Hey gang.
Major noob question here ... lol
I've always steered clear of paid ads but have been thinking about trying something on Rumble (I'm told it's still really cheap to advertise there; although a see a lot of political weirdness over there!)
I keep hearing marketers throw around the term “creative” - like “we need to test new creatives” or “the creative didn’t perform.”
But what does that actually mean in day-to-day digital marketing?
Is a creative just the ad image or video? Or does it include the copy, offer, and targeting too?
I used to think “creative” meant, you know… being creative 😅 - but it seems like it’s more of a technical term for the ad asset itself.
Am I way off the mark here? What's your take? Especially if you’ve worked with paid ads, agencies, or creative teams.
What’s in your “creative” folder when you’re running campaigns?
🙃
Funny you brought this up, Jamal - I’m knee-deep in one of my “weekend web sessions” right now. Coffee, tabs everywhere, brain half-fried from a full week at the day job… so perfect time to overthink the word creative.
I had the same confusion when I started running ads for the first tech startup I ever worked for. I thought “creative” meant the clever or artistic side of marketing, but everyone kept saying things like “we need fresh creatives for Q4.” Then I started following ad breakdowns and kept seeing stuff like “we tested 20 new creatives.” Turns out it just means the ad assets - images, videos, captions, all the bits people actually see.
Kind of took the magic out of the word for me. It’s less about creativity and more about which square of pixels makes someone click. Obviously important too .. ha ha.
Still, there’s something satisfying about it. I might not be painting masterpieces, but I’m tweaking thumbnails and headlines like my life depends on it. Call it my version of art therapy.
Ok, maybe not lol.
Haha 'Art Therapy' is a great way to put it, Terry. I’ve only ever scratched the surface with paid ads myself - probably why I still think of “creative” in the literal sense. But hearing how it really works makes sense. Sounds like there’s more science than art to it… which, honestly, is kind of reassuring.
Thanks man!
@jamalsach1 nothing wrong with ‘noob’ questions Jamal 
Terry's pretty much covered this off tbh. I can offer my take though ... I’ve run a fair few ad campaigns over the years, and “creative” almost always means the asset set - image, video, and copy variations - that you you put through A/B testing.
The testing part’s the real grind. You’ll find one version outperforms the rest for a while, then performance drops as people get used to seeing it. That’s ad fatigue kicking in, so you rotate in a fresh creative and start testing again - different image, angle, or even subtle copy tweak.
It’s not the glamorous side of marketing, but keeping your creatives fresh is what keeps the numbers moving. The clever idea only works if the execution still gets attention.
@jordysg thanks Jordy. I’m still looking at Rumble but holding off paid ads for now. Too much going on atm!