Podcast Episode Summary: Marketing Operators E043
Title: Creative Testing: Quality Vs Quantity - Does Chasing Volume Lead to Success?
Release Date: January 21, 2025
Hosts: Connor Rolain, Connor MacDonald, Cody Plofker
Introduction
In the first episode of the new year, the hosts of Marketing Operators—Connor Rolain, Connor MacDonald, and Cody Plofker—reunite after a two-person episode last week. They kick things off by sharing their recent travel experiences, with Connor mentioning his upcoming trip to Mexico City to attend Sean’s wedding. [00:00-01:55]
Creative Testing: Quality vs Quantity
The core discussion of this episode revolves around the tension between producing a high volume of creative assets versus focusing on their quality. Cody initiates the conversation by questioning the commonly held belief that more creative leads to greater success:
"Does chasing volume lead to success? I hear a ton of people say it anecdotally, but haven't found any real data on it." [04:42]
Operationalizing Creative Volume
Sean expands on Cody’s question by highlighting the industry debate on creative volume versus quality. He references discussions between experts like Taylor Holiday and Jess from Fireteam, illustrating the polarized opinions within the marketing community. Sean emphasizes the necessity of balancing both elements, akin to needing multiple skills to excel in the NBA:
"It's like, to play in the NBA, you have to be really tall and you have to be athletic. Similarly, in paid social, you need a lot of assets that are somewhat good." [05:22]
Strategies for Balancing Volume and Quality
Cody shares his journey at Hexclad, detailing how their approach evolved over three years. Initially, the focus was on high volume to exploit untapped opportunities. However, as the business matured, the strategy shifted towards producing fewer, more strategic assets that align with long-term goals:
"I really want to cut down on the volume and spend more time on quality and bigger swings, because I think now that's going to have more impact." [06:51-09:44]
Connor echoes this sentiment, advocating for overproduction initially to identify successful creatives, then refining the process based on performance metrics:
"The goal is not to deliver 20 assets a week... The goal is for us to produce assets that result in Facebook Roas or Snapchat Roas." [09:45-11:25]
Measuring Success: KPIs and Hit Rates
The discussion delves into how to effectively measure the success of creative strategies. Sean points out the challenges in correlating creative volume directly with business success due to numerous influencing factors:
"It's hard to get anything concrete, which is why I think there's not a great answer." [11:25]
Connor suggests focusing on the impact of creatives rather than the sheer number, emphasizing the importance of aligning creative output with strategic goals:
"If you feel you're not producing enough creative, the best thing you could do is overproduce creative." [09:45]
The hosts also touch upon the use of relative KPIs, where creative performance is measured against core assets rather than fixed targets, providing a more dynamic and realistic evaluation framework:
"We want it to be relative, like 20% better than core video assets... It's a great way to set goals." [49:09-49:15]
Budgeting for Creative
Budget allocation for creative production is another critical topic. Connor reveals that their creative budget remains a small percentage of total spend—around 2%—but emphasizes the need for strategic alignment with revenue-generating products:
"We misspent a lot of time that could be better utilized... spending more time on evergreen products." [56:20-56:42]
Cody adds that aligning the creative budget with specific revenue targets ensures that investments are purposeful and directly contribute to business growth:
"We are getting better at mapping out the tactics and assigning a dollar value to them... projecting a million bucks in revenue if we spend 100 grand." [53:46]
The Role of AI in Creative Production
AI’s evolving role in creative production is explored, with the hosts discussing its potential to enhance ideation and streamline production processes. While acknowledging that fully automated ad creation is not yet feasible, they highlight AI’s capabilities in generating ideas, scripting, and supporting content diversity:
Connor: "AI can help us rapidly get to new ideas. It helps us brief, it helps us write scripts." [62:55]
Cody and Sean discuss specific AI tools like Para and UX Pilot, noting their utility in improving creative workflows and efficiency:
Sean: "It's frustratingly close... it's like text to image wireframes inside of Figma." [62:58]
They agree that AI will continue to play a significant role in augmenting creative strategies, even if it doesn't replace human creativity entirely.
Conclusion
The episode concludes with the hosts reiterating the importance of balancing creative volume with quality. They emphasize strategic alignment, effective budgeting, and leveraging AI to enhance creative processes as key factors for marketing success. The discussion underscores that there's no one-size-fits-all answer, and the optimal approach depends on the business’s maturity and specific goals.
Connor: "Ultimately, it's about being intentional and ensuring that creative efforts align with business objectives." [66:29]
The hosts thank their sponsors—Motion, Prescient, Rich Panel, and House—and encourage listeners to share the episode and subscribe for more insights.
This episode provides a comprehensive exploration of the creative testing spectrum in marketing, offering actionable insights and thoughtful discussions on optimizing creative strategies for better business outcomes.