Rigorous testing of ad creatives is not just a good practice; it's vital to elevating your mobile ad campaigns to new heights. By rigorously testing variations in ad creatives, companies can discover what captures attention, engages consumers, and drives conversions—turning good campaigns into great ones.

The Importance of Creative Testing

Creative testing provides valuable insights that help marketers optimize their advertisements for maximum engagement and effectiveness. This process involves experimenting with different versions of ad creatives to determine which elements resonate best with the audience. As we’ve written before, A/B testing can vastly increase conversions by up to 400%. It also enhances revenue. In fact, Microsoft’s Bing search engine achieved a 12% increase in revenue due to A/B testing.

The power of creative testing has been key to the success of CRAFTSMAN+’s partners. As noted by Capucine Thiebault, Producer and Creative Strategist, at Wildcard Games, “we've seen firsthand the impact that meticulous creative testing can have on our campaigns. Working with CRAFTSMAN+ has enabled us to not only optimize our ad creatives but also to dive deep into what truly engages our audience. This has been instrumental in refining our strategies and driving significant improvements in user acquisition and engagement.

Best Practices for Designing High-Quality Creatives

Before you can test your creatives, you must first create them. Here are a few strategies for crafting top quality creatives that we recommend.  

1. Start with Impact: The initial moments of your ad are crucial. In a world where users scroll through content rapidly, your ad must open with an attention-grabbing scene that stands out. Open with a dynamic, engaging moment that makes viewers pause their scrolling. This could be a stunning visual, an intriguing question, or an exciting action scene that taps directly into the viewers' interests or needs.
2. Emphasize Branding Early: Introduce your brand within the first few seconds of the ad to enhance brand recognition and recall. This doesn’t need to be overt; a subtle logo, a brief mention, or an integrated product shot can effectively embed your brand in the viewer's mind. Early branding helps build familiarity, which is particularly beneficial for retaining viewer attention.
3. Demonstrate Key Features or Benefits: Whether you’re showcasing a game's gameplay or a product's unique features, make sure the core of your ad illustrates why your offering is compelling. Use authentic, clear examples to convey the enjoyment, utility, or innovation your product or game brings. This authenticity helps set accurate expectations and showcases the true value of what you’re offering.
4. Clarify Your Message: Ensure that each segment of your ad contributes to a clear, coherent narrative. Avoid confusing the audience with mixed messages or disjointed scenes. Instead, tailor your content to highlight specific benefits or actions you want the audience to appreciate and remember, enhancing the overall message with supportive text or visual effects.
5. Conclude with a Compelling Call to Action (CTA): Finish strong with a persuasive CTA that encourages viewers to take the next step. Make it specific and related to the content they’ve just viewed. For a mobile game, this might be “Play Now”; for a consumer product, “Buy Today” or “Discover More” could be more appropriate. The right CTA turns interest into action, boosting conversion rates.
   
   

Successful Examples of Creative Testing

Now that you’ve designed your ads, it’s time to test them. Here are a few examples of advertisers that used creative testing to optimize their designs. 

“Strike of Nations” by Babil Games

For its mobile game “Strike of Nations”, leading game publisher, Babil Games, set up a creative test to determine the effect of different branding placements within their ad creatives.

To do this they developed four distinct versions of their advertisement: one with no branding at all, another featuring a logo and a border, a third with a logo on the end card, and a fourth with integrated branding throughout the video. They kept variables such as video length, composition, and aspect ratio consistent to isolate branding as the sole variable.

The results of Babil’s testing were compelling. The version with the logo prominently displayed on the end card significantly outperformed the others, achieving a 24% lower Cost Per Install (CPI) and a 27% decrease in cost per registration compared to the ad with no branding. Additionally, this particular creative not only lowered acquisition costs but also drove higher volumes of registrations and purchases, demonstrating secondary benefits such as enhanced brand recognition and consumer engagement.

Unroll.me App

When NielsenIQ re-launched Unroll.me, an app designed to help users declutter their inboxes, they were tasked with expanding its user base rapidly through effective social media advertising.

NielsenIQ collaborated with inBeat Agency to harness the power of micro-influencers and content creators, to produce authentic, high-quality visual assets for TikTok ads. The goal was to create a connection with potential users by showcasing real-world use cases and benefits, making the ads relatable and compelling. 

Through testing, Unroll.me achieved over 100,000 app installs per month following the campaign launch. More impressively, there was a 75% reduction in Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) across all major paid media platforms, making the campaign not only effective in terms of engagement and conversions but also cost-efficient.

TL;DR: The Power of Creative Testing

The strategic application of creative testing can significantly enhance mobile ad campaign performance by helping marketers optimize ad creatives for maximum engagement and conversion. 

Key Takeaways from Successful Testing:

• Babil Games: Through strategic testing of different branding placements, Babil Games identified the optimal creative setup, which achieved a 24% lower CPI and increased registration volume.
• Unroll.me: By utilizing user-generated content in their TikTok campaigns, Unroll.me saw a dramatic 75% reduction in CPA, showcasing the power of authentic and relatable ad content.

These examples underscore the transformative potential of creative testing in achieving precise marketing objectives and driving substantial business growth.

Ready to see how rigorous creative testing can transform your digital advertising efforts? Request a Demo with CRAFTSMAN+ today and unlock the full potential of your ad creatives.