Our Denver agency's social ads went from 2% to 8% conversion after we dropped the fancy video

For a local brewery client, we spent three months and a decent chunk of their budget on these polished, cinematic video ads for Instagram. They looked amazing, but the click-through rate was stuck around 2% and sales didn't budge. We were about to scrap the whole campaign when our junior designer, Sarah, suggested we just try a simple carousel of photos she took on her phone at the actual brewery. It showed the beer being poured, people laughing at the tables, and the menu board. We ran it for two weeks as a test. The conversion rate shot up to 8% almost immediately. It turns out our target audience just wanted to see the real place and feel like they could be there, not watch a mini-movie. Has anyone else found that simpler, more authentic creative just works better for local service or retail clients?

3 comments

3 Comments

richard_anderson1mo ago

Oh man, that's classic. You guys basically made a fancy commercial when people just wanted to see the bar down the street. I mean, it makes total sense when you think about it. Nobody trusts a perfect ad anymore, they just want to know if the place looks real and if the beer looks good. Bet that junior designer felt pretty smart after that one.

skylerrobinson1mo agoProlific Poster

Yeah, reminds me of a local burger joint. They spent a ton on these glossy, slow-mo shots of a perfect burger. Looked fake. Then some kid just posted a video of the actual, messy burger on his plate, cheese dripping and all. Went viral. @richard_anderson is right, real sells now. That junior designer probably got a raise.

shane_fisher3725d ago

That glossy burger made people WANT it though, authenticity is just the new trend until everyone does it.