Every now and then, we stumble upon an ad that truly impresses us, making us wonder how they pulled it off. These ads have the power to inspire us, urging us to dream bigger and strive for greatness. They create a buzz worldwide, taking the internet by storm.

Remember Spotify's listening habits ad campaign? 

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Spotify's own in-house advertising team handled the creative for this one. Each billboard showcased relatable and quirky listening habits of its users.

The best ads are the ones that connect with users, brighten their day, and leave a lasting impression. But let's face it, creating such ads isn't easy. For us ordinary folks, caught up in the whirlwind of managing a bustling marketing team and a designer swamped with requests, the path to creative brilliance can often feel elusive.

In the midst of handling an avalanche of hundreds or even thousands of creatives for your ad campaign, creativity often finds itself relegated to the backseat. So, how can you make your ad campaign stand out with a small team and limited budget?

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Creative automation: A hidden gem?

The age-old question of "to automate or not to automate" is no longer a puzzle in the realm of creative marketing. In fact, a whopping 91% of marketing automation users firmly believe that automation plays a vital role in the overall success of their online creative marketing ideas.

Navigating through repetitive creative variations, countless ad hoc requests, and the ceaseless demand to test novel copy, elements, and CTAs can drain the energy of any creative marketing team. Designers and marketers alike find themselves constantly experimenting and fine-tuning their strategies with fresh content to capture audience interest. This never-ending cycle can be both exhausting and unforgiving, leaving little room for appreciation.

The good news is, this is not 1978 anymore. Today, both big players and budding brands have implemented AI and creative automation in various facets of their business strategies, including creative marketing.

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How does creative automation work?

Much like in every sense of the word, automation basically means using technology to perform tasks automatically, thereby saving time and effort. In the context of creative marketing ideas and ad creation, automation works in multiple ways.

At the heart of every marketing campaign lies the ultimate objective: crafting ads that deliver tangible results. Achieving this entails experimenting with different designs and messages, as well as creating personalized ads for specific regions and channels. This involves generating multiple ad variations in various sizes, formats, captivating copy, striking designs, and, if necessary, even adapting to different languages.

With ad automation, you can automate each part of your ad creation process, from design to distribution. Right from using AI to create images with a few words and generating multiple variations of them in different sizes and designs to creating quirky copy that suits each platform, there’s a lot these tools can do

Now, let's explore the benefits of these automation tools and see how they can help you create effective ads in the world of creative marketing.

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Run localized ads in a fraction of the time

You need to run the right ad with the right audience at the right time. No doubt, speed is of the essence here. Plus, you don’t have time to reinvent the wheel every time and start from scratch. Creative automation helps you hit a chord with your audience by changing up your creative copy and design to suit their taste. So how do you do it? 

With just a few simple steps, you can effortlessly make sweeping edits to your design elements, from images to CTAs and colors. This means you can create numerous variations of your master creative in no time.

Certain ad automation software goes the extra mile with copy guidance and AI-powered language translation. This feature provides you with multiple copy options and the ability to connect better with your audience by leveraging regional languages.

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Design better, smarter, and faster

Designers often struggle to keep up with the increasing demand for creatives in every ad campaign. Meanwhile, managers find themselves at the mercy of an already overwhelmed designer, seeking their expertise for every design whim. Automation helps you and your design team relax by providing you with the right tools and tactics to make this a bit (or a lot!) easier. 

With the help of generative AI tools, all you need to do is describe the image you have in mind. Simply type in something like "Generate an image of a giraffe riding a unicycle while juggling watermelons," and the system will automatically create the design for you.

You can also use existing preset templates, connect to brand guidelines, or create a custom template of your own. This way, you can cut down on time and focus on the finer details of your design without starting from square one, all the while maintaining brand consistency without a second thought. 

Many creative automation tools also integrate with popular design software like Figma and Illustrator, allowing you to import designs directly and seamlessly work on them without switching between multiple tools.

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Creative optimization at a glance

Every ad campaign and creative endeavor has one ultimate goal: conversion and engagement. And when it comes to achieving that goal, every little detail matters. Should you adopt a lively tone? Include cute cat images? Or maybe your audience prefers a straightforward approach?

Rather than solely relying on intuition (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), why not turn to data? By analyzing historical and real-time data from various platforms and audiences, creative insights provide recommendations on the best colors, tones, images, and copy that will truly resonate with your audience. When each creative variation is backed by data, your chances of achieving positive results and establishing a stronger connection with your audience significantly improve.

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Better workflows for better creatives

‘Don't want to wait in long lines at the hospital? 

Introducing our new Impatient Treatment Center, just for you!’

Sometimes we get lucky and our spelling mistakes go unnoticed. But when people do notice, it can either be hilarious, like Snickers' intentional spelling errors campaign, or tarnish your brand’s image. And when our luck runs out, it could even lead to product recalls.

But it doesn’t have to be the case when you can simply automate everything with spell check and other proofing tools. These tools can help you streamline your entire creative workflow, providing annotations, proofing features, and even task progress tracking. They ensure everything is in order, even when you're swamped and can't keep an eye on every detail.

These tools also take care of your workflow and distribution process by allowing you to publish your creatives directly to different social platforms and websites. It's truly surprising how, despite the availability of automation, many of us still cling to manual work and subject ourselves to unnecessary stress.

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Wrapping up

The competition in the ad world is fierce. Your brand needs to stand out with the right ad and strategy, but it’s hard to do that with a creative process that is all over the place and a marketing and design team that is stretched to its limits.

That's where creative automation comes in. It not only streamlines the entire ad creation process but also provides several advantages, including:

• Faster time to market. 
• Creative optimization.
• Reduced and increased productivity. 
• Brand compliance and accuracy.

If you’re interested to see firsthand how creative automation can make your ad campaigns better, give Artwork Flow a try. Get a demo or sign up for a plan today.

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