Managing digital media is increasingly similar to flying an airplane. It practically walks alone, however, whoever drives the machine needs to have the necessary intelligence and skill to give the correct commands and correct the route whenever necessary.
In 2005 I started in digital media, when I joined Google as one of the first employees in Brazil. I had the privilege of learning the discipline through the ethics of the company that built and still builds the paths of our market.
At the time, I was already working in marketing and when I first came into contact with Google’s advertising tool, I was shocked by the possibility of showing an ad in the form of a search result, only to people interested in the topic. And on top of that, only pay when someone actually clicks on it.
At that time, everything was very manual, including the ad approval process. One of my first activities at the company was to review ads to ensure they complied with the platform’s guidelines. If there was a spelling error, for example, or the use of unknown abbreviations, we rejected these ads, and the advertiser had the chance to submit them again. As incredible as it may seem, this work was not done by algorithms, but by people like me. If even that was manual, imagine the process of creating and managing a campaign. This required deep mastery of all aspects of the platform: account hierarchy, budget setting, keyword types, quality score, bid management, and so on.
Whoever mastered all of this ended up having a great competitive advantage, as they delivered a greater return on investments in digital media. NetShoes, Submarino, and even Mercado Livre built sales and brand via media in search. Who doesn’t remember seeing even mother-in-law being advertised by Mercado Livre in 5 interest-free installments?
Over time, this knowledge became commodity. Not that it is no longer important to have proficiency on the platforms, but this no longer represents a differentiator in itself but rather a necessity to remain competitive.
Today, the performance of digital investments comes precisely from what has always been the basis of advertising. Amazing: creative work. Thanks to the advancement of computer algorithms, big techs, everyone has practically the same technical levers at their disposal. That’s why quality creative delivery once again makes all the difference, not only in brand building but in sales results.
However, with fragmentation and the emergence of new platforms, just creating a great idea is no longer enough. You need to know how to adapt this idea to each format on each platform, taking into account the nuances of usage behavior and performance metrics of each one.
The way of chatting with Instagram users is different from Pinterest, which is different from TikTok or YouTube. It’s no surprise that most of these platforms offer creative tailoring services as a benefit to their main clients. They understand that if brands and agencies don’t think with their users’ minds, the campaign loses effectiveness, and, consequently, investments are reduced.
And it’s no use just having a good idea that suits each context. It is necessary to establish an agile management system that allows us to create and adapt pieces frequently and assertively. This system requires not only creative quality, but also efficiency and speed. After all, at a time when the message becomes the main performance lever, Media and Creation need to be more integrated than ever.
In the model we have been using, a creative strategist works side by side with a channel, in the same way and proximity that an art director has always worked alongside a copywriter. Furthermore, this integration in practice becomes even greater when supported by tools and technology, such as artificial intelligence solutions for creative optimization, and the results are very positive.
However, analyzing data from the most effective creatives in relation to profitability, and knowing how to interpret which elements of each piece contribute most to the result, I would venture to say that this is the most manual and humanized stage of the process. Not that there are no technologies that propose to solve this problem, but the fact that they still don’t solve it, and the good performance may come precisely from the ability of a more creative mind to interpret these sets of data, in a “ always on“, instead of simply receiving briefings. This is the key to performance today.
As digital platforms evolve with increasingly sophisticated algorithms, the difference now lies in the ability to deliver creativity in an agile way. Organize your teams so that your campaigns can soar ever higher.
* This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the vehicle
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