Creatives in Paid Media: How to Collaborate with Design

In Paid Media, creatives serve as the visual touchpoints that shape your audience’s first impression. Requesting the right creatives from the design team is not just about formats—it’s about understanding how each type of creative supports specific funnel objectives, such as driving conversions, retention, or awareness, aligning with the customer’s decision-making cycle.

🔍 4 Types of Creatives in Paid Media:

Social Proof and Human Element

When the goal is to build trust, creatives that feature customer testimonials or show the product being used in a real-life context are invaluable. These creatives establish an emotional connection and enhance credibility.

Final Result and Transformation

Images that depict a "before and after" or highlight the final result provide clarity and a visual promise. These work well for products or services that significantly transform the customer’s experience.

Problem Hook + Solution

Presenting a problem and offering a clear, visual solution captures attention and often improves click-through rates. This direct approach highlights how your product or service addresses specific needs.

FOMO and Special Offers

Urgency and exclusivity create impact. Using creatives that emphasize limited-time promotions or special incentives can be the key to accelerating conversions during high-competition periods.

🎯 How to Request Creatives from the Design Team

To maximize the impact of creatives in your campaigns, the first step is to clearly define your audience segments and the specific objectives of each campaign. Before making a request, consider:

The Target Audience

What truly motivates your customers? A "Social Proof" creative is ideal for audiences that need reassurance, while a "Problem Hook + Solution" creative is more effective for those looking to solve a specific problem.

The Right Format

Is a short video, an image carousel, or a static image more effective? The format choice is critical and should be based on how your audience consumes content. A great tip is to analyze what other companies are advertising.

Once these needs are identified, communicate them clearly to the design team. Be sure to include details such as specific dimensions, mobile-friendly text, and the visual approach that best conveys your campaign’s message. Precision in the details saves time and improves the final quality of the creatives.

🛠️ Conclusion: High-Performing Creatives Are Planned, Not Left to Chance

Producing strategically designed creatives—aligned with data-driven insights, clear objectives, and brand consistency—will significantly improve results. With proper planning and clear communication with the design team, you can enhance campaign performance while strengthening your brand message with your audience. A well-chosen creative is one of your main differentiators in the digital space.

High-Quality Leads: What Are They and How to Obtain Them?

A high-quality lead is not just a contact; it’s a potential customer that aligns closely with our offering. They match our target profile and have a need that our solution can fulfil. But how do you obtain a high-quality lead through a paid media strategy?

First, it’s important to remember that the quality of a lead doesn’t depend solely on volume. Focusing exclusively on volume can be counterproductive, as a high number of leads doesn’t guarantee they will be relevant or have conversion potential. Increasing the number of contacts often comes at the expense of lowering their value. For example, if form requirements are reduced to capture more leads, you might end up with many contacts who have no real intention of purchasing or a clear need.

This is where the concept of friction comes into play: the more friction there is in the capture process (detailed forms, questions that identify customer needs, etc.), the better we can qualify leads. Of course, this also implies a reduction in lead volume. Striking a balance in friction is crucial to achieving the right balance between quantity and quality. Too much friction can reduce the number of leads, while too little can result in contacts that don’t meet the appropriate profile. Identifying the sweet spot allows you to obtain qualified leads with a higher potential for conversion.

To qualify a lead, four key criteria are fundamental: need, interest, purchasing capability, and urgency. A genuinely high-quality lead demonstrates a clear need that our offer can address. They’ve shown an interest in learning more. They have the means to make the purchase. Moreover, they have urgency or motivation driving their decision.

The qualification process starts with forms and extends to the first interactions. During these initial interactions, it’s helpful to ask questions like: “What service are you most interested in?” or “What budget do you have in mind to solve this problem?” These types of questions help quickly identify the lead’s need, interest, and capacity, enabling more accurate qualification. Asking key questions early is essential to determine whether you’re dealing with a potential customer or just a curious contact. Using an appropriate CRM also helps analyse lead behaviour and their level of interest.

Some effective practices to improve lead quality include:

• Using initial interactions to ask questions that help determine whether the person truly has a clear need, genuine interest, and purchasing capacity.

• Implementing precise segmentation in ads. Clearly defining your audience and adjusting segmentation parameters in each campaign ensures your messages reach those with the most potential.

• Adapting creativity and messaging to resonate with those closest to making a decision. What problem do they have? How can we help solve it? Tailoring the message not only attracts, but also better qualifies leads.
  

Improving lead quality always requires a mix of techniques: more friction, more precise segmentation, and a clear focus on identifying needs.

What about you? What techniques do you use to improve the quality of your leads?

Paid Media Strategies to Leverage the Low Season and Prepare for Success

The low season is an opportunity to refine strategies, test new approaches, and strengthen the brand, though it can also present challenges. What can you do to make the most of these moments in paid media?

First and foremost, optimising your budget is essential. Keeping only the best-performing campaigns active allows you to maximise returns by focusing on products or services with high demand or strong growth potential, even during the low season. For instance, identifying high-performing campaigns through key metrics such as ROAS or conversion rates can help determine where to continue investing. Less is more: every pound counts when resources are limited.

Another key strategy is to tailor creatives to the context of the low season, measuring the effectiveness of these changes using indicators such as engagement or click-through rate (CTR) to ensure the adaptations yield positive results. For B2C, relaxed tones can evoke preparation for future key moments, while in B2B, positioning your offer as part of planning for the next quarter or cycle is key. This keeps the message relevant and avoids creative fatigue.

The low season is also the perfect time to explore new channels. Often, brands focus on media that generate short-term conversions, but this is the time to test emerging platforms like TikTok, Pinterest, or even Spotify. While these may not yield immediate results, they help build presence and familiarity, which can be invaluable when demand picks up.

Retargeting and reactivation are crucial during these periods, allowing you to capitalise on audiences who have previously shown interest. This is particularly effective in low seasons when acquiring new users is more challenging and expensive. Targeting users who expressed interest but didn’t convert, offering personalised incentives, can make all the difference. Additionally, segmented reactivation email campaigns can rekindle potential customers who already know the brand but haven’t yet taken action.

There’s also room for creativity. Producing micro-content that’s educational or adds value provides an extra benefit to the customer, keeps them engaged, and strengthens the perception of the brand as a sector leader. Short videos, tips on social media, or ads that educate rather than just sell can also stand out.

Finally, preparing for the upcoming season is one of the most profitable actions you can take during periods of low demand. Investing time in creating high-quality creatives, messages, and offers tailored to future trends and target segments ensures a competitive edge when demand returns.

The low season doesn’t have to be a hurdle—it can be a springboard to the next period of high demand. It’s all about perspective and strategy.

What are your best strategies for the low season?