Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CREATIVE
OPTIMIZATION
CONTENTS
Overview 4
Methodology 5
Glossary 6
Industry-Wide Practices
Cause or Coincidence
11
Industry Trends
13
Automotive 18
Entertainment 22
Travel 25
Media 28
Consumer Technology
30
Telecom 32
Consumer Packaged Goods
35
Retail 39
Dining 42
Advocacy 45
Education 48
Home & Garden
50
Business To Business
53
Financial Services
56
58
Pharma 61
Dynamic Creative
63
Video 65
OVERVIEW
|4
METHODOLOGY
|5
GLOSSARY
Before we dive into the findings,
were
classified as photo.
BUTTON COLOR
classified
as
multiple,
whereas
COMPANY LOGO
Whether the primary logo of the company was
those attributes.
CONQUEST MESSAGING
ANIMATED/STATIC
HUMAN FACE/HUMAN
PRESENT
classified as static.
ANIMATION LENGTH
BACKGROUND COLOR
MESSAGING
color.
The
categorization
applies
to
highlighting
classified as such.
fuel
efficiency
would
be
|6
ONLINE/OFFLINE PUSH
TAGLINE
whether
they
pushed
consumers
to
EMOTIONAL APPEAL
(ADVOCACY)
Ads in the Political/Advocacy sample were
PRICING
PRODUCT SHOWN
appeals
or abused animals.
featured
very
polarizing
or
INDOOR/OUTDOOR
(HOME & GARDEN)
Home & Garden ads were classified according
VENUE (ENTERTAINMENT)
RICH MEDIA
For the purposes of this study, rich media
SPECIAL OFFERS
|7
INDUSTRY-WIDE
BEST PRACTICES
Though scant, there are some creative performance trends
that were consistent over the entirety of our sample,
suggesting some best practices even for those verticals that
we did not extensively study during this analysis.
INDUSTRY-WIDE PRACTICES
BEFORE WE GET STARTED...
Although what follows is an examination of macro
trends, it is important to note the following:
-1%
-8%
14%
13%
ANIMATION
Our results confirmed what existing benchmarks have
long shown: animated banner ads averaged lower clickthrough rates than static ads. However, our research
showed that while this was still the case, animated ads
actually averaged higher conversion rates across most
verticals, accounting for a 7% higher conversion rate on
average when compared to static ads.
In addition to comparing animated and static ads, we
also looked at performance based on the length of the
animation cycle in those ads, counting loops. While the
majority of animated ads in the sample had animation
cycles between 10 and 12 seconds in length (40%),
animated ads with total animation cycles of six to nine
seconds in length averaged the highest conversion rates
across all categories, with an average conversion rate
lift of 38% against their category average.
ANIMATION LENGTH
BACKGROUND COLOR
Background color has a significant impact on ad
performance across every vertical examined. For
our study, the background color of an ad was
defined as the color representing more than 50% of
the ads viewable area when the ad first loads into
the browser (as opposed to when it completes its
animated cycle).
14%
+138%
+8%
-6%
MEAN
-68%
3-5 SECS
6-9 SECS
10-12 SECS
13+ SECS
|9
INDUSTRY-WIDE PRACTICES
AVERAGE CONVERSION RATES FOR HUMAN FACES
HUMAN FACES
COMPANY LOGO
NW N
W C
SW S
+14%
+40%
-6%
-14%
+81%
+9%
NE
E
SE
+9%
-59%
-24%
| 10
CAUSE OR
COINCIDENCE?
While we are presenting results that imply performance gains
for a particular category as a result of creative changes, it is
important to note that not all verticals are affected by the
same attributes, nor are they equally affected by the attributes
presented here. Two questions we often hear are 1. how much
of performance is due to the creative (vs. say, the targeting),
and 2. is this data causal or just a coincidence? Both of these
are legitimate questions, and we sought to answer them by
using statistical analysis of our creative attributes.
CAUSE OR COINCIDENCE
ENTERTAINMENT
R2 = 0.42
ADVOCACY
R2 = 0.41
EDUCATION
R2 = 0.08
DINING
R2 = 0.40
.25
.5
.75
THE R2 VALUE
When building our regression-tree model, the R2
value of the model is a measure of how well the model
accurately predicts observed data points. In this case,
you can think of it as a measure of how much of the
variation in an ads performance is explained by
variation in the attributes of the model. If R2 = 1.00,
then almost all of a verticals ad performance was due
to changes in the creative.
Animation
Human faces
Animation length
Logo location
Background color
Logo present
Button color
Pricing
Call to action
Special offers
for
every category, particularly those that were splintered
among a wider variety of products, such as Consumer
Electronics, Business Services (B2B), or Travel &
Lodging. Similarly, our models did not hint at strong
causal relationships for Auto or Insurance advertising.
For these verticals, there are three likely explanations
for why our models do not show stronger relationships:
1. We might need to further segment these verticals
into more relevant subcategories (which would
necessitate a larger sample of ads).
2. The data set is not large enough to adequately
express these relationships (for example, smaller
sample sizes for some attributes in specific
verticals might be to blame).
3. Other factors, such as targeting effectiveness,
time of day, the product, or the brand play a
significantly larger role in the conversion process
for ads in those verticals.
| 12
INDUSTRY TRENDS
In addition to ad-performance aggregates, we also observed
common trends related to the design of display ads. This
section provides a breakdown of the frequency of some
design choices by industry vertical.
250
PINK
S IN
AD
OF
GE
TA
EN
RC
PE
YELLOW
200
150
BLA
CK
LE
SAMP
UE
BL
W
HI
TE
MEA
N
BROW
G
R
PHO
TO
AY
EEN
GR STELS
PA
HITE
OFF-W
RED
BACKGROUND COLOR
Although white ads tended to perform only slightly
above the category average for most of the verticals
examined in our study, white backgrounds were far
and away the most common color used for display ads
in our sample, representing nearly half (40.6%) of the
ads. Comparatively, red backgrounds, which averaged
the highest overall performance across all verticals,
were the fifth most commonly seen, with 5.7% of
the ads in the sample. Ads with black backgrounds
were more common (10.5%), despite averaging lower
conversion rates across most industry verticals.
| 14
INDUSTRY TRENDS
ANIMATION
Just under half (46.6%) of the ads in our sample
featured any type of motion or animation in the
creative. Use of animation was most common among
insurance ads, where more than four out of five
(80.7%) of the ads in our sample featured some kind of
animation. While on the whole, animated ads averaged
slightly higher conversion rates (+7%) than static ads,
the value of animation varied significantly by vertical.
Animation made the biggest impact for creatives in the
Home & Garden, Fashion & Retail, Entertainment, and
80.7%
71.3%
65.0%
55.9%
53.1%
49.9%
49.8%
48.0%
46.6%
46.1%
36.1%
32.4%
31.2%
27.6%
26.7%
26.0%
20.9%
17.8%
10.0%
20.0%
70.0%
80.0% 90.0%
| 15
INDUSTRY TRENDS
The inclusion of pricing or special
offers (such as sales, rebates, or
limited-time offers) in our sample
varied by vertical, with Telecom ads
being the most likely to contain either.
Comparatively, pharmaceutical ads
were the least likely to contain pricing
information, likely as a consequence of
how prescription drugs are purchased.
Only Travel ads were anywhere near as
likely as Telecom ads to contain pricing
or offer information.
75%
SPECIAL OFFERS
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
HEALTH &
BEAUTY
TRAVEL
RETAIL
50%
AUTOMOTIVE
CPG
BUSINESS SERVICES
CONSUMER
TECHNOLOGY
25%
MEDIA
ENTERTAINMENT
PHARMA
INSURANCE
0%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
PRICING
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
400
PERFORMANCE INDEX
HUMAN FACES
ENTERTAINMENT
200
TRAVEL
EDUCATION
AUTOMOTIVE
0
BUSINESS SERVICES
ADVOCACY
MEDIA
CPG
INSURANCE
DINING
HOME & GARDEN
CONSUMER
TECHNOLOGY
-200
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
PERCENTAGE OF ADS
| 16
INDUSTRY TRENDS
CALL TO ACTION
Throughout our analysis, the Learn More call-toaction was by far the most common across all verticals,
representing nearly one third of creatives in our
sample with a clear call-to-action. Ads with the Learn
More call-to-action averaged among the highest
conversion rates among ads in our sample.
DOWNLOAD
NOW
REGISTER NOW RESERVE
JOIN TODAY
REGISTER
CLICK HERE
LEARN MORE
ORDER NOW GET
IT VOTE HERE
APPLY
GET OFFER
TRY IT NOW
VISIT US
START SHOPPING
EXPLORE NOW
SPECIAL OFFERS
JOIN CLUB
CHECK IT OUT
BUY TICKETS
SUBSCRIBE
SEARCH INVENTORY
PLAY NOW
YES
VIEW LOCAL
DEALER
FIND YOURS
START SAVING
REGISTER TODAY
SIGNUP
GET STARTED
NOW
GET TICKETS
OPEN THE GIFT OF SAVINGS RSVP NOW
QUOTE NOW
START TRAINING TODAY
SAVE
GOOD PERFORMANCE
CHECK NOW
POOR PERFORMANCE
AUTO
32%
RETAIL
TRAVEL/LODGING 2%
EDUCATION 4%
HEALTH/BEAUTY 0%
ENTERTAINMENT
BUSINESS SERVICES
MEDIA
ADVOCACY
CPG
HOME & GARDEN
CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY
DINING
FASHION
INSURANCE
PHARMA
TELECOM
14%
13%
10%
0%
1%
17%
11%
7%
17%
30%
1%
18%
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
| 17
AUTOMOTIVE
Our Automotive sample consisted of three billion
impressions from 367 campaigns for domestic and foreign
brands. In addition to the standard characteristics examined,
we also looked at car type and color, engine size, the type
of messaging used to sell the vehicle (for example: safety,
awards, high MPG, and so on), the presence of humans in the
ad, and whether or not they were driving the vehicle.
AUTOMOTIVE
6%
1%
5%
ads
22
%
8%
-4
Perce
ntag
e of
+100%
+50%
10
PERFORMANCE
Mean
-50%
Conversion rate index
Base
11%
n BLACK
n BLUE
n GRAY
n GREEN
n MULTICOLOR
n PICK A COLOR
n RED
n SILVER
n WHITE
n YELLOW
13
18%
CAR COLOR
14%
7%
Perce
ntag
e of
4%
ads
+25
Mean
8%
-25%
47%
Conversion rate index
13%
-75%
n BLACK
n BLUE
n GRAY
n OTHER
n RED
n WHITE
Base
22
%
PERFORMANCE
-50%
BACKGROUND COLOR
| 19
AUTOMOTIVE
WITH PRICING
+44%
-4%
10
NO OFFER
20
30
-9%
50
40
60
70
80
CY
UEN
REQ
%F
100
90
OFFER
-21%
Limited-time offers accounted for approximately onethird of all ads and required us to create a separate
category district from traditional special offers.
NO PRICING
HUMAN SHOWN
N/A
+42%
10
NO CAR
20
+35%
40
30
50
60
70
80
CY
UEN
REQ
%F
100
90
CAR SHOWN
-8%
NO HUMAN
LOGO PLACEMENT
Logo placement matters. Auto ads that placed the logo in
the upper left or lower left averaged higher conversion
rates than those that placed their logo elsewhere.
N.W.
+86%
NORTH
9%
WEST
+16%
-48%
N.E.
13%
CENTER
8%
S.W.
5%
23%
-54%
-34%
7%
PERFORMANCE
4%
S.E.
-22%
11%
6%
EAST
SOUTH
+15%
+14%
15%
FREQUENCY
| 20
AUTOMOTIVE
MESSAGING
TAGLINE
-10
NO TAGLINE
MPG +123%
DEPENDABILITY
-65%
AWARDS
-6%
0%
| 21
ENTERTAINMENT
Rocket Fuel served 1.2 billion impressions for 183 campaigns in
the Entertainment vertical, including ads for concerts, shows,
sporting events, and music services, and music streaming. As
the majority of these initiatives focused on generating ticket
sales for an upcoming event, we have split out the performance
results for initiatives that did not focus on an event.
ENTERTAINMENT
4%
3%
Perce
ntag
e of
3%
ads
2%
3%
+100%
%
28
2%
+50%
Mean
-50%
Conversion rate index
Base
7%
BACKROUND COLOR
n BLACK
n BLUE
n BROWN
n GREEN
n GREY
n MULTICOLOR
n ORANGE
n PURPLE
n RED
n WHITE
n YELLOW
%
22
21
%
PERFORMANCE
5%
Perce
ntag
e of
ads
21
%
%
31
+100%
PERFORMANCE
Mean
BUTTON COLOR
n BLACK
n BLUE
n GREY
n MULTICOLOR
n ORANGE
n RED
n YELLOW
Base
14%
2%
12
6%
6%
7%
+56%
ARTIST/STAR SHOWN
Showing the artist or star of the featured attraction
improves performance. Ads that featured an artist or
celebrity have average conversion rates +56% higher than
those without one, regardless of the gender of the artist.
-25%
MEAN
YES
NO
| 23
ENTERTAINMENT
+16%
+16%
-13%
-13%
WITH PRICING
+204%
+70%
10
NO OFFER
20
40
30
60
70
80
OFFER
-90%
50
CY
UEN
REQ
%F
100
90
+5%
NO PRICING
+131%
-65%
LOGO PLACEMENT
NW
+21%
WEST
NORTH
18%
NE
CENTER
SW
-3%
EAST
35%
SOUTH
+15%
3%
SE
12%
+14%
-34%
-
PERFORMANCE
8%
FREQUENCY
+98%
ANIMATED
-48%
STATIC
THE VENUE
| 24
TRAVEL
Although the Travel vertical encompasses a wide variety of
campaign typesHotels, Lodging, Tourism, Air Travel, Cruises,
Destinations, and so onthe disparate nature of these
marketing initiatives and the large difference in conversion
types necessitates splitting these up and considering them
separately. As such, the results here refer primarily to general
Travel campaigns such as those for Online Travel Agencies
(OTA). The results here come from a sample of two billion
impressions across 266 campaigns.
TRAVEL
4%
1%
2%
3%
+60%
4%
+20%
%
33
PERFORMANCE
5%
Mean
-60%
6%
Conversion rate index
11%
Base
BACKROUND COLOR
n BLACK
n BLUE
n BROWN
n GREEN
n GREY
n MULTICOLOR
n ORANGE
n PURPLE
n RED
n WHITE
29%
LENGTH OF TRIP
HUMAN SHOWN?
+167%
-18%
DAYS SHOWN
+64%
PEOPLE SHOWN
-36
NO PEOPLE
| 26
TRAVEL
PRICING AND SPECIAL OFFERS
WITH PRICING
-83%
71%
10
NO OFFER
20
40
30
28%
50
60
70
80
90
CY
UEN
REQ
%F
100
OFFER
-28%
NO PRICING
WITH PRICING
-70%
+23%
-35%
NO OFFER
ANIMATED
-49%
20
10
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
CY
UEN
REQ
%F
100
OFFER
STATIC
-38%
29%
NO PRICING
| 27
MEDIA
Including marketing initiatives for newspapers, websites,
and broadcast networks, the Media sample looked at over
680 million impressions served across 68 different marketing
initiatives. The majority of these initiatives revolved around
driving subscriptions as a success metric. Surprisingly, special
subscription offers were often not as effective as more
concrete benefits, such as stock quotes or marketing services.
MEDIA
7%
1%
2%
8%
Perc
ent
age
1%
of
ad
s
+200%
9%
+100%
n BLACK
n BLUE
n GREEN
n GREY
n MULTICOLOR
n PINK
n RED
n WHITE
n YELLOW
PERFORMANCE
Mean
BACKROUND COLOR
Base
41%
8%
23%
-37%-37%
-51%
+47%+47%
-69%
-39%
ANIMATED
STATIC
10
NO OFFER
20
91%
30
50
40
60
70
80
100
90
CY
UEN
REQ
%F
OFFEROFFER
SHOWN
SHOWN
NOT SHOWN
NOT SHOWN
OFFER
91%
+49%
ANIMATED
+49%
ANIMATED
-39%
SUBSCRIBE -36%
NO PRICING
| 29
CONSUMER TECH
The Consumer Technology vertical contained 1.2 billion
impressions, including computers, smartphones, and software.
Ads promoting online action with the product shown had the
highest conversion rates in the vertical. Shorter animated
advertisements also tended have higher conversion rates.
ads
4%
of
ge
nta
rce
Pe
6%
6%
CONSUMER TECH
Mean
BACKROUND COLOR
8%
PERFORMANCE
-50%
4%
Conversion rate index
Base
7%
%
60
n BLACK
n BLUE
n GREEN
n GREY
n ORANGE
n PURPLE
n RED
n WHITE
5%
ANIMATION LENGTH
+101%
PRODUCT SHOWN
+3%
166%
NOT IN USE
-38%
10
20
40
30
-10%
50
60
70
80
90
-30%
MEAN
-86%
CY
UEN
REQ
%F
100
IN USE
N/A
NOT SHOWN
3-5 SECS
6-9 SECS
13+ SECS
10-12 SECS
-35%
ANIMATION, CALL
TO ACTION
ANIMATED
STATIC
LEARN MORE +142%
+20%
ANIMATED
-35%
BUY NOW -26%
STATIC
| 31
TELECOM
The Telecom sample primarily consisted of marketing
initiatives around two distinct types of service: Cable/
Internet providers and wireless phone service providers.
Our sample looked at 4.6 billion impressions served for 111
marketing initiatives. While the actual conversion action
typically involving a subscription to a servicedid not end
up being incredibly different for the two initiative types, the
messaging between the two varied substantially. As such,
well note key differences between the two below.
Percentage of ads
1%
1%
1%
27%
TELECOM
3%
+100%
6%
+50%
PERFORMANCE
Mean
-50%
Conversion rate index
Base
1 4%
BACKROUND COLOR
n BLACK
n BLUE
n GREEN
n GREY
n ORANGE
n PURPLE
n RED
n WHITE
21%
26
%
TAGLINE
+25%
YES
REGIONAL MESSAGING
-14%
NO
+88%
YES
-8%
NO
CONQUEST MESSAGING
-11%
NO
YES
=/-0
NO
Although only 5% of ads employed conquestfocused messaging outside of the call to action
(the aforementioned Switch Now), ads with this
messaging tended to have lower conversion rates
(-12%). This might be caused by the ad messaging
being perceived as defensive.
| 33
+59%
TELECOM
-14%
PRICE AND OFFERS SHOWN
WITH PRICING
7%
ANIMATED
57%
30
20
10
NO OFFER
40
60
50
70
80
90
100
NCY
QUE
RE
%F
+59%
OFFER
159%
-14%
91%
STATIC
NO PRICING
LOGO PLACEMENT
NW
140%
NORTH
7%
WEST
-57%
-52%
NE
8%
CENTER
4%
SW
-15%
1%
-93%
2%
SE
119%
5%
34%
EAST
SOUTH
87%
-48%
-3%
17%
PERFORMANCE
21%
FREQUENCY
| 34
CONSUMER
PACKAGED GOODS
The Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) vertical sample
consisted of 184 marketing initiatives with 1.6 billion
delivered impressions. This vertical encompasses a wide
variety of products including groceries, packaged food,
contact lenses, beverages, and household goods. Due to
the wide variety of products in this category, our research
focused primarily on universal factorssuch as whether the
product was shown in use and by whom.
2%
1%
8%
Perce
ntag
eo
f ad
s
21
%
+200%
6%
+100%
PERFORMANCE
4%
Mean
6%
Conversion rate index
Base
16 %
n BLACK
n BLUE
n BROWN
n GREEN
n GREY
n OFFWHITE
n ORANGE
n PURPLE
n RED
n WHITE
n YELLOW
8%
7%
BACKROUND COLOR
16
%
21%
10%
Percentage
of ad
s
3%
+200%
+100%
14%
5%
PERFORMANCE
Mean
Base
14%
8%
PRODUCT COLOR
n BLACK
n BLUE
n BROWN
n GREEN
n MULTICOLOR
n PURPLE
n RED
n WHITE
n YELLOW
25%
6%
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO CREATIVE OPTIMIZATION | SALES@ROCKETFUEL.COM | 1-888-717-8873
| 36
WITH PRICING
11%
5%
10
NO OFFER
20
39%
30
40
60
50
70
80
90
%
100
NCY
QUE
FRE
OFFER
199%
NO PRICING
PRODUCT
-65%
358%
20
10
NO PERSON
-61%
30
40
60
50
70
80
90
RE
%F
100
NC
QUE
PERSON
-97%
PEOPLE AND
PRODUCT SHOWN
CPG ads averaged the highest
conversion rates when they either
showed a person with a product
or showed neither: Ads which had
only a person averaged -82% lower
conversion rates than the vertical
average, while ads with only a
product tended to perform just
below the average.
NO PRODUCT
| 37
-15%
ANIMATION, CALL TO
ACTION
STATIC
ANIMATED
TAGLINE SHOWN
-15%
-21%
SHOWN
STATIC
NOT SHOWN
+6%
+21%
CPG ads
with+420%
the Order Now call to action produced
ORDER
NOW
conversion rates +420% above the vertical average
and<ITEM>
appeared
in 7% of ads that had a call to action.
GET
+419%
CPG ads with variations on the Get <Something>
ENTER
call toNOW
action+240%
averaged a higher conversion rates
than the very similar Get Coupon call to action.
GIFT
NOW +35%CPG ads accounted for 29% of ads in
Coupon-centric
the sample and averaged conversion rates 80% lower
SIGN
+10%
thanUP
theNOW
vertical
average, showcasing the difficulty in
driving offline activity through coupons (as opposed to
SAVE
NOW
-1%
online
purchases).
GET
COUPON -80%
ANIMATION
LENGTH
+85%
-9%
MEAN
-63%
N/A
3-5 SECS
6-9 SECS
10-12 SECS
13+ SECS
| 38
RETAIL
The Retail sample consisted of 273 marketing initiatives for
which 2.9 billion impressions were delivered, covering items
such as toys, furniture, clothing, electronics, and other
supplies. Conversions for campaigns in the Retail sample
were recorded as online product purchases of varying sizes.
RETAIL
3%
6%
Percen
tage
of
5%
ads
5%
+50%
BACKROUND COLOR
Mean
PERFORMANCE
6%
-50%
Base
9%
57%
12
n BLACK
n BLUE
n BROWN
n GREEN
n GREY
n PINK
n RED
n WHITE
2%
ads
+300%
24
%
13
Percen
tage
of
+200%
PRODUCT COLOR
PERFORMANCE
+100%
Mean
4%
Base
2%
9%
2%
3%
8%
%
11
11
%
2%
n BLACK
n BLUE
n BROWN
n GREEN
n GREY
n MULTICOLOR
n ORANGE
n PINK
n PURPLE
n RED
n SILVER
n WHITE
n YELLOW
| 40
+74%
RETAIL
-25%
ANIMATION, CALL TO ACTION
STATIC
WITH PRICING
ANIMATED
-8%
7%
20
10
NO OFFER
30
40
60
50
70
80
90
100
NCY
QUE
RE
%F
+74%
OFFER
-25%
-33%
19%
NO PRICING
STATIC
Retail
with
the Click Here call to action,
CLICKads
HERE
+169%
present on 6% of ads in the sample, averaged
conversion
rates +27%
169% higher than the vertical
LEARN MORE
average and click-through rates similarly high
(+161%).
This -21%
is an interesting exception to our
SHOP NOW
findings across most verticals.
| 41
DINING
The Dining vertical sample consisted of 57 marketing
initiatives with 697 million impressions served, covering
quick-serve restaurants (QSR), casual-dining restaurants,
and food-ordering websites. The data set represents several of
the largest QSR brands in the United States. During the analysis,
special attention was paid to the types of food offers provided
on orders and how these might have affected performance.
DINING
10%
Percent
age o
f
ads
+500%
5%
34%
PERFORMANCE
6%
+300%
BACKROUND COLOR
Mean
6%
Conversion rate index
Base
n BLUE
n BROWN
n GREEN
n GREY
n RED
n WHITE
%
14
25%
+17%
MEAN
-56%
VOLUME
PRICE
NONE
-76%
CONTEST
ADD-ON ADS
NOT EFFECTIVE
Although ads with volume-based offers
had higher conversion rates, ads with
add-ons (for example, those offering
additional items at a discounted rate,
such as order now and add a side at
half off) had conversion rates 21%
lower than advertisements without
add-on offers.
| 43
DINING
PRODUCT SHOWN
+10%
YES
-34%
NO
-15%
+6
PERSON SHOWN
STATIC
-82%
YES
ANIMATED
+3%
NO
COUPON
+11%
YES
-75%
NO
LOGO SHOWN
-16%
YES
+67%
NO
| 44
ADVOCACY
The Advocacy sample consisted of 118 marketing
initiatives with 1.8 billion total impressions served,
covering charitable and non-profit organizations, political
campaigns, and issue-based initiatives. Specific to
advocacy, we looked at differences between emotional
appeals and attack ads and focused on which ad attributes
led to higher or lower performance in terms of driving
donations for a particular campaign or cause.
ADVOCACY
8%
ads
+60%
24
%
Percenta
ge of
+20%
Mean
BACKROUND COLOR
PERFORMANCE
-20%
n BLACK
n BLUE
n BROWN
n GREEN
n ORANGE
n WHITE
n YELLOW
-60%
Conversion rate index
Base
40%
14%
4%
3%
2%
EMOTIONAL APPEALS
+195%
+56%
+68%
MEAN
-39%
EXTREME
MODERATE
NEUTRAL
MEAN
ATTACK ADS
-2%
NO ATTACK
| 46
ADVOCACY
ANIMATION, CALL TO ACTION
+106%
+74%
-28%
-39%
+252%
+120%
GOODS
MONEY
+2%
SIGNING
-2%
MEAN
-37%
TIME
TIME
+MONEY
CLOTHING
-45%
-85%
| 47
EDUCATION
The Education sample covered 119 marketing initiatives
for which 1.3 billion impressions were served for non-profit
and for-profit institutions. Conversions were typically
measured as signing up to receive additional information
about a school or program. The majority of campaigns
in the sample promoted either graduate (55%) or
undergraduate programs (37%).
EDUCATION
2%
1%
3%
4%
4%
5%
Per
cen
tag
eo
fa
ds
+200%
+100%
8%
PERFORMANCE
Mean
LOGO SHOWN
Conversion rate index
Base
49%
-17%
+52%
YES
22
BACKROUND COLOR
n BLACK
n BLUE
n BROWN
n GREEN
n GREY
n MULTICOLOR
n PURPLE
n RED
n WHITE
NO
-10
STATIC
+29%
YES
+70%
-4%
NO
+5%
-10
ANIMATED
STATIC
REQUEST
MORE
INFO
Many
of the
calls
to+70%
action in the sample focused on
requests for more information about the institution
LEARN
MORE
+53% ads with calls to action
and
its services.
Education
that
suggested
CLICK
HEREhigher
-20%levels of commitment (e.g.
Register Today, Start Now, Enroll Now) averaged
VISIT
US -39%
lower
conversion
rates. The Click Here call to action
showed up in 24% of the ads in our sample and often
led to expectedly higher click-through rates (+103%)
but significantly lower conversion rates (-20%).
RANKING INFO
PEOPLE SHOWN
+1%
YES
+137%
-48%
-16%
-54%
NO
1%
1%
4%
Percen
tage
of
ads
+400%
4%
+300%
6%
+200%
Mean
+9%
Conversion rate index
Base
55%
7%
n BLACK
n BLUE
n GREEN
n GREY
n MULTICOLOR
n OFF-WHITE
n ORANGE
n RED
n WHITE
n YELLOW
12
%
PERFORMANCE
+100%
BACKROUND COLOR
INDOOR VS OUTDOOR
ANIMATION LENGTH
+312%
+69%
MEAN
-84%
INDOOR
OUTDOOR
MEAN
-83%
3-5 SECS
+8%
N/A
6-9 SECS
| 51
SPECIAL OFFERS
LOGO SHOWN
-19%
PRODUCT
NOT SHOWN
-83%
-18%
10
20
63%
30
40
60
50
70
80
90
SHOWN
CY
%F
100
EN
EQU
PRODUCT
SHOWN
N/A
NO LOGO
NOT SHOWN
ONLINE/OFFLINE PUSH
+27%
ONLINE
+26%
-90%
OFFLINE
| 52
BUSINESS TO
BUSINESS (B2B)
The B2B sample consisted of 128 marketing initiatives for
which 1.4 billion impressions were served, typically covering
software or tech products. Most of the items advertised in
this sample were big-ticket items, though several campaigns
focused on smaller items and services such as server space
and shipping. Where necessary, differences between service
and product types have been noted.
B2B
7%
Percen
tage
of
ads
3%
+200%
4%
33%
PERFORMANCE
5%
+100%
Mean
5%
Conversion rate index
Base
5%
BACKROUND COLOR
n BLACK
n BLUE
n GREEN
n GREY
n MULTICOLOR
n ORANGE
n PURPLE
n RED
n WHITE
6%
27%
WITH PRICING
+177%
-62%
10
NO OFFER
20
+12%
40
30
50
60
70
80
90
CY
UEN
REQ
%F
100
OFFER
-27%
NO PRICING
| 54
B2B
HUMAN SHOWN
LOGO PLACEMENT
N.W.
+41%
YES
-11%
NO
-63%
11%
WEST
-8%
11%
S.W.
-23%
NORTH
N.E.
CENTER
EAST
10%
SOUTH
7%
+53%
-29%
11%
S.E.
20%
+2%
PERFORMANCE
13%
FREQUENCY
TAGLINE
ANIMATION, CALL-TO-ACTION
+17%
SHOWN
NOT SHOWN
CONQUEST MESSAGING
-21%
YES
-13%
+1
NO
+3%
ANIMATED
-2%
STATIC
| 55
FINANCIAL
SERVICES
The Financial Services sample consisted of 130 marketing
initiatives for which 1.4 billion impressions were served.
Our data set consisted of various financial products,
including loans, credit cards, ID theft protection, wire
transfers, investment services, and insurance products.
The largest segment was insurance, which comprised 35%
of the data set, and was separated from the others when
analyzing performance.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
6%
1%
1%
Perce
ntag
eo
f ad
s
1%
2%
+100%
2%
+50%
Mean
PERFORMANCE
4%
-50%
Conversion rate index
4%
HUMAN SHOWN
35%
Base
+11%
-5
YES
10%
6%
BACKROUND COLOR
n BLACK
n BLUE
n GREEN
n GREY
n MULTICOLOR
n ORANGE
n PINK
n RED
n TAN
n WHITE
n YELLOW
NO
+32%
-58
ANIMATED
STATIC
-82%
SHOWN
+24%
NOT SHOWN
PRICING
+9%
CARD
-75%
NO CARD
-38
YES
+110%
NO
2%
3%
Percen
tage
of
3%
ads
+100%
+50%
BACKROUND COLOR
14%
-50%
Base
0.03
2%
n BLACK
n BLUE
n BROWN
n GREY
n MULTICOLOR
n OFF-WHITE
n PURPLE
n RED
n WHITE
n YELLOW
16
%
PERFORMANCE
39%
Mean
15 %
Percentage of
ads
1 2%
Purple stood out as the dominant color in this vertical, which is interesting
if only because one might expect more traditional colors like white or
black. That said, the sufficiently large sample size encompassed multiple
brands and accounted for 2% of impressions, leading us to support this
color as the champion for the vertical.
+200%
+100%
PRODUCT COLOR
PERFORMANCE
7%
Mean
Base
48%
11%
n BLACK
n BLUE
n MULTICOLOR
n PINK
n PURPLE
n YELLOW
5%
7%
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO CREATIVE OPTIMIZATION | SALES@ROCKETFUEL.COM | 1-888-717-8873
| 59
WITH PRICING
52%
NO OFFER
-34%
10
20
30
40
50
70
60
80
90
+13%
UE
REQ
%F
100
NCY
ANIMATED
OFFER
-51%
-34%
98%
NO PRICING
STATIC
| 60
PHARMA
Our Pharma sample consisted of 1.7 billion impressions
across 77 marketing initiatives in the Pharma vertical.
In our sample, we included prescription drugs, hospitalbased procedures, and lab-testing services. We paid special
attention to rich media and legal subtext, as current drug
advertising laws limit the types of advertising possible.
PHARMA
7%
Percentag
e of a
ds
5%
+20%
Mean
-10%
6%
PERFORMANCE
-40%
6%
-70%
Base
58%
BACKROUND COLOR
n BLACK
n BLUE
n GREEN
n MULTICOLOR
n RED
n WHITE
17%
N/A
-86%
-47%
USED
+3%
LEGAL TEXT
TEXT
10
20
50
60
70
80
OFFER
NOT USED
-94%
NO OFFER
40
30
CY
UEN
REQ
%F
100
90
+9%
NO TEXT
+32%
N/A
NO PRICING
ANIMATION
Animated ads accounted for
63% of the ads within our
sample. Static ads accounted
for 37% of the ads.
+69%
-31%
ANIMATED
STATIC
| 62
SHOP NOW
DYNAMIC CREATIVE
No examination of creative performance would be complete
without a look at the effects of Dynamic Creative on
performance. Although our sample size for Dynamic Creative
was significantly smaller, the effect of putting the right product
in front of the right person when serving an ad can have a
significant impact on performance. While our prior work in this
report was about how the message and product are presented,
this Dynamic Creative research looks instead at the impact of
determining which product should be presented to the consumer.
DYNAMIC CREATIVE
<BRAND>
SCROLL BUTTONS
Consumers were 3.5x
more likely to click on the
right scroll button than
the left scroll button. In
fact, the right scroll button
was the most commonly
interacted-with button in
dynamic creatives.
PRODUCT
THUMBNAILS
Consumers were equally
as likely to click on
product thumbnails as the
left scroll button.
SHOP NOW
CALL-TO-ACTION BUTTON
Just under 1 in 10 (7%) of Dynamic
Creative interactions involved the callto-action button.
DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE
VS. STANDARD CREATIVE
RETAIL
CTR
+24%
CVR
+9%
TRAVEL
CTR
+19%
CVR
+160%
DYNAMIC DISPLAY
On average, when compared to creatives in the same
verticals with similar conversion actions (in this
case purchase-based, non-luxury-item conversions),
Dynamic Creatives averaged conversion rates 21%
higher than their fixed-product counterparts, though
to date weve seen a more pronounced effect for
dynamic Travel & Lodging ads.
Overall, Dynamic Creative retail ads averaged
conversion rates 8.6% higher than standard ads, while
Travel & Lodging Dynamic Creative ads averaged
conversion rates more than twice as high (2x) as their
standard counterparts.
| 64
VIDEO
Our Video sample consisted of 471 million impressions
delivered for 286 marketing initiatives across every
vertical, and focused on elements that would improve
or affect completion rates. For much of our analysis, we
used the timing of events within Video ads as our primary
measurement tool. Due to the variable nature of Video
advertising, we concentrated our analysis on ads that
were 15 seconds in length or shorter.
VIDEO
VIDEO PLOTS
To understand the differences in completion rates between plot types, we first had to come to a consensus about
how to classify plots. Using Chris Bookers review of classic plot types in his book Seven Basic Plots, we segregated
plots into manageable narrative categories. While combinations of plot types are possible, we cataloged only the
dominant narrative element in each ad. We included an additional category called informational, designed to
capture product showcases and event descriptions.
COMEDY
TRAGEDY
REBIRTH
RAGS-TO-RICHES
QUEST
DEFEATING A MONSTER
INFORMATIONAL
RETURN
| 66
VIDEO
WHEN TO SHOW PRODUCT
-6%
+1%
+12%
PRODUCT IN USE
-1%
MEAN
+1%
IN-USE
3-5 SECS
6-9 SECS
10-12 SECS
13+ SECS
-2
NO USE
+/- 0%
+8%
+14%
MEAN
3-5 SECS
6-9 SECS
10-12 SECS
13+ SECS
-8%
-1%
3-5 SECS
6-9 SECS
10-12 SECS
+3%
-51%
FEMALE VOICE
MALE VOICE
+7%
MEAN
13+ SECS
| 67
ABOUT
ROCKET FUEL
Rocket Fuel delivers a leading programmatic media-buying
platform at Big Data scale that harnesses the power of
artificial intelligence to improve marketing ROI in digital media
across web, mobile, video, and social channels. Rocket Fuel
powers digital advertising and marketing programs globally
for customers in North America, Latin America, Europe, and
APAC. Customers trust Rocket Fuels Advertising That Learns
platform to achieve brand and direct-response objectives in
diverse industries from luxury cars to financial services to
retail. Rocket Fuel currently operates in more than 20 offices
worldwide and trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market
under the ticker symbol FUEL. For more information, please
visit http://www.rocketfuel.com or call 1-888-717-8873.