appreciate your time tremendously.
I'll see you next time
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