Mikael Friis

Many people will probably look at the title and be perplexed, because why would you not brand your own direct response campaigns? Isn’t that the purpose; Not only to generate sales but build the brand to support retention? I would completely understand their point of view. On the other hand, there are huge advantages by running unbranded DR campaigns. First off, you are not limited to brand guidelines. Secondly, it’s easier to run Black Hat campaigns…. (Yes, I mentioned “BLACK HAT” and it sounds grim, but it doesn’t have to be).   If you have ever run a Black Hat initiative, you will know that they can be hugely successful (often only in the short run). They tend to have an expiry date just when the performance peaks.     Not Sticking to Brand guidelines Brand guidelines are in place for a reason, a very good reason to be honest. If Coca-Cola started using Pepsi colours in their marketing, this would confuse the consumer. If they started using a tone of voice ...

Consider you want to generate leads online and your preferred marketing channel is Facebook. Targeting and creatives are catered for, but you are unsure of the data collection process. The main objective is to get leads that are likely to convert at the lowest possible price. How should you proceed? As always there is no right answer to this, however there are certain things to consider before deciding on a lead gen model. Let’s start looking at each of the models and the pros and cons associated with using them. Lead ads By far the easiest setup. No website required. Facebook lead ads hold the lowest barrier to entry. All that is needed is a Facebook page and access to an ad account.   PROS Less friction: People don’t have to leave Facebook to submit their information.  Pre-populated form: Essential details (i.e. name, e-mail, phone number) will be populated by Facebook. From being served the ad, it is possible to submit data with only 2 clicks.     F...

Testing should be a daily part for any marketer, as even small changes to a setup can harvest huge results.  A/B testing is one of the most important things to improve performance of your ads and should always be practised in some kind of way, but there can be situations where it is known that a specific creative (combination of image/video, post copy, headline and CTA) is a good ad or a creative has been created by an agency or in-house designers without any variations. There are plenty of scenarios where this strategy can be applied. To make sure that this particular creative will go live and have the best possible chance to perform as intended, there are ways to artificially boost the initial performance.   I call it an A/A test hack, and it evolves 4+ identical ads in one ad set.  As you don't want to miss out on the engagement from the losing ads, make sure that you are using the same post ID on all ads. By pushing 4 or more identical ads ...