21+ statics I tried and what I learned from them (part 2)

What's up, Marketers! This is Aazar.

This newsletter is about leveling up your paid growth marketing skills by analyzing the best brands' paid strategy, tactics, positioning, and value props.

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• Sharing what I've learned (this issue)

• Sometimes sharing some other performance marketers’ lessons with you

• And I analyze & compare the best ads on the internet

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Welcome to Part 2 of ‘21+ statics I tried and what I learned from them’.

The previous one is here if you missed it.

Ad # 12 –  The search ad format

Principle: The use of hand psychology: Tactile features felt by the hands affect a person's subconscious perception of the quality of an object and its benefits – something that feels good is good (literally). 

Hypothesis: If we combine this with a search ad that answers a question, we will get the scroll stopper.

CTR: 0.30%

Why it didn’t work: Perhaps, the use of hands subtly helps a physical product but not a virtual product. Or our ad didn’t show enough of the hand, only the thumbs.

Will I give up on this format? Yes, I have tried the search format so much that it is time to sunset it.

Ad # 13 –  The cute picture with value props 

Principle: Pictures of cute babies cause the release of dopamine, which is the same chemical released when you fall in love, have sex, or take drugs. Pictures of babies trigger our nurturing instinct. Humans are wired to protect babies.

Hypothesis: This first frame of the actual ad came from a winning ad. It has a 95% retention rate. If we combine it with the cute baby. 

CTR: 0.49%

Why it didn’t work: I think we could have better value props attached to it. Perhaps it will work.

Will I give up on this format? No, I’ll re-try it with better copy, typefaces, and different babies or poses showing super activities.

Ad # 14 –  The chat format ad

Principle: Chat format leads with familiarity with UX principles with a leaked message as a testimonial.

Hypothesis: If we authentically share a UGC creator’s social proof. It will lead to conversions. And the chat format will be a scroll stopper. 

CTR: 0.44%

Why it didn’t work: I feel that chat formats don't feel authentic unless they are actually written by someone.

Will I give up on this format: No, I will ask my UGC creator to share an actual screenshot.

Ad # 15 –  The X/Twitter social proof format

Principle: Again it also hints at the familiarity of UX principle with actual social proof. 

Hypothesis: If we use the winning copy in X/Twitter format. We could repurpose it to get conversions.

CTR: 0.43%

Why it didn’t work: I think it felt too branded with the colors and all. Also, it was not a social proof, just a direct ad.

Will I give up on this format? No, will ask some customers to tweet about us with benefits.

Ad # 16 –  The Barbie meme

Principle: Memes are fun yet relatable. Memetic marketing is relatable. On top of it, you’re riding on a trend that is in this case the Barbenheimer phenomenon (This summer Barbie and Oppenheimer movies opened the same weekend and instead of canceling each other out because they were so different, they each boosted the other astronomically thus creating an instant trend everyone can meme.) 

Hypothesis: If we use memes, it will evoke emotion with benefits. We’ll see conversions.

CTR: 0.23%

Why it worked: I think we were super clear on the value prop and with the meme. The cost per add to cart increased but this was a clear win. It hits differently for new moms. They are not used to seeing this meme with a baby app. It’s a pattern disruption.

Will I give up on this format? No, I will try more memes. 

Ad # 17 –  The negative testimonial

Principle: The negative testimonial stands out to those who really like one key benefit that most people hate. 

Hypothesis: This negative testimonial is against the enemy aka toys. Toys have been our pet peeve. This will lead to more conversions. 

CTR: 0.48%

Why it didn’t work: I think it was not very intuitive. The actual ad has a post that’s a scroll stopper and clearly shows the value prop visually and with text. 

Will I give up on this format? No, I just need to make an ad with toys vs Kinedu.

Ad # 18 –  The smart billboard ad

Principle: This is a psychology of contrast. The contrast effect in psychology happens when the difference between two or more items appears greater than it actually is.

Hypothesis: The billboards have worked for me. If we make it smarter, it will lead to conversions.

CTR: didn’t get any traction in the ad set. 

Why it didn’t work: We were trying to be too smart with our wording. Again, don’t be clever, be clear. Also, the original ad used more contrast in the copy tones so that the darker words stood out more and made me curious about the lighter words, and the darker words were individual words that together, spelled out a catchy phrase: "choose a play that's smarter" giving me a direction for action too.

My ad did not employ as much contrast. I also highlighted more than one word at a time. Overall, the two colors were in competition and it was hard to know the color to which to focus on.

Will I give up on this format? Yes, I need to make simpler ads.

Ad # 19 –  The second meme using Homer Simpson

Principle: Relatable messages cut deep with permissionless advertising. 

Hypothesis: This ad worked with one of my newsletter clients. I want to double down on “wasting hours in research” which is our enemy. We should see some good conversions.

CTR: 0.49% (even the winners don’t have higher CTR)

Why it worked: Ads that don’t look like ads and deliver the message.

Will I give up on this format? No, I will double down on memetic ads.

Ad # 20 –  The features callout with pricing framing

Principle: Price framing, we're talking about changing the context of a price presentation—without substantially changing the price itself—in order to encourage more purchases. This also clearly tells them what the benefits are.

Hypothesis: By using $0.22 per day psychology, we’ll see more moms starting a trial.

CTR: 0.37%

Why it didn’t work: Stock images don’t work. The message doesn’t emotionally resonate with moms. 

Will I give up on this format? No, I will still use price framing with other ads and tweak the format. It will work if the image is evoking emotions.

Ad # 21 – The Apple Notes agitating the app

Principle: Leaning to UX familiarity by agitating the pain.

Hypothesis: Apple Notes has worked for other brands as they show the desired life. It should get us conversions. 

CTR: 0.25%

Why it didn’t work: It did get us conversions but the CPA was too high 

Will I give up on this format: Not sure yet, but simplify: How I said goodbye to new mom anxiety. I need to find more ads using this format. Plus, this kind of copy wasn’t proven.

What I learned so far:

• Lean into memetic & relatable ads more.

• Clickthrough rates don’t matter that much.

• It is important to lean into existing UX familiarity. 

• Cute ads work well if they align with the value props

• Use authentic testimonial screenshots, instead of faking it. 

• Don’t make your audience do the work by running “smart” ads.

• Don’t trust what marketers share on the internet, actually try it yourself.

• Don’t give up on ad formats until you’ve tried all the messaging and concepts.

This is how you make ads that don’t look like ads.

Happy Growing with Paid Social,

Aazar Shad

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