Insights
Our Best Performing Ads of 2023 (And Why They Work)
Building the right advertising strategy for your campaign requires uniting deep audience insights, brilliant creative and a highly targeted approach. Our team works tirelessly to produce the best possible outcomes for our clients, so the greatest reward is when we are able to see their goals met. Take an inside look at our top performing ads of 2023 and the insights that made these campaigns so successful.
Insight #1: Elevate connection through authenticity, especially with Gen Z
Our recent research underscores that Gen Z places more trust in employees than in executive or HR spokespeople. These campaigns strategically capitalized on this trust dynamic to pique interest.
Client: Washington Healthcare Authority
Campaign Goal: Recruit new behavioral health workers to the profession
QT Campaign Lead: Deb Warren
Why it was successful: Deciding to become a behavioral health professional is a personal decision – most people who enter the field have some type of personal or family connection that drives them to give back. We leveraged real behavioral health workers in TikTok day-in-the-life videos to show an authentic look inside the career path, making this the most clicked on ad of the campaign.
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Client: Build Oregon
Campaign Goal: Recruit the next generation into the skilled trades
QT Campaign lead: Kristin MacRostie
Why it was successful: In this impactful advertisement, a local Gen Z construction worker authentically shares his excitement for building things while actively working on the job. What sets this ad apart is its unscripted nature. Among the ten ads in the campaign, this video accounted for nearly half of the total clicks on Meta and boasted the highest click-through rate of the campaign.
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Insight #2: Take viewers “behind the scenes” to create curiosity and drive engagement
Creatively positioning ads as a sneak peek into a place or topic they might not normally get to experience captures attention.
Client: Port of Vancouver USA
Goal: Build a positive brand for Port of Vancouver in SW Washington
QT Campaign Lead: Hailey Swalley
Why it was successful: The imagery focuses on all the high-energy activity happening behind the scenes at the port that Vancouver residents don’t see day-to-day. Its bold, live-action video is paired with copy that ties the port’s activities to residents’ interests – sustainability, community enhancement and cool products moving through the port. It educates nearby residents on something they’ve likely always wondered about – adding a surprising “did you know?” element to the ad that kept the audience engaged and resulted in 2x the industry standard view rate.
Insight #3: Harness the power of third-party research for campaign success
The best performing campaigns always start with detailed audience research, and this campaign leveraged those insights to grab three different audiences’ attention.
Client: Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife
Campaign goal: Increase awareness of Oregon’s poaching problem
QT Campaign lead: MK Marti
Why it was successful: The impactful headline, “Future generations deserve to experience Oregon’s fish and wildlife,” wasn’t created in a vacuum. Campaign message concepts underwent rigorous testing, beginning with a statewide survey of over 1,000 Oregon residents. These concepts were then validated through focus groups with local hunters and anglers, recreationists, and conservationists; and paired with third-party research and imagery tailored to each distinct audience. Unsurprisingly, these ads delivered strong click through rates three times higher than than the industry average and drive thousands of clicks to the campaign website.
Insight #4: Prioritize accessibility in design
Making digital ads accessible can make them easier and more compelling to engage with, as with this campaign.
Client: Lane Electric Cooperative
Campaign Goal: Increase members wildfire preparedness
QT Campaign Lead: Hailey Swalley
2023 PRSA Oregon Spotlight Award Winning Campaign
Why it was successful: This video ad has double the industry standard clickthrough rate. It features bright, high contrast visuals that quickly grab and hold attention. In just 30 seconds, it distills down a complicated, emotional subject that’s top-of-mind for LEC’s audience into very simple and easy-to-follow steps. Content was developed leveraging trauma-informed communications best practices to make the content accessible for an audience that has already experienced deadly wildfires.