Dynamic Creative: Don’t Set It and Forget It

Surprisingly, according to Google Trends, it’s already time to think about back-to-college shopping. As I prepared for the season, I turned to Google to see what advertisers have started marketing this year’s dorm room essentials. To my surprise, I saw very few advertisers taking advantage of this seasonal opportunity.

However, one ad from Cosmopolitan caught my eye. It featured a headline for “63 Dorm Room Essentials to Buy in 2023″—but we’re in 2024. Why did this happen? Let’s dive in to uncover the reason behind this oversight and learn a valuable lesson about dynamic ad creative.

Scanning the SERP

Here’s the ad I stumbled upon:

The ad seemed relevant to my query, but it was obviously outdated. Curious, I clicked through to learn more. As expected, the page content also referenced the year 2023. It became clear that this paid ad had been left up all year.

Getting to the Source of the Issue

Upon examining the tracking URL, I noticed it was a Performance Max campaign. For those unfamiliar, Performance Max is a dynamic ad type that combines text and images to create versatile ads. It even allows for the dynamic insertion of headlines. You can read more about that here.

The page title confirmed my suspicions: “63 Dorm Essentials to Buy in 2023.” This ad was likely intended to be seasonal rather than evergreen. While evergreen ads can be effective, they run the risk of appearing outdated if not properly maintained.

Interestingly, the ad description mentioned 2024, suggesting that some content had been updated while the headline had not. A closer look at the page’s source code revealed no mention of “Best of 2024”. This means this section of the ad was likely changed. Also, since the copy was quite generic it was likely also reused on multiple product and recommendation pages for the site.

Don’t Set and Forget Your Ad Strategy

This ad exemplifies what can go wrong when advertisers rely heavily on dynamic insertion without regular oversight. While having the wrong year isn’t the worst mistake, it can create a negative impression and reflect poorly on the advertiser’s attention to detail.

Ensuring your ads remain current and relevant is vital for maintaining credibility and effectiveness. Don’t let the convenience of dynamic insertion lead to complacency—regular updates and reviews are key to a successful ad strategy.

If you’d like assistance in ensuring your ads convey the correct message and avoid potential pitfalls, feel free to schedule a 15-minute strategy session with me by visiting the contact page.