Funnel Vision Issue #014

Welcome back to the latest issue of Funnel Vision, the weekly newsletter that puts performance creative & growth marketing in focus. Brought to you by the crew at Ready Set.

Happy Friday, folks! In this issue:

🥸 Insider intel on the future of ads from Meta’s exclusive summit.
💔 Why the biggest breakup since Sonny and Cher is on the horizon.
🏃‍♀️ Lessons from a hit ad that creates urgency in an unexpected way.

Let’s get the vision.

Reading time: 6 minutes

Insider insights on the future of ads from Meta's exclusive summit

The Meta Agency Summit happened last week in New York City.

At this exclusive, invite-only event, the top 1% of Meta agencies got a rare glimpse into the tech giant's strategic vision and future plans—straight from the top brass.

Luckily, we had a man on the ground.

Sam Makalou, Ready Set’s COO and co-founder, was at the summit. We sat down with him to get the inside scoop.

FV: Hey, Sam! You were at the Meta Agency Summit last week in NYC. Tell us about it.

SM: Hey! That’s right. The summit was a gathering of top Meta agencies across various specialties—from brand to PR to performance to creative.

Meta is the biggest player in the digital advertising space. So it was really interesting to hear their strategic vision for the platform and how they view the future of digital advertising.

Do tell. What was the major insight you took away from this summit?

Meta is really pushing for holistic, full-funnel campaigns. They’re aligning their ad platform to optimize for this approach.

This is obviously exciting for Ready Set as it aligns with our long-held belief in the power of video creative as a key performance lever. But it’s also relevant to all brands and advertisers using Meta for performance marketing.

What trends did Meta share about performance creative?

Meta is pushing for a more sophisticated approach to digital advertising. They shared that video ads showed a 35% performance lift over static ads, so they're really leaning into video. 

But getting creative right is still a huge challenge. Campaigns really need at least 10-20 different creative assets for the algorithm to properly experiment and optimize. Most brands are running with the same three creatives for months at a time.

So there’s a gap between the desire for high-performing ads and the ability to produce creative that achieves that goal?

Yeah, exactly. 66% of video creative doesn’t adhere to best practices. That stat was especially eye-opening. Brands are starting with a massive handicap. 

But the thing is, a lot of best practices are actually quite achievable. Meta emphasized four:

1. Showing an actual person in the ad. This creates intimacy and human interaction. My theory, to take this one step further, is to feature a person your audience identifies with.

2. Interacting with the product seamlessly. Natural use of the product allows your audience to imagine themselves using it, too.

3. Dynamic visuals and pacing. Think fast cuts, bright colors, short & choppy copy, engaging sounds. Make ads that are visually interesting to keep the audience engaged.

4. Optimize creative to specific placements. Create separate versions for Reels, in-feed, stories, etc. that are customized for that placement.

Can you explain what you mean when you say Meta’s pushing for holistic, full-funnel campaigns?

There was a massive emphasis on blending brand building with performance marketing. The best creative marries elements of both.

The concept of "collapsing the funnel" is finally gaining traction more broadly. So blurring funnel stages and emphasizing creative fluidity through multi-objective campaigns.

Sounds like a shift from what performance marketers are used to.

It is. It’s a shift away from the brand vs. performance mindset, which is a false choice. Brand and performance aren’t mutually exclusive, they can coexist. And they can coexist in the same ad.

Meta wants cohesive, multi-objective campaigns that guide people through the journey rather than just optimize for clicks. It’s a longer term approach. The ROI won’t be as immediately clear as it is now with bottom-of-funnel campaigns. But I believe they’re correct in saying it's a more sustainable approach.

How can marketers get buy-in?

To be fair, that’s something Meta is struggling with. Only 12% of CMOs feel comfortable making the business case for creative budget. Meta is looking to agencies to equip CMOs with data & practices to make a stronger case for the ROI of more diverse creative.

That was another theme: Meta’s looking to top agencies and brands to test and establish best practices. Discussions were at a strategic level, they want advertisers to come up with the tactics. 

Surely AI came up at some point?

Hah, yes it sure did. Meta is really pushing their GenAI features. Again, they’re looking to big advertisers to solve creative scale challenges with these tools. They see it as a way to generate the 10-20 different creative assets needed for optimal performance. 

Shelly Palmer, a futurist at the summit, believes performance marketing will become entirely AI-driven; it can test and learn without bias. Brand will stay with humans, but who leverage AI to enhance subject matter expertise and creativity.

Some provocative takes, for sure!

Are you glad you flew from SF to NYC for the summit?

I am. You know, I almost talked myself out of going. I’m glad I didn’t. It was really exciting to hear Meta lay out their vision.

It was even more exciting to learn how closely their strategic vision aligns with ours. Meta wants holistic, full-funnel campaigns with creative at the core. 

That’s Ready Set. That’s what we do; the premise our business is built on. 

Wrap up the summit in one word.

“Creative.”

Creative was at the heart of everything Meta discussed. But not enough just to make pretty ads. It’s about strategically crafting content that marries brand and performance and performs across the funnel.

It’s really hard to get creative right. But it’s the single most influential performance lever at advertisers’ disposal.

If you are driving to bust through performance plateaus on Meta, reach out. Let’s chat about how we can help you do it.

CLICKABLE LINKS 👆️ 

💔 In what could be the biggest split since Sonny & Cher, the DOJ is considering a Google breakup. Google execs—while crooning “I Got You Babe” to various divisions—plan to appeal.

👊 Yet according to the WSJ, Google’s grip on search is slipping as TikTok & Perplexity gain ground. Google execs furiously pointing to a bristol-board cutout of this story in a DC courtroom.

🤳 Why TikTok Shop’s success with niche products that struggle to sell on other platforms is both its biggest strength and weakness. Google execs reportedly quiet on this particular development.

🥴 Post-holiday sales fizzle faster than a champagne buzz on New Year’s Day?

Many brands snooze through the post-holiday “dead zone”.

But savvy ecom marketers know Q5 is a golden window of opportunity—if you have the right strategy.

In the next Screenshare Session, we’re laying out the blueprint to Q5 mastery.

Don’t miss your chance to learn creative strategies to dominate the invisible quarter from a panel of ecom experts.

Join us for our next Screenshare Session session on Monday, October 21, 12PM CST to learn:

• How to exploit rock-bottom ad costs when the competition's asleep

• Genius tactics to turn Q4 campaign leftovers into Q5 profit

• Strategies to tap into post-holiday consumer trends and spending habits

Spaces are limited, and they’re filling up fast! Grab yours now 🔥

AD OF THE WEEK ✨

In this section, we analyze high-performing ads and extract actionable insights you can use to power your creative.

Today’s ad of the week is a Connected TV (CTV) ad from the FSA Store, an online marketplace offering over 2,500 FSA-eligible products.

⏱️ 30 seconds
📺 Connected TV (CTV)

This ad effectively combines urgency, relatability, and clear messaging to drive action.

Winning elements: Why this ad works

⏰ Urgency creation: The persistent "12/31 FSA deadline alert!" overlay creates a strong sense of urgency, motivating viewers to act quickly before losing their FSA funds.

🏠 Seamless lifestyle integration: Rather than focusing solely on products, the ad shows how FSA Store fits into everyday life. The emphasis is on convenience, shown by the talent relaxing, snacking, and casually browsing—activities not typically associated with healthcare shopping.

🎯 Clear CTA: The ad includes a strong directive to visit the FSA store website. The deadline alert itself serves as an ongoing CTA, encouraging immediate action to spend FSA funds before they expire.

💡 What can we learn from this ad?

1. The first 5 seconds are critical: Many CTV ads are skippable after 5 seconds, so start with a strong hook to capture and retain attention. This ad captures attention by showing the protagonist jumping up in the air, as if startled by the voiceover.

2. Keep messaging simple and clear: The ad focuses on a single message: use your FSA funds before they expire. It’s clear, straightforward, and compelling; good advice for all ad copywriting.

3. Optimize for the viewing experience: CTV is one digital ad platform where production value matters—ads need to look great on large screens. Persistent on-screen text also ensures key information is conveyed even in sound-off environments.

That’s it. That’s all.

To all our Canadian readers, Happy Thanksgiving!

As always, thanks for reading. Appreciate you 🫶 

Psst... wanna earn $1k?

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