How to Improve Your Team’s Creative Hit Rate

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8

Gabe Kwakyi (Co-founder and CEO at Incipia - Mobile Growth Consultancy) and Shamanth Rao (Founder at RocketShip HQ) discuss the concept of creative hit rate and how to define quantifiable goals for a creative team as well as how Gabe’s team has adapted to this way of focusing on hit rate as a company-wide goal and how it has been essential for driving many creative wins.

Source:
How to Improve Your Team’s Creative Hit Rate
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(direct link to watch/listen)
Type:
Podcast
Publication date:
July 20, 2020
Added to the Vault on:
July 24, 2020
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💎 #
1

The creative hit rate is the percentage of creative assets that end up becoming a hit divided by the number of assets produced. Incipia is currently looking at the asset level but moving more towards the groups/themes of similar iterations.

03:38
💎 #
2

The FB algorithm will be the one to tell you if it likes the creative asset and makes it a hit or not. If you have a high confidence in an ad you can reset the ad set but in the end it's the platform that decides so if you can't find it you have to keep looking.

06:03
💎 #
3

Snap and TikTok are two channels that are pretty unique and where creative hits might have different characteristics. For TikTok there is also more variation in terms of the creative burnout rate.

08:54
💎 #
4

Defining hits as a "yes or no" allows you to better analyze and find commonalities. When you try to analyze everything there are more complexities: false positives, timing, audience status, bid levels, etc.

09:47
💎 #
5

Creative hits are very engaging and have a good pace. Quickly start with animation and eye-catching things. A lot of them have the phone in the ad itself. Not everything should be moving inside the phone: you should have a specific focus, almost like a cinemagraph.

10:48
💎 #
6

Using metadata tags is important. Tag the theme and then within that the sub-theme (for example for iterations).

14:53
💎 #
7

Everybody has a balance between brands vs. exploration of new concepts so there are a lot of discussions with clients to make them "allies" and be able to push the boundaries of what brand is ok with to know where they can innovate.

19:32
💎 #
8

Be more hypothesis-driven for creative optimization. Creatives can feel like you're trying to see what sticks but training to form an hypothesis helps you look back at what you thought would work and rationalize things (vs. looking back in hindsights).

20:39
The gems from this resource are only available to premium members.
💎 #
1

The creative hit rate is the percentage of creative assets that end up becoming a hit divided by the number of assets produced. Incipia is currently looking at the asset level but moving more towards the groups/themes of similar iterations.

03:38
💎 #
2

The FB algorithm will be the one to tell you if it likes the creative asset and makes it a hit or not. If you have a high confidence in an ad you can reset the ad set but in the end it's the platform that decides so if you can't find it you have to keep looking.

06:03
💎 #
3

Snap and TikTok are two channels that are pretty unique and where creative hits might have different characteristics. For TikTok there is also more variation in terms of the creative burnout rate.

08:54
💎 #
4

Defining hits as a "yes or no" allows you to better analyze and find commonalities. When you try to analyze everything there are more complexities: false positives, timing, audience status, bid levels, etc.

09:47
💎 #
5

Creative hits are very engaging and have a good pace. Quickly start with animation and eye-catching things. A lot of them have the phone in the ad itself. Not everything should be moving inside the phone: you should have a specific focus, almost like a cinemagraph.

10:48
💎 #
6

Using metadata tags is important. Tag the theme and then within that the sub-theme (for example for iterations).

14:53
💎 #
7

Everybody has a balance between brands vs. exploration of new concepts so there are a lot of discussions with clients to make them "allies" and be able to push the boundaries of what brand is ok with to know where they can innovate.

19:32
💎 #
8

Be more hypothesis-driven for creative optimization. Creatives can feel like you're trying to see what sticks but training to form an hypothesis helps you look back at what you thought would work and rationalize things (vs. looking back in hindsights).

20:39
The gems from this resource are only available to premium members.

Gems are the key bite-size insights "mined" from a specific mobile marketing resource, like a webinar, a panel or a podcast.
They allow you to save time by grasping the most important information in a couple of minutes, and also each include the timestamp from the source.

💎 #
1

The creative hit rate is the percentage of creative assets that end up becoming a hit divided by the number of assets produced. Incipia is currently looking at the asset level but moving more towards the groups/themes of similar iterations.

03:38
💎 #
2

The FB algorithm will be the one to tell you if it likes the creative asset and makes it a hit or not. If you have a high confidence in an ad you can reset the ad set but in the end it's the platform that decides so if you can't find it you have to keep looking.

06:03
💎 #
3

Snap and TikTok are two channels that are pretty unique and where creative hits might have different characteristics. For TikTok there is also more variation in terms of the creative burnout rate.

08:54
💎 #
4

Defining hits as a "yes or no" allows you to better analyze and find commonalities. When you try to analyze everything there are more complexities: false positives, timing, audience status, bid levels, etc.

09:47
💎 #
5

Creative hits are very engaging and have a good pace. Quickly start with animation and eye-catching things. A lot of them have the phone in the ad itself. Not everything should be moving inside the phone: you should have a specific focus, almost like a cinemagraph.

10:48
💎 #
6

Using metadata tags is important. Tag the theme and then within that the sub-theme (for example for iterations).

14:53
💎 #
7

Everybody has a balance between brands vs. exploration of new concepts so there are a lot of discussions with clients to make them "allies" and be able to push the boundaries of what brand is ok with to know where they can innovate.

19:32
💎 #
8

Be more hypothesis-driven for creative optimization. Creatives can feel like you're trying to see what sticks but training to form an hypothesis helps you look back at what you thought would work and rationalize things (vs. looking back in hindsights).

20:39

Notes for this resource are currently being transferred and will be available soon.

Context

The shift was driven by performance. Retrospectives to understand if you can scale a mobile advertising campaign, creatives always come up as the most important thing.

It's critical to pursue creative wins.

So Incipia decided to define a quantifiable goal around it.


What is the creative hit rate?

[💎 @03:38] The creative hit rate is the percentage of creative assets that end up becoming a hit divided by the number of assets produced. Incipia is currently looking at the asset level but moving more towards the groups/themes of similar iterations.


Depends on geos/platform but a hit is usually when you spend past $30-40k. After 4 digits then 5 digits spend you usually have a hit.


Dealing with false positive from algorithm

In case the algo spends on an ad that does not end up taking off.

You have to work with the algorithms as they are the arbitrators. There are some false positives but that's what you're working with to optimize.


[💎 @06:03] The FB algo will be the one to tell you if it likes the creative asset and makes it a hit or not. If you have a high confidence in an ad you can reset the ad set but in the end it's the platform that decides so if you can't find it you have to keep looking.


Are hits platform specific?

It depends and right now algos change a lot.

Incipia classifies in different categories:

  • High-performing assets: good engagement, good performance against KPIs. Highest spending but unless it has achieved 5 digits then not qualified as base hit.
  • Base hit: when you see all the spend being pulled towards that 1 asset, that's when you know you have a hit. These often translate cross-channels.
  • Grand-slam hits is an asset (or a theme of asset) that can scale to millions of dollars and usually it translates to other platforms.


[💎 @08:54] Snap and TikTok are two channels that are pretty unique and where creative hits have different characteristics. For TikTok there is also more variation in terms of the creative burnout rate.


Commonalities between grand-slam hits

[💎 @09:47] Defining hits as a "yes or no" allows you to better analyze and find commonalities. When you try to analyze everything there are more complexities: false positives, timing, audience status, bid levels, etc.


[💎 @10:48] Creative hits are very engaging and have a good pace. Quickly start with animation and eye-catching things. A lot of them have the phone in the ad itself. Not everything should be moving inside the phone: you should have a specific focus, almost like a cinemagraph.


How it changes the team and the creative process

  • There's been a lot of discussions cross team about making progress towards generating hits
  • It's not just about hitting a specific hit rate, it's about making progress against that and focuses the team on what helps coming up with hits and putting together building blocks
  • New concepts generation
  • Iterating on high-performing assets
  • Pulling in research from ad networks and competitive research
  • The north star is creative hit at the company level but for individuals it's about more concepts than iterations, which sometimes goes against ad networks recommendations. But you might have limited spend to test several dimensions, etc.
  • More discussions with clients to establish a monthly cadence to discuss new ideas and a weekly cadence to launch test and analyze creative performance.
  • [💎 @14:53] Using metadata tags is important. Tag the theme and then within that the sub-theme (for example for iterations).


Rolling out a new performance review process to have quantifiable and specific results.

  • Initially, thought about asking art directors to reach a specific hit rate. But instead decided to focus on progress and doubling the hit rate.
  • For designers, they don't own the "what" so it doesn't make sense to use the hit rate. So it's more about producing iterations within a specific timeframe.


The whole creative team also has quarterly meetings with platform reps which is great to get ad intelligence and brainstorm.


Changes in the workflow

  • Monthly meeting: go through all assets and looking at how many hits were produced
  • [💎 @19:32] Everybody has a balance between brands vs. exploration of new concepts so there are a lot of discussions with clients to make them "allies" and be able to push the boundaries of what brand is ok with to know where they can innovate.
  • [💎 @20:39] Be more hypothesis-driven for creative optimization. Creatives can feel like you're trying to see what sticks but training to form an hypothesis helps you look back at what you thought would work and rationalize things (vs. looking back in hindsights).



The notes from this resource are only available to premium members.

Context

The shift was driven by performance. Retrospectives to understand if you can scale a mobile advertising campaign, creatives always come up as the most important thing.

It's critical to pursue creative wins.

So Incipia decided to define a quantifiable goal around it.


What is the creative hit rate?

[💎 @03:38] The creative hit rate is the percentage of creative assets that end up becoming a hit divided by the number of assets produced. Incipia is currently looking at the asset level but moving more towards the groups/themes of similar iterations.


Depends on geos/platform but a hit is usually when you spend past $30-40k. After 4 digits then 5 digits spend you usually have a hit.


Dealing with false positive from algorithm

In case the algo spends on an ad that does not end up taking off.

You have to work with the algorithms as they are the arbitrators. There are some false positives but that's what you're working with to optimize.


[💎 @06:03] The FB algo will be the one to tell you if it likes the creative asset and makes it a hit or not. If you have a high confidence in an ad you can reset the ad set but in the end it's the platform that decides so if you can't find it you have to keep looking.


Are hits platform specific?

It depends and right now algos change a lot.

Incipia classifies in different categories:

  • High-performing assets: good engagement, good performance against KPIs. Highest spending but unless it has achieved 5 digits then not qualified as base hit.
  • Base hit: when you see all the spend being pulled towards that 1 asset, that's when you know you have a hit. These often translate cross-channels.
  • Grand-slam hits is an asset (or a theme of asset) that can scale to millions of dollars and usually it translates to other platforms.


[💎 @08:54] Snap and TikTok are two channels that are pretty unique and where creative hits have different characteristics. For TikTok there is also more variation in terms of the creative burnout rate.


Commonalities between grand-slam hits

[💎 @09:47] Defining hits as a "yes or no" allows you to better analyze and find commonalities. When you try to analyze everything there are more complexities: false positives, timing, audience status, bid levels, etc.


[💎 @10:48] Creative hits are very engaging and have a good pace. Quickly start with animation and eye-catching things. A lot of them have the phone in the ad itself. Not everything should be moving inside the phone: you should have a specific focus, almost like a cinemagraph.


How it changes the team and the creative process

  • There's been a lot of discussions cross team about making progress towards generating hits
  • It's not just about hitting a specific hit rate, it's about making progress against that and focuses the team on what helps coming up with hits and putting together building blocks
  • New concepts generation
  • Iterating on high-performing assets
  • Pulling in research from ad networks and competitive research
  • The north star is creative hit at the company level but for individuals it's about more concepts than iterations, which sometimes goes against ad networks recommendations. But you might have limited spend to test several dimensions, etc.
  • More discussions with clients to establish a monthly cadence to discuss new ideas and a weekly cadence to launch test and analyze creative performance.
  • [💎 @14:53] Using metadata tags is important. Tag the theme and then within that the sub-theme (for example for iterations).


Rolling out a new performance review process to have quantifiable and specific results.

  • Initially, thought about asking art directors to reach a specific hit rate. But instead decided to focus on progress and doubling the hit rate.
  • For designers, they don't own the "what" so it doesn't make sense to use the hit rate. So it's more about producing iterations within a specific timeframe.


The whole creative team also has quarterly meetings with platform reps which is great to get ad intelligence and brainstorm.


Changes in the workflow

  • Monthly meeting: go through all assets and looking at how many hits were produced
  • [💎 @19:32] Everybody has a balance between brands vs. exploration of new concepts so there are a lot of discussions with clients to make them "allies" and be able to push the boundaries of what brand is ok with to know where they can innovate.
  • [💎 @20:39] Be more hypothesis-driven for creative optimization. Creatives can feel like you're trying to see what sticks but training to form an hypothesis helps you look back at what you thought would work and rationalize things (vs. looking back in hindsights).



The notes from this resource are only available to premium members.

Context

The shift was driven by performance. Retrospectives to understand if you can scale a mobile advertising campaign, creatives always come up as the most important thing.

It's critical to pursue creative wins.

So Incipia decided to define a quantifiable goal around it.


What is the creative hit rate?

[💎 @03:38] The creative hit rate is the percentage of creative assets that end up becoming a hit divided by the number of assets produced. Incipia is currently looking at the asset level but moving more towards the groups/themes of similar iterations.


Depends on geos/platform but a hit is usually when you spend past $30-40k. After 4 digits then 5 digits spend you usually have a hit.


Dealing with false positive from algorithm

In case the algo spends on an ad that does not end up taking off.

You have to work with the algorithms as they are the arbitrators. There are some false positives but that's what you're working with to optimize.


[💎 @06:03] The FB algo will be the one to tell you if it likes the creative asset and makes it a hit or not. If you have a high confidence in an ad you can reset the ad set but in the end it's the platform that decides so if you can't find it you have to keep looking.


Are hits platform specific?

It depends and right now algos change a lot.

Incipia classifies in different categories:

  • High-performing assets: good engagement, good performance against KPIs. Highest spending but unless it has achieved 5 digits then not qualified as base hit.
  • Base hit: when you see all the spend being pulled towards that 1 asset, that's when you know you have a hit. These often translate cross-channels.
  • Grand-slam hits is an asset (or a theme of asset) that can scale to millions of dollars and usually it translates to other platforms.


[💎 @08:54] Snap and TikTok are two channels that are pretty unique and where creative hits have different characteristics. For TikTok there is also more variation in terms of the creative burnout rate.


Commonalities between grand-slam hits

[💎 @09:47] Defining hits as a "yes or no" allows you to better analyze and find commonalities. When you try to analyze everything there are more complexities: false positives, timing, audience status, bid levels, etc.


[💎 @10:48] Creative hits are very engaging and have a good pace. Quickly start with animation and eye-catching things. A lot of them have the phone in the ad itself. Not everything should be moving inside the phone: you should have a specific focus, almost like a cinemagraph.


How it changes the team and the creative process

  • There's been a lot of discussions cross team about making progress towards generating hits
  • It's not just about hitting a specific hit rate, it's about making progress against that and focuses the team on what helps coming up with hits and putting together building blocks
  • New concepts generation
  • Iterating on high-performing assets
  • Pulling in research from ad networks and competitive research
  • The north star is creative hit at the company level but for individuals it's about more concepts than iterations, which sometimes goes against ad networks recommendations. But you might have limited spend to test several dimensions, etc.
  • More discussions with clients to establish a monthly cadence to discuss new ideas and a weekly cadence to launch test and analyze creative performance.
  • [💎 @14:53] Using metadata tags is important. Tag the theme and then within that the sub-theme (for example for iterations).


Rolling out a new performance review process to have quantifiable and specific results.

  • Initially, thought about asking art directors to reach a specific hit rate. But instead decided to focus on progress and doubling the hit rate.
  • For designers, they don't own the "what" so it doesn't make sense to use the hit rate. So it's more about producing iterations within a specific timeframe.


The whole creative team also has quarterly meetings with platform reps which is great to get ad intelligence and brainstorm.


Changes in the workflow

  • Monthly meeting: go through all assets and looking at how many hits were produced
  • [💎 @19:32] Everybody has a balance between brands vs. exploration of new concepts so there are a lot of discussions with clients to make them "allies" and be able to push the boundaries of what brand is ok with to know where they can innovate.
  • [💎 @20:39] Be more hypothesis-driven for creative optimization. Creatives can feel like you're trying to see what sticks but training to form an hypothesis helps you look back at what you thought would work and rationalize things (vs. looking back in hindsights).