Black Star Pastry

129% Increase in Meta Ads CTRs with Video Ads

When your client is home to the most Instagrammed cake in the world, it’s easy to assume that this would make generating ad creatives a (literal) piece of cake.

But whilst a fancy product does open doors for fancier brand assets, it’s just untapped potential if your execution doesn't align with Meta’s algorithmic standards for a solid ad. 

Pretty doesn’t equal high-converting, and aesthetics don’t automatically make a creative good. Historically speaking, Black Star Pastry (aka. the creator of world-famous Strawberry Watermelon Cake) has always leaned into the beauty of static images to do the heavy lifting across their Paid Social ads.

And with a cake range this enticing, why not?

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But over the past six months, we decided to flip the script and test the power of video content, challenging the norm and seeing if we could level things up more.

‍Spoiler alert: We did.

The Results:

Our primary goal? Smash Black Star Pastry’s KPI of 5 ROAS on Meta Ads.

Our secondary goal? To prove that although a picture speaks a thousand words, a video tells the whole story. By giving customers a more immersive, authentic, and sensory experience, we hypothesised that videos would convince viewers to try out Black Star Pastry cakes more. 

Looking at YoY metrics as of September 2024, we’ve officially achieved:

• +129% increase in ad CTRs, skyrocketing from 0.75% to 1.72% 
• Decrease in CPCs from $0.96 to $0.64, generating clicks at 33% cheaper costs
• 6.73 ROAS on video content, and maintaining this for months (aka. not a fluke!)
• ~10% of video impressions watched our videos in full

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Success went beyond ad level as well, with conversion rates from video ads climbing to 8.10% – over 15% higher than any other format we’ve run. After all, video-viewers inadvertently become more educated on a brand’s products when seeing it in action. 

More information = High-intent click-throughs = Likelier eventual purchases and customers.

Over the past year, one of Black Star Pastry’s highest revenue drivers remains the very first video we tested here, and per creative practices of iteration and A/B testing, we trialled the exact same style with a variety of text overlays. Referencing the “All Star Box” by alternative names like “The Ultimate Plus One” and “The Ultimate Dessert Box” had customers requesting the so-called “Dessert Box” after seeing our ads, once again proving the power of paid.

The Solution:

Well, videos. But not just any video. It was lo-fi, iPhone-shot content that brought Black Star Pastry’s cakes to life in the most authentic, taste buds tingling way. 

Movement, sound, angles, emotional reactions… 

The list goes on when you think about the things a single static image can’t convey. 

Meanwhile, videos offer a full 360 picture of Black Star Pastry’s mouth-watering cakes, teasing so many of your senses, you feel like you can almost taste them through your screen.

Plus, videos are often interpreted as more genuine too. Unlike static images that can be over-polished or corrected via easy Photoshop magic, people believe that videos are less likely to be manipulated. This “lo-fi feel” wasn’t a step down – it was a step up in authenticity.

Doubt it? Check out some examples below:

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Meta’s algorithm also loves videos for their ability to hook users in for longer, which provides the platform with more time to optimise ad delivery. So, as advertisers, we’re privy to the fact that Meta tends to reward video content in ads by boosting overall performance.
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• Higher Engagement (e.g. CTRs) and Lower Costs (i.e. CPMs):

Video ads can often achieve up to 7.5 times higher CTRs than traditional display ads, due to their ability to capture attention quickly and sustain user engagement. And following this enhanced engagement, video ads’ ability to acquire and drive greater learnings means more opportunity for Meta to optimise, leading to heaps more efficient results.
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• Improved CPMs:

Versus statics, Meta’s dynamic creative optimisation tools are pretty much built for video. Like they’ve even got options to turn your images into video assets, be it via adding sounds or a literal “Turn into Video” function. This essentially means Meta’s built to optimise videos better, so we probably ought to capitalise on its strengths. 
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• Algorithmic Favourability:

‍From an ad quality perspective, videos keep users engaged for longer – increasing the odds of a click-through and lowering your advertising costs by improving overall ad relevance and reducing bidding competition in the ad auction.

In short, all phenomena we noted in Black Star Pastry’s ad account, after launching video assets alongside a mix of branded static imagery.

However, one thing to note regardless of the ad types you run, you need to keep content safe zones in mind. These are areas on-screen that will be occupied by in-app UI (e.g. Instagram’s like buttons, comment sections, user profile information) and will take precedence over any content you decide to run underneath it. 

Our sister-agency Sticki has pulled together a handy resource on all things safe zones, including a template for all 9:16 assets we reference in all creative briefs at DataSauce.

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Although brands often hesitate to embrace video ads thinking: “More can go wrong,” our partnership with Black Star Pastry proved this is nothing but a misconception. 

If anything, “organic presenting” videos resonated harder because they felt real, not staged. 

By moving away from static images and embracing lo-fi videos, we opened up a whole new world of engagement, trust, and conversions – one that doesn’t take much more effort at all.

They’re also a major asset when it comes to pushing limited time pop-ups or seasonal offerings, given video’s ability to build hype through a combination of sound, movement, and aesthetic. Sorta like this!

Video is no longer just a nice-to-have, it’s the way forward.

And we've got just the creative team to tap into all its boundless potential, so you can have your cake and eat it too. Chat with us.