Higher ROAS through strong creatives

Whether you're a start-up or an established brand, they all have one thing in common: They need creatives who perform. But how do you develop scalable creatives that strengthen both conversion and brand image? That is exactly what this analysis is about.

In a podcast conversation with Laura Neudert, an experienced strategist in the area of creative production, it became clear that successful creative strategies are not a product of chance. It requires a system, structure and a deep understanding of target groups — no matter how big or well-known the brand is.

Listen to the podcast episode with Laura Neudert here:

Different brands — similar challenges

Whether you're working with a young e-commerce start-up or an internationally known brand, the basic questions often remain the same:

• How do you generate new ideas that don't look like any other ad?
• How do you test creatives effectively without losing track of things?
• How do you create structures that enable both speed and quality?

The key lies in a structured creative process that picks up everyone involved — from the idea to evaluation.

The creative process: clarity before creativity

Before the first ad is even created, successful teams have deep dive into the brand, the target group and their language. Only when you understand how the target group thinks, speaks and feels, can you develop creatives that are really relevant.

During the conversation, it became clear that good ad strategies are not created in the ad library — but through real research. Review platforms, customer feedback, post-purchase surveys, or organic content help build real user understanding.

Testing: structure beats intuition

Ad tests are often planned based on gut feeling rather than with a clear hypothesis. Even simple structures — such as iterations on best performers, A/B tests with hooks or visual variants — can ensure that learnings are visible more quickly.

The following applies: Iteration does not mean recycling an ad to exhaustion. Successful teams rely on clever variants — e.g. with different creators, new visuals or a completely new arrangement of ad elements.

Performance & Branding: No contradiction

A recurring mistake: seeing performance and branding as opposites. The best creatives work right in between. The combination of a clear value proposition and a look & feel that fits the brand ensures recognition — and conversion.

It is important to develop a core narrative that runs through all assets. This not only ensures consistent messaging, but also helps the algorithm understand more quickly what it's about.

Creative Ops: No scale without structure

Creative processes often involve more operational effort than many think. Feedback loops, asset management, content production, voting — anyone who doesn't have a clear system here loses speed and overview. Especially with larger customer structures, clean workflows and defined roles are needed.

Tools, dashboards and clearly timed feedback rounds are not optional, but mandatory. The better the collaboration between creative and performance teams, the faster an idea becomes a scalable format.

Conclusion: The best creatives are no accident

Anyone who really wants to scale — whether as a start-up or a big brand — needs more than good ideas. It requires a clear creative process, data-based testing, operational setup and above all: a deep understanding of the target group.

Today's advertising world is no longer about “more creatives,” but about the right ones. And they are created where structure and creativity meet.

How DatAds helps implement creative strategies in a scalable way

Good creative processes also need good tools. With DatAds, creative and performance teams analyze in seconds which creatives are working — across channels on Meta, TikTok and YouTube. The software helps to structure tests, make learnings visible and plan the next iteration based on data.

Especially for teams that produce many assets and have to make well-founded decisions, DatAds provides the clarity that is often missing in everyday creative work.

‍