6 tips to help your computer marketing creative shine

person with computer in lap

Most advertisers are faced with a number of important decisions when creating the right advertising campaigns that will draw in audiences. How can they best craft creative that will reach relevant customers at the best times? Based on average results from 26K Amazon DSP static ad creatives run in the U.S., Amazon Ads developed six tips to help brands who want to better reach shoppers of computers and accessories. To check which product categories these recommendations are relevant for, refer to the list of audience segments at the bottom of the page. These tips could help brands to test what works best for their specific use case and position themselves to create more dynamic computer marketing campaigns that engage new audiences.

The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for these tips include click-through rate (CTR), detail page view rate (DPVR), purchase rate (PR), and return on ad spend (ROAS), which are important metrics for ensuring advertisers are making ads that resonate with audiences.

Here’s how using insights to select the best images, text, and colors could help brands create more impactful ads:

1. Consider avoiding discount messaging

Though it may seem counterintuitive, ad creative without discount messaging actually increases the average CTR by 10% in the Computer & Accessories category. Discount messaging such as "Save up to X%” and “Subscribe and Save” should be reflected in the ad copy and on the landing page, but when thinking of the brand marketing strategy for these products, note that overly promotional messaging could actually be detrimental in the visual ads.

2. Showcase the product

One thing is consistent across KPIs: There is an increase in performance if there is not a human shown in the creatives. Ads without a human showed an increase in average CTR by 10%, an increase in average detail page view rate (DPVR) by 11%, and an increase in average purchase rate (PR) by 23%. When it comes to selling computers, many customers want to focus on the products.

3. Think of the larger audience

Consider avoiding pronouns when addressing customers. Creatives without pronouns that directly address audiences had an increase in average DPVR of 21% and an increase in average PR of 29%. Computer ads should effectively present the products and gadgets that are being sold without the need of pronouns.

4. The word count matters

For PR and ROAS-driven campaigns, the number of words in the ad matters. Want to know exactly how many words? If possible, use 17 words or more. This comes with the caveat that all the words must be relevant and concise. Creatives with 17 or more words showed an average PR of +15% higher than those with 10 words or less. Also, remember to always adhere to Ad Policy guidelines on the required legibility and minimum font size.

5. More objects can help

For computer ads, showing multiple objects can be a good idea. Ads with eight or more objects outperformed ads with five or less, so don’t hesitate to fill up any dead space in creatives. Creatives with eight or more objects had average PR of +11% higher and an average detail page view rate of +10% higher than those with five objects or less. Specifically, consider showcasing objects that are clearly identifiable as their own element, with a distinct outline and shape. So, what should a brand do if they are advertising just one product? Think about where that product might be in a customer’s home and what related accessories they could want, as well. Filling up the space with other objects could help the customer envision the product. Also, it does include multiple objects in multiple portions of the ad, such as the logo, background, and text. And always make sure to follow Ad Policy guidelines on cluttered creative.

6. Color selection is important

The ideal color scheme for ads will differ based on the KPIs being prioritized for computer ad campaigns. For an increased CTR, the best color combination is a dark background and foreground (which includes both images and text), and low top-to-bottom color variation. Any other combinations of bright and dark coloring saw a decrease in average CTR between 7% and 13%.

However, to optimize for purchase rate or return on ad spend, use a bright background and foreground (and again, the foreground includes both images and text). That combination saw average PR increase by 21% over creatives with dark backgrounds and dark foregrounds.

See these tips in action

Here are examples of what ads could look like after the following Amazon Ads’ tips, including a darker color scheme, showing more objects, and increasing word count. There are even more display ads examples and tips available, as well.

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  • A dark background and foreground
  • Low top to bottom color variation
  • Foreground includes images and text
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  • Multiple objects on a distinct background
  • No human in the image
  • Has text and a logo
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  • Over 17 words
  • Multiple objects without cluttering the creative
  • A bright background and foreground with text

How Amazon Ads sourced these insights

The category insights used here were generated by capturing design elements from 26,000 creative image files across four categories from within the U.S. from 2018 to 2020. Creatives were separated into verticals according to their audiences. Statistical and machine learning models then looked at the impact of design elements on awareness, consideration, and purchase KPIs. Creative performance was adjusted to remove the contribution of confounding effects such as placement, serving frequency, etc.

Audience segments included in the analysis: laptops, desktops, tablets, keyboards & mice, monitors/projectors, hard drives/storage/memory cards, printers & supplies, wireless routers/home networking, electronic accessories, pc gaming & audio hardware/microphones.

Learn more about consumer electronics marketing and explore other ways to improve ad campaigns for a variety of other types of categories, including groceries and baby products.