Why Your Ad Rep Lies To You, And How To Get Real Value From Them

by Carlo Burriesci

Whether you're running ads in-house or working for an agency, there's one thing you simply can't escape: account reps.

While they can be valuable partners, it's crucial to understand their limitations—and how to leverage their strengths

The Biggest Lie: In Platform Revenue

If there's one thing we've learned as marketers, it's that in-platform revenue almost always overestimates the true value brought to our clients via those platforms.

Why’s that? Because platforms want to take the credit for sales they likely played only a small role in landing.

We can’t stress enough the importance of getting your business/clients on a multi-touch platform (we recommend Northbeam, though tools like TripleWhale and Rockerbox work too) to break down the proportion of credit each platform deserves for sale. 

This is easily one of the most frequent pushbacks we make to our account reps on our regular calls. 

“In-Platform Revenue Looks Great…So Spend More”

This is a pain point with Google reps in particular. We get reports boasting strong ROAS and revenue, with the all-too predictable conclusion that we should be spending more.

If you're running even a bit of spend on Branded Search Terms... well, you know why these top-line numbers deserve a (huge) grain of salt.

When on calls with our Google reps, we make a point to push back on the revenue numbers they are reporting on and ask them how much is coming from branded search.

(It’s also worth bringing up to your rep that Paid Branded might be cannibalizing from organic search… but that’s a topic for another newsletter).

Making the Most of Your Reps

Now that we understand the limitations of in-platform reporting, let's look at how to maximize the value your account reps can actually provide.

Faster Support

It's always good to have someone in your corner fighting for you and your clients. On Meta, for example, we've had ad disapprovals that support could not resolve on their own.

Having an open channel to expedite these types of requests has made roadblocks much easier to resolve.

Reporting That Can Inform Strategy

Even if reps want to play up ad performance on their platform, their internal reporting can still be helpful for strategy.

For example, we recently had our Google rep prepare a Brand and Category Index report to see which States had the biggest growth opportunity for one of our clients. The report used Search Volume on our client’s brand name product category to determine this opportunity.

With this information, we feel more confident to launch geo-targeted campaigns (and then use our third-party platforms to measure performance, of course!).

Beta Testing

At Astronaut Party, we're all about testing new tools for our clients.

We make it clear to our account reps to include us in any upcoming beta tests; this not only builds goodwill for our account reps, but also keeps us on the vanguard of the latest happenings in the digital marketing space! 

Five Tactics For Successful Holiday Ad Creative

by Loren Duzett

There’s no doubt about it, the busiest time for marketers is here: the holiday season. What creative practices should you consider to make your brand stand out? Here are some tips to make sure your creative is making the festive impact it should for the season.

1. TICK-TOCK! YOU NEED TO READ THIS TIP NOW!

How did that title make you feel? If it made you want to read more about the urgency, then it did its job.

Creating hype and urgency in your seasonal campaign is key to getting more people engaged with your brand. Use limited-time offers or exclusive deals to create an “act now!” feeling.

How about including a countdown timer in your newsletter?

You’ve got great news and fantastic deals, so hype them up! And if this stirs a little FOMO, you can be sure they’ll be more interested in what you have to offer. 

2. Embrace the Festivities 🎃🎄🐇🍂🎊

Lean into the seasonal colors that align with your brand. There are a ton of fun thematic colors for brands to lean into that will give different vibes for the season.

For a traditional Christmas feel, think green and red; for a Winter Wonderland vibe, consider blue, white, or silver!

One current trend I’ve noticed this season is the Pink Christmas craze.

If you have products that match these themes, now's your time to shine. Think about what aesthetic your audience would resonate with and lean into it.

3. Don’t Forget What’s Worked

Trends are like fashion—a constant evolution of what’s worked, and ditching what doesn’t.

Do your homework and identify what has stood the test of time. For the holiday season, try putting your products on a “Christmas Wishlist” as a way of contextualizing your offerings for the holiday season.

Or go big on nostalgia and showcase products that spark memories.

Sometimes the most effective campaigns aren't about chasing the latest trend, but rather putting a fresh spin on timeless holiday themes that resonate year after year.

4. Reimagine Your Current Creative Assets

No budget for another product shoot? Not a problem.

Work with your ad designer to reimagine existing assets. Transform product photos into a Christmas tree arrangement, or add some holiday sparkle with twinkling effects. It's about getting creative with what you have.

5. Make the Connection!

User-generated content (UGC) is your secret weapon during the busy season.

Authentic clips resonate, as they showcase real customers sharing their experiences with your brand. Consider ideas like “Holiday Haul 2024,” where customers can unbox and reveal your brand products, capturing the excitement of receiving them as gifts.

You could also encourage users to share their unique ways of incorporating your products into their holiday traditions. The more genuine and relatable the content is, the stronger the connection you’ll foster with your audience!

Don’t wait until the last minute to kick off your seasonal creative—now is a great time to start testing! This holiday season, we can expect ad traffic to increase and we know that customers will be looking for reasons to buy! 

5 Easy Ways to Boost Conversion

by Lukas B. Snelling

Every store owner dreams of higher conversion rates. But let's skip the guesswork and focus on what the data tells us actually works. After analyzing hundreds of eCommerce stores, here are the tactics that consistently deliver results.

1. Watch What Your Customers Actually Do 👀

You might think you know how visitors use your site, but you'd be surprised. I know a Shopify store owner who discovered their "decorative" sales banner was getting frantically clicked by visitors, and it wasn't even supposed to be clickable!

Once they made it functional, that single banner drove hundreds of new orders.

The truth is, customers rarely behave the way we expect them to. Get yourself a heat mapping tool and prepare to have your assumptions challenged.

2. Fix Your Checkout Flow (Where Money Goes to Die) 🛒

Common conversion killers we see in checkout flows:

• Forcing account creation before purchase

• Hidden shipping costs until the final step

• Complicated navigation between steps (slide out to another cart, or cart to upsell to checkout)

• Lack of payment options

The data is clear: every additional step in your checkout process can cost you up to 10% of your conversions. Simplicity wins, every time.

3. Let Them Tell You Why They Don’t Buy 🚪

Exit-intent surveys are your secret weapon for understanding why visitors leave. The key is asking the right questions at the right moment. These responses are pure gold for your optimization efforts - they'll tell you exactly what's broken and what needs fixing first. Try using a tool like Zigpoll to ask, “Hesitant to buy? Tell us why.” Their responses become the content you need to add to drive conversions.

4. Make Your CTAs Stand Out 👆

Your call-to-action strategy needs to focus on these key elements:

• Position: Keep important buttons above the fold

• Contrast: Make them visually pop against your background

• Clarity: Use action-oriented, clear language (clear not clever)

• Size: Big enough to spot, not so big it's overwhelming

• Mobile optimization: Easily tappable on smaller screens

• No Distractions or Movement: Does your homepage have a slider? You are creating the paradox of choice rather than driving people to convert.

If your visitors can't easily find your CTAs, nothing else matters. Have one, and rarely two, clear next steps at all times. Remember it is a funnel, it should be obvious what you want them to do next.

5. Use Customer Language in Copy ✍️

Stop writing what you think sounds good and start writing what works. The most effective product descriptions and landing pages use language pulled directly from customer feedback.

When you align your messaging with how customers actually think and talk about your products, conversion rates typically jump by 15-30%. 

Test different angles. Focus on professional benefits for B2B products, lifestyle improvements for consumer goods, or specific pain points for problem-solving products.

The Bottom Line

The beauty of these tactics? They're all based on real customer behavior, not theory. Pick one, implement it this week, and watch your data for the impact.

Remember: your customers are telling you what they want. You just need to listen. 

Joke of the Week

What is a room where ghosts aren’t allowed?

The living room.