Sequenced Creatives Outdo CTA Ads, Per Study

Sequenced creative that walks customers down the sales funnel can outperform a call-to-action (CTA) digital ad campaign, according to new research from social media ad company Adaptly, Facebook, and fashion website Refinery29. Per a Direct Marketing News report, the test audience was built by Adaptly using a Facebook Custom Audience based on Refinery29's best e-mail subscribers, resulting in a Facebook lookalike audience of more than 2 million users split into three creative treatment groups. In May 2014, the sequenced creative was delivered evenly across 12 days to one test group, with the first creative a top-of-the-funnel brand message similar to a TV commercial introducing a brand's image and personality. The second creative in the sequence offered a product orientation similar to a brand website to spur middle-of-the-funnel consideration, and the last ad was a bottom-of-the-funnel CTA-based creative. The response of the sequenced-ad group was compared with response by a test group that received three CTA-focused ads, each delivered for four consecutive days, as well as behavior of a control group. The testing found that sequencing ads to move individuals down the marketing funnel generated 56% more conversions than a sustained CTA message delivered over the same period. The sequenced ads also increased view-throughs by 87%. To see the ad creatives, go to http://www.dmnews.com/in-the-age-of-storytelling-is-the-cta-still-viable/article/361103/