Think of the times you’ve received a gift, both from someone that didn’t know you and from someone that did. Of course, any gift is appreciated, but one that’s hand-picked by someone that knows you feels special. A gift that you actually want isn’t just useful; it’s personal and thoughtful. 

Now think of your digital ads as gifts — the more personal you can get with them, the more thoughtful they’re going to feel to users. Whereas advertising of the past was driven by sales-y tactics, data-inspired advertising of today has the power to not only create conversations, but connections. 

Your ultimate ad goal is qualified leads and sales, and with the right mix of creative and data, you can get there.

Data Makes Things More Personal

Everything you do is based on data, from the homes you build to the way you post on social media. As machine learning continues to advance, it might seem that the need for innovative, creative minds would diminish — but quite the opposite.

Essentially, technology creates better tools for creativity to be effective, so marketing campaigns have more potential than ever — as long as you use those tools creatively. 

When your ads are analyzed the right way, you can determine what isn’t working, and spend more time focusing on what is working. With data providing objective answers about consumer behavior, you have more time and information to fuel creative ideas that increase qualified leads and sales.

Ultimate Form of Personalization

When you correctly merge the “science” of an ad with engaging creative, users actually appreciate being marketed to. Yes, ads can be enjoyable! Just ask g2’s vice president, Matt Riley — after purchasing a pair of shoes almost a year ago from Gary Vaynerchuk’s line, a certain ad immediately caught his eye…

Here, Vaynerchuk is holding up a pair of shoes with copy about Matt’s actual shoe size. An excellent example of personalization, this ad doesn’t feel empty, arbitrary, and fed to the masses — it feels unique, customized, and fun. As opposed to simply scrolling by, Matt said this ad certainly made him stop.

“Great marketing has always been about the buyer, and as data sources advance, we know even more about them,” Matt says. “The more we know, the better we can relate to them and communicate with them on a personal level, and tap into what they really care about.” 

What You Can Do

With the power of both advanced data and creativity at your disposal, there are effective ways to get more personal with your ads. For instance, brands are now tailoring the content of their YouTube ads to what users were previously watching. 

Take a look at lip-care company Abreva — using new marketing technology, the company created 119 versions of the same ad, each one with customized copy. For users watching makeup tutorials, their personalized Abreva ad said: “Keep looking radiant, but lose cold sores.” For users browsing celebrity gossip videos, their ad said: “You can’t get rid of celebrity breakups, but you can get rid of cold sores in 2.5 days.” 

Believe it or not, you can create ads with the very same personalization effect. This could be as simple as one video with 12 iterations of copy that’s tailored to specific people and the category they’re viewing. “If the challenge used to be ‘tell a story that emotionally connects with a first-time buyer,’ now it’s more like ‘tell a story that emotionally connects with a first-time buyer who loves dogs, does yoga, is enrolled in a masters program’ and so on,” says Georgia Castellano, g2’s creative director. “Now we can tell a stronger, more relevant story.”

Data-Inspired Creativity is More Emotional

Hands down, a home is the most personal and emotional purchase that anyone can make. This means that as builders and advertisers, we need to constantly figure out ways to tap into feelings and make connections through the right mix of data and creative.

When users get served the information that they actually need, they’re able to make informed decisions about what to purchase. “Smarter buyers” translate to qualified leads, and qualified leads mean increased sales. Make your users feel known and heard, and they’ll respond more positively than ever.

“Data-inspired creativity is more emotional because you’re able to get personal,” says Georgia. “It’s almost like we’re saying ‘we think you would really like this because we really know you,’ and that essentially puts the user in control — which you would never think an ad could do!”