The Creative Strategy to 10X Your Digital Advertising Funnel Performance

More than ever, brands need the top 1% of ad creative to stand out in today’s competitive digital marketplace. At Monkedia, we have a template we aim to follow, whenever possible, to ensure our creative is always designed to drive full-funnel sales for the brand we work with.

First though, let’s define the four different types of creative funnels:

4 Types of Creative Funnels

1. Top of Funnel (Build Awareness of Problem Addressed)
2. Middle of Funnel (Teach People How to Choose a Solution)
3. Bottom of Funnel (Explain Why Product is the Best Solution)
4. Loyalty (Winback, Upsell, & Cross-Sell Existing Buyers)

Next, let’s define the types of ads that fit in each lifecycle of your creative funnel:

Top of Funnel

• Brand Awareness
• Product Benefits
• Brand Story
• Social Proof
• Education
• Best Sellers

Middle of Funnel

• Evergreen Promotional
• Dynamic Product Ads
• Testimonials
• A/B Test Promo

Bottom of Funnel

• Dynamic Product Ads
• Browse Abandonment
• Cart Abandonment

Loyalty

• Subscription
• Replenishment
• New Product Focus
• Cross Product Focus

Now that we’ve defined the four types of creative funnels in the typical ecommerce brand’s customer lifecycle, and the types of ads that fit into each funnel, let’s break out the exact template your brand should be using for your creative at each step in your funnel. If you follow this, you have a great chance of seeing a significant improvement in your digital ad performance on Meta.

*The example below is for a subscription-based ecommerce brand, so it includes ad possibilities for most Shopify-based brands. If any of these scenarios don’t apply to your brand, simply remove them from the template.

1. Top of Funnel: Prospecting

Ad #1: Brand Awareness & Product Benefits

Motion graphics ad featuring lifestyle videos and images of the product(s) in use. Include product closeups and designed text screens throughout video duration, with high level benefits of using the product(s). In-ad copy/headlines focus around the product(s) and brand. The primary text should be long form copy, with a high-level overview of what the product is and what it will do for the consumer.

A2 #2: Brand Story (A/B Test)

Version A: “Masterclass” style video of founders story, with a mix of talking head footage of founders and lifestyle/product shots with audio narration present throughout. The primary text should be short form copy.

Version B: Static ad with image of founders or relevant people with the product(s). The primary text should be long form copy, with information and content taken from the talking heads video.

Ad #3: Social Proof Focused

New static ad that’s iterated from the brand’s current best performing concept, if applicable, with in-ad heading and CTA. Researching what competitors are doing could inform this.

Ad #4: Product Education Ad

Motion graphics ad cycling through images/video of products, highlighting what purchasers and readers are likely to expect.

Ad #5: DABA Collections Carousel

Dynamic product collections of best selling and newly released products in carousel format. The primary text should be short and broad, to attract the attention of a wider audience.

2. Middle of Funnel: Retargeting

Ad #1: Evergreen Promotional Offers

Motion graphics ad with promotional products animating, paired with in-ad headlines and CTA, highlighting promotional offers available. The primary text should be long form copy.

Ad #2: Product Specific Dynamic Ad

Dynamic carousel of best selling products based around customer engagement, with additional promotion to attract customers to purchase. The primary text should be short form copy.

Ad #3: Customer Testimonials

Motion graphics ad that cycles through four to five product images/video, overlaid with 5-star customer testimonials and subtle text animations.

Ad #4: Promotion (A/B Test)

Version A: Static ad design featuring in-ad headlines focused on specific topics and education, with a banner promoting special offer.

Version B: Static ad design featuring in-ad headlines focused on blog topics and education, with banner promoting subscription/rewards (if applicable) + special offer.

In both version, the primary text should be long form copy.

3. Bottom of Funnel: Dynamic Product Ads

Ad #1: Browse Abandonment

DPA ad targeting prospective purchaser and displaying viewed product plus any related products in a dynamic carousel. The primary text should be short form copy, geared towards product views as well as incorporating any seasonal promotions.

Ad #2: Cart Abandonment with Promotion Offer (A/B Test)

Version A: DPA ad targeting prospective purchasers with a limited time offer for abandoned cart over 7 days. Promo code added to checkout automatically (e.g. 5% - 10% Off).

Version B: DPA ad targeting prospective purchasers with a limited time offer for abandoned cart over 7 days. For example, free shipping in specific locations or on orders over a specific dollar amount.

In both versions, use short form copy in the primary text to raise a sense of urgency that the promotional offer will only last for the next 72 hours.

4. Loyalty: Upsell / Cross-Sell

Previous Purchaser

Ad #1: Subscription

Static ad based around best performing concepts, promoting subscription/rewards (if applicable) with a focus on promotional offers. The primary text should be long form copy.

Ad #2: Purchased in last 30-60 Days

Static ad based around best performing concepts promoting the subscription, with a focus on the promotional offer PLUS additional discount for recent subscribers/rewards members. The primary text should be short form copy.

Ad #3: New Product Focus

Ad to upsell customers to other available products.

Ad #4: Cross Product Focus

Ad to promote customers to other products in the same line or similar price point.

Current Subscription Members (90 Days+)

Ad #1: Cross-Sell

Static ad promoting cross-sell to larger quantity / higher value products. The primary text should be short form copy.

Ad #2: New Product Focus

Ad to upsell customers to new products, if subscription auto-renew is cancelled. The aim is to try to entice customers to continue their subscription plan after a year.