Avoid This Deadly Beginner Mistake When Making Video Ads and Kill the 1001-Aspect Production Debates
Here's a real-life example that can save your first steps with video ads from stumbling and failing.
What people often get wrong when creating video ads, when the experience is not there yet:
"I have to cram every feature of my offer into this ad video!"
Here's a real example of "dangerous boss comment from the sidelines, super well meant, but puts the entire video production and project success at risk": a hyperbusy boss fires off a feedback email between meetings to his inexperienced video team about the first in-house video ads:
"Great that you're shooting a video! I've got some copy input: I'd love to get across that you can get not only A and B from us, but also C, D and F, G, H all the way to I and J."
Here's the advice email I blasted to all stakeholders in seconds, before the team went down a rabbit hole and burned resources:
"
Yes, let's explain everything long term, but let's not try to pack every angle into one ad right away: that tends to create confusion.
For the start: as FEW angles as possible in ONE ad. Happy to run 5 different ads with 5 different angles. And later, sure, a remix of ads 1 to 5 into one super-ad that covers every angle.
But for the start, get strong at communicating ONE SINGLE ANGLE crystal clear.
Meaning not "you can do A and B and C with us, or D and E and F, or G".
But: You can do A with us.
You have problem A, here's solution A.
You have pain A, here's solution A.
…
That way we learn to communicate each point well: after that we can remix them into a symphony.
If we try to communicate everything in one ad right away, the odds go up that we get lost and wonder why NO AD WORKS. Happens constantly, up and down the country: that's why some players in the market can successfully differentiate from 100 other providers who never nail this clarity.
Happy Optimizing,
John
"
Yeah, of course I know we all want to communicate every great feature and benefit as fast as possible to wow customers with our versatility and trustworthiness: but it just does not work.
I have the same problem as an agency boss: I'd love to communicate every angle of our marketing service spectrum at once, but it does not work.
So in this article I'll stick to a single point:
We can optimize your video ad scripts.
Optimized video ads are a key building block in a working communication chain.
And even if you "like" your video ads, and everyone else in your company is "happy with them": there's a real chance your video ads are relative junk, drag your marketing performance into the abyss, and ultimately stop you from pulling significantly ahead of the competition. Instead you sink into the market's swamp of mediocrity, your marketing efficiency drops, your margins get marginalized, and in the end you collapse into insolvency.
And then nobody wants to have been the one.
But before that, everyone wanted to know how to make video ads.
Seen it too often.
Video ads remain a challenge for everyone involved, and just because our world is full of YouTube videos, Instagram Reels, TikToks and other shorts: we have not suddenly all become experts in viral videos, nor in targeted video ads.
Even the difference between videos for organic reach and videos for paid ads is at best vaguely clear to most people.
So I don't water down the topic here, I should write a separate article on that:
What differences between a video ad and video content for organic reach do I need to watch in production?
So for this article, remember just one thing:
For a strong start with video ads, begin by communicating a single pain point and its solution.
Formula time: time for the magic formula that saves marketing managers and video producers' asses by shutting the boss up
If you're in discussion stress over video ads right now and your boss's wishlist is spiraling, just copy this image and drop it in the company chat 😇
Bonus level: 💎 Knowledge diamonds for video ad managers 🎬
If you want more knowledge, check out the other knowledge diamonds on efficient production of effective ad videos in the McGrinsey Mag too: 💎 Knowledge diamonds for video ad managers 🎬
