CREATIVE LEADERSHIP

Q4 2022 Paid Social Transformation

 THE TOP TAKEAWAYS:

Rapid Team Formation: Successfully built and operationalized a completely new team, managing multiple incoming content streams within a tight 3-week timeframe.
Consistent Ad ROAS Improvement: Achieved a remarkable and consistent improvement in ad Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), ranging between 5–10x compared to historic results.
Increased YoY Revenue with Less Spend: Overall Q4 results ended with +6% in channel revenue year-over-year despite -42% in spend year-over-year.

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HIGH PRODUCTION

USER-GENERATED CONTENT

STATICS

PROJECT WRITE-UP

This is a sampling of the high production videos and motion graphic approaches crafted for Q4 2022 as part of our channel transformation. All videos and animated stills were expertly shot by our internal photography studio.

High Production Video & Motion Graphics

We successfully integrated user-generated content into our ad pool, adding a layer of third-party validation and authenticity. Featured are four samples from Q4 2022, each employing slightly different approaches while maintaining strong product marketing language and visuals, showcasing the diverse range of our work.

User-Generated Content

While Q4 2022 witnessed a significant shift towards video, statics continue to hold a vital place in our creative mix on Meta. We revamped their historically templated format, providing a more custom approach aligned with the Holiday campaign promo guidelines. The enhanced design approach, coupled with a more prominent use of typography, resulted in a significant average ROAS lift over historical benchmarks.

Statics

Creative Director: Maddy Hague
 Lead Designer/Art Director: Sam Onken
Lead Copywriter: Merritt Bamrick
Video Editor: Jacob Valento

PROJECT CREDITS

For a seasonal business like Shutterfly, Q4 is the Super Bowl. Tasked with reversing the underperformance of Paid Social — which had previously lacked dedicated creative support — I built a new team to tackle the challenge. Three weeks before the launch of our first Q4 ads, the team swiftly established close collaboration with our channel partners and conducted several tests to set foundational best practices for Cyber Week.

With a focus on unlocking video performance, I led the team to diversify content streams for ads, incorporating internal high-production video, UGC content from a content creator platform, UGC content through an agency partner, and influencer video from our internal PR team. Motion graphics and animation were also integral to our support. By quarter-end, we mastered briefing, directing, cutting, and enhancing ads with captions and promo graphics for high conversion.

Emphasizing language around quality, ease, and core product selling points in voiceovers, post copy, and captions, we leaned into the use of UGC for third-party validation, witnessing its wild success. Boldly featuring promo offers from the start, our focus on conversion led us to greatly surpass the $2 benchmark, achieving a remarkable $7.68 average ROAS — a striking +83% improvement YoY. Despite a 42% decrease in spend, we delivered a +6% revenue on the channel. On an individual ad level, consistent ROAS improvements of 5–10x over historical performance were observed.

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