The Creative Spending Conundrum

It should go without saying that nothing matters more to the top of your funnel than your visuals. Photo and video is how you make a first impression: it’s how you tell a potential customer what you’re all about and why they should buy into the lifestyle your products offer.

Before your products get to shine and retain their loyalty, your marketing and creative has to be spot on to get their attention.

Great, impactful creative for your business requires a well thought out spending strategy. Why? It’s simple. How you spend your cash will dictate the quality, impact, and lifetime value of that creative.

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A CMO or VP of Brand holds the responsibility of the budget, consistently prioritizing the most valuable items for their strategies.

While success may sometimes feel like a 7-figure Super Bowl spot, reality is more aligned with compounded value from a typical 6-figure creative budget annually. Ultimately, the most important question one can ask is “How else can I spend this budget to get the most out of what is possible?”

While the specifics will vary from brand to brand, we know that an average incremental spend 5-7 times per year is the sweet spot. This investment at this cadence is powerful for a few reasons.

First, distributing your 6-figure budget across projects gives your creative teams breathing room to do their best without constraint. And you want them to do their best, right?

Secondly, at this budget, you can walk away from a single project with photos, videos, and UGC for every application: new product launches, organic social, web, paid media, and more, and all at the same time. You’ll be able to have models, wardrobe, props, and locations too!

Lastly, doing several of these projects per year will allow you to test and learn with an invested partner who cares about your success.

The cadence of projects is important so that you can iterate on what is working well and not be stuck with creatives if they aren’t performing.

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At this level, you’re not just hitting the top of the funnel either: this creative investment will carry through your entire funnel. Cohesion is a major part of building consumer trust, and developing creative that is unique to your brand and tells a beautiful, consistent story is a necessary part in breaking down the silos between brand and performance marketing.

When you consider the impact, the effort and planning needed to succeed, with the right partner alongside, is a no brainer.

At the end of the day, your brand is only as good as the story you share. How you approach your creative spending strategy will make or break your first impression and your long-term impact. Don’t spend once, spend many times, and measure the value along the way!

You get to control the dials to pivot or change, or to adjust increments of spending as needed. Invest wisely and show the world that your brand is one that they cannot live without.  

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