B2B Advertising – Why Ad Creative isn’t the NEW Targeting
Are you pouring budget into B2B paid ads but seeing lackluster leads? The problem might not be your ads, it’s likely your landing page. In episode EP004 of the B2B Performance Marketing Podcast, we dive into B2B landing page strategy, revealing how to create landing pages for paid traffic that actually convert.
Louis: [00:00:00] Hopefully you get where I’m coming from. Creative is not the new targeting. It’s actually always been a part of that core targeting strategy.
This is the B2B Performance Marketing podcast by Web Marketer, here to help you make the right moves with your B2B advertising. No spin, no smoke and mirrors, just honest insights from the advertising frontline.
Welcome back to the B2B Performance Marketing Podcast. I’m Louis. Maelion: And I’m Maelion.
Louis: If there’s one thing that I keep hearing from advertising specialists over and over, it’s the amount of control that we’ve been losing over time in the ad platforms. It was only a few years ago where we still had expanded text ads in Google search.
They were sunset in late 2022. And with that format of ad, you had such a tight control over which headlines and which descriptions would actually show up in the search results.
And then along comes responsive search ads, which have up to 15 headlines and up to four descriptions. [00:01:00] And these get dynamically combined in the search results, which can lead to over 30,000 different unique variations. And it’s exactly the same with keyword targeting.
It used to be about actually matching the words and the letters in the target keyword with the words and the letters in what was being searched for. So this is called string based targeting. And now it’s more about matching the meaning of the target keyword with the meaning of the search, which we call semantic based targeting.
Now, while this might seem like quite a simple change, it means that the same target keyword can actually put ads in front of a much wider range of potential searches.
And exactly the same thing can be said for black box solutions like Performance Max and Demand Gen, more potential combinations, a much bigger reach, but also a lot less control.
And you know, I don’t mean that as advertising specialists, we’re just handing it over to the machine now and sitting back. It’s just that [00:02:00] that hyper tactical micromanagement style of optimizing ads used to work in 2022, but it just doesn’t work anymore. Today it’s about thinking much more holistically, so about the channels, knowing them and the systems, and also thinking about the performance marketing function as a whole too.
So creative, messaging, strategy, technical, commercial, CRO. It’s so important to be across all of these more and more over time.
Maelion: Yeah. And to add to that, it’s becoming more and more important to put the customer at the center of absolutely everything that we do. And that brings us onto the main subject of today.
There’s a phrase that meta have been using more and more since 2024, and that is that ‘creative is the new targeting’. You talked about Google going broadly, Lou. And meta have been doing exactly the same thing here, like when they dialed back on conversion tracking, making it a lot less customizable and [00:03:00] forcing you to pick from a list of standard things like leads, signups, and purchases.
The same thing happened when they introduced CBO, which is campaign budget optimization, and here the budget gets applied at the campaign level rather than at the more granular ad set level. Then there was Dynamic Creatives, and more recently they introduced Advantage Plus campaigns and optimization.
This is very similar to Google’s approach where you give a lot of different variations of images. And text, and then you allow the system to pick out what the best option here is to show. This idea of more combinations and less control is really a recurring theme across ad platforms. And the general link here is, it’s a lot less about forcing the platforms to do what you want at a granular level and more about going back to those evergreen strategic marketing principles of the right message to the right person at the right time.
Louis: That’s so funny, isn’t it? Because you know, the ad platforms are [00:04:00] evolving and they’re getting more futuristic, and instead of kind of moving in with that and still trying to tightly control them, it’s actually the old stuff that’s the gold stuff. We’re having to go back to that really foundational marketing strategy that is actually proving to work more and more as the technology is getting away from that old way of doing things.
So the more technical the systems get, actually the more human we have to be as marketers. So today you’ve still gotta really know the ad channels as systems. You’ve gotta know what data to look for, you’ve gotta know what they’re telling you and how to respond with your optimization. But you’ve also gotta be really intentional about those old school timeless skills of design and copywriting and how those influence the conversion rate and the commercial results as well.
So this reminds me of an experience in my first ever job out of uni. So I graduated with a degree in graphic communication, graphic design, and I joined a [00:05:00] B2B wholesaler as my first ever job. And I remember having a meeting with the MD and he asked me, ‘what value do you bring to the business?’ In like a, how much sales revenue can I associate to what you do kind of way.
And the thing is, openness and transparency have always been a really, really important thing to me. But I’m sat there thinking, you know, I’m a graphic designer. How the hell do I give a good answer here? I can’t remember what I said, but I know for a fact that I didn’t give a good answer. But what came from that meeting was, you know, one, I always on that relationship between creative and commercial.
It’s something that I find absolutely fascinating and if we look at that phrase from Meta ‘creative is the new targeting’. There’s a few things there that that says to me. The first is on a point that we’ve already talked about a fair bit, which is putting much more care into the creative and the messaging rather than relying on that kind of [00:06:00] micromanagement style optimization.
It maybe suggests that the actual creative in the ad is being analyzed and being matched with audiences in the backend. And it also speaks to the fact that as audience definitions are getting wider, that means that our ideal customer profiles. Are a smaller segment of a much larger pool of people, so we have to rely on the creative and the messaging to speak directly to them to get them to engage.
But for me, there is a bit of a negative side to this phrase, and I specifically take issue with the word new. So creative is the new targeting because it’s not the new targeting. It’s always been a really critical part of the targeting strategy. So for example, and I’m making this up as a hypothetical, but let’s say we are running ads for a client and they run CRM software for accountants, and let’s talk about their targeting strategy for a minute. Because yes, they could try and target people who [00:07:00] are accountants and looking for CRM software, but that audience is gonna be tiny. So actually what we’re more likely to do is yes, do that, but also look for people searching for CRM software and try and
call out the accountants in that space. And then also look for people who are accountants and offer them CRM software ads.
So hopefully you get where I’m coming from. Creative is not the new targeting. It’s actually always been a part of that core targeting strategy.
Maelion: 100%. So when we were first talking about creating this episode, we realized that there were a number of different situations we had with clients that would help illustrate this point.
So here’s three different examples that will help give some context. And the point that we’re trying to make here is that creativity isn’t just important for brand and marketing comms. It also has an impact on commercially relevant data as well. So let me kick things off with the first story.
We were working with an animation and illustration [00:08:00] studio running their ads. Great people, great brand, and they were really working hard on building out a great culture as well. And their office dog Ruby was a big part of that. Now, she wasn’t just any old office dog, she had her own profile on the website with a job title and everything. And the team and clients loved her. And with so much design talent in-house, it just made sense they made their own ad creative here, to showcase their genuinely great company culture here, they made Ruby front and center of the ads. We consulted on the process and it made a ton of sense. It sounded like a great way to inject a ton of personality in and in quite a samey space we thought it would stand out quite a bit.
At the very minimum, it would be a great test, and it looked like an instant success. The front end metrics were really good here. They had great engagement, a low CPC, and most importantly, the inquiry volume was really high with low cost per inquiry. But something about it all was [00:09:00] just a little bit odd.
Over 95% of the leads were from a very specific type of business. Dog walkers, pet food brands, dog grooming services, anything dog related, you name it they were coming through the ads. And this couldn’t have been for any other reason than Ruby being front and center on those ads. So while this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, we were definitely looking for a bigger spread of businesses and a few larger businesses as well.
So obviously we got some new creatives in play quickly, but this demonstrates just how influential the creative is, not from just clicks to conversions, but also the type of businesses that convert as well.
Louis: I always love hearing about that one. It’s such a direct example. Now, this second client story is in the talent attraction space. We were running recruitment campaigns for a large client in the finance industry, and this insight specifically comes from their early careers advertising program where we tested [00:10:00] two different types of creative. One creative was geared around kind of the California CEO kind of vibe, so people on a beach around campfires, dressed down that kind of scene. And the second was much more candid photography, but based in a corporate environment. So more suited and booted. And to be honest with you, we were really confident that the more casual creative would win out. Because that’s really kind of getting towards the pinnacle of your career, isn’t it? The more casual you can dress, the more senior you are, and so that’s why we were really confident that that kind of creative line would win out.
But the results of that test just goes to show how important experimenting is because surprisingly, and yeah, you probably guessed it, the more corporate version won, and whereas we were pretty convinced that that was more of a tired and staid approach, actually it turns out that by targeting people in their
early careers, we were targeting typically university students, and they [00:11:00] already had that kind of casual lifestyle, and so they were really looking forward to getting suited and booted and joining the career ladder.
Maelion: It’s back to that point you made about being open to being proven wrong. And then being able to pivot your approach. Now the last story is from the automotive space. A number of years back, we had a client that was promoting electric vehicles and they had the highest female visitorship to their website within the industry. Now, what they didn’t want to happen is for the ads to jeopardize that in any way, shape, or form. Now, we tried weighting this using the gender specific targeting on the platforms, but we found that it got more expensive overall. And also not all traffic is gendered on all the ad platforms. Like in Google, a huge percentage is gender unknown, but we figured out an alternative. We had been running with two different ad messaging strategies. The first was more technical and specification led, and the other was more real world, real use cases led. [00:12:00] Both were quite informative styles. One was more about the car and the other was more about the driver and how it fits in with their life.
After doing a deep dive on the different messaging strategies here, we quickly found that the more technical messaging had a much higher engagement rate with a male audience, and the more real world focused messaging had a much higher engagement rate with a female audience. So naturally, rather than skewing gender targeting in the settings, it was so much more effective to run more ads that resonated better with a female audience. And it was also a
strategy that was more effective at maintaining a strong female visitorship to the website.
Louis: So there you go. Three real world stories that show just how important creative really is, right the way down to the commercial end of things.
I guess the key message from this episode is that if your creative isn’t attracting the right kind of people, well no amount of tactical optimization is ever gonna fix that, and that’s becoming more and more important over time [00:13:00] as the ad platforms themselves evolve. It’s why working with conscientious marketing partners matters more than ever, whether that’s in-house or the agency you’re working with.
You need people in your corner who care more than just about managing ads. People who go strategy first, people who listen to and interpret the data, people who think commercially, and also people who can course correct when things don’t go to plan.
Because ad creative doesn’t just play a role in converting clicks into inquiries. It also has a major say on the profile of lead that’s sitting in your pipeline.
Maelion: And I think that just about wraps it up. If you took something useful from this episode. Please leave a review and share your biggest takeaway. It really helps us spread the word.
Louis: Also, if you have a specific question or there’s a topic that you’d like us to cover, please go ahead and let us know at Web marketer UK slash topic.
We read every single message. Thanks so much for listening. Catch you next [00:14:00] time.
how creative impacts B2B ad performance
For B2B marketers and performance leads running Google Ads or Meta Ads, the landscape feels like it’s shifting beneath your feet.
Platforms are pushing broader targeting. Just look at Google’s move from semantic to intent-based keyword targeting, Performance Max’s opaque algorithms, and Meta’s nudge toward dynamic, less controllable campaigns like Advantage Plus.
It’s easy to feel like you’re losing the reins.
In this environment, some claim “creative is the new targeting,” suggesting that compelling ad creative can compensate for these broader, less precise audiences.
But this narrative oversimplifies the problem and risks misleading B2B advertisers.
In this post, we’ll unpack why creative isn’t a replacement for targeting, why both must work together, and how real-world examples prove that strategy, audience fit, and creative are inseparable for driving conversions.
The phrase “creative is the new targeting,” popularized by Meta, implies that ad creative can single-handedly solve the challenges of reaching the right audience.
But creative isn’t a magic bullet, it’s a critical piece of a larger puzzle.
Creative has always been a form of targeting, not a new invention. The misconception lies in thinking you can “out-creative” poor audience selection or sloppy media buying.
Consider the shift in Google Ads.
A few years ago, expanded text ads gave advertisers tight control over headlines and descriptions.
Now, responsive search ads generate up to 30,000 variations from 15 headlines and four descriptions, while keyword targeting has moved from string-based to semantic, intent-based matching.
This broadens the audience your ads reach, often including searches only loosely related to your target.
Similarly, Meta’s campaign budget optimisation (CBO) and Advantage Plus campaigns prioritize platform-driven decisions over granular control.
These changes don’t mean targeting is obsolete, they mean media buying fundamentals like audience fit, channel intent, and timing are more critical than ever.
Let’s run through a hypothetical scenario…
A business selling CRM software for accountants.
Targeting “CRM for accountants” on Google Search seems straightforward, but it captures only a tiny fraction of the market.
To scale, you’d also target broader groups, like people searching for CRMs who might be accountants or accountants who aren’t actively seeking CRMs.
Here, creative steps in to speak directly to accountants within these wider segments.
But without precise audience targeting to begin with, even the best creative will fall flat.
Creative amplifies targeting; it doesn’t replace it.
Creative Only Works If You’ve Nailed the Audience First
Effective B2B advertising starts with understanding buyer intent.
Creative can’t fix a mismatch between your ads and the audience’s needs.
If you’re targeting too broadly without context, like serving CRM ads to generic software seekers without tailoring the message to accountants, you’re relying on creative to do the heavy lifting.
That’s a recipe for wasted spend and low-quality leads.
We encountered this exact scenario with a client of ours a few years back.
We were working with an animation and illustration studio that leaned heavily on creative to showcase its culture.
They featured their office dog, Ruby, in ads to highlight their unique vibe.
The creative was a hit, engagement soared, CPCs dropped, and inquiries poured in.
But there was a catch: 95% of the leads came from dog-related businesses like pet food brands and groomers.
Ruby’s prominence drew the wrong audience, proving that creative, while powerful, can’t compensate for misaligned targeting.
Without a clear audience strategy, the studio’s ads attracted clicks but not the right clients.
This underscores a key point: creative fails without audience context.
You need to know who you’re speaking to, their pain points, motivations, and stage in the buyer journey, before crafting the message.
For the CRM example, targeting “CRM software” broadly requires creative that calls out accountants specifically, perhaps highlighting features like tax compliance integrations or time-saving automation tailored to their workflows.
Without this audience-first approach, even brilliant creative risks missing the mark.
Build Creative Based on Buyer Stage and Intent
Creative must align with where the buyer is in their journey.
A cold audience exploring CRMs needs different messaging than a retargeted audience ready to demo your software.
For cold audiences, creative should educate and spark interest, perhaps emphasizing how your CRM simplifies complex accounting tasks.
For retargeting, it should push urgency with CTAs like “Book a Demo” or highlight testimonials from accountants already using the platform.
Another client example of our involves working with a recruitment campaign for a finance company targeting early-career professionals.
Two creatives were tested: one with a casual, “California CEO” vibe (beach scenes, campfires) and another with candid, corporate imagery (suits, office settings).
The team assumed the casual creative would resonate with young professionals craving a relaxed work culture.
Surprisingly, the corporate creative outperformed, as university students associated formal imagery with better career progression.
This shows how buyer stage, here, early careers, shapes creative impact.
Misjudge the audience’s mindset, and even well-crafted ads can flop.
Creative and Targeting Should Inform Each Other
The best B2B campaigns create a feedback loop where targeting and creative refine each other.
Performance data reveals what’s working, click-through rates, conversion rates, lead quality, and informs adjustments to both audience segments and messaging.
For instance, if ads targeting “CRM software” yield low conversions, analytics might show the audience includes too many non-accountants.
You could tighten targeting or adjust creative to explicitly call out accountants with visuals of accounting dashboards or copy about audit compliance.
Another example comes from an automotive client promoting electric vehicles with a high female website visitorship.
Gender-based targeting on platforms like Google, where much traffic is “gender unknown,” proved costly and ineffective.
Instead, they tested two messaging strategies: technical (specs-focused) and real-world (lifestyle-focused).
Data showed the technical ads resonated more with men, while real-world ads engaged women.
By leaning into lifestyle-focused creative, they maintained strong female visitorship without relying on platform-level gender targeting.
This feedback loop, using performance insights to tweak creative, maximised relevance and efficiency.
B2B performance marketing isn’t about flashy brand campaigns; it’s about conversion-driven creative rooted in strategy.
This means testing formats (static vs. video), hooks (problem-focused vs. solution-focused), and CTAs (“Learn More” vs. “Get a Quote”).
It also requires integrating creative with technical setup—tracking pixels, CRM integrations, and landing page optimisation, to ensure data flows seamlessly.
Agencies that only manage ads at a surface level miss the mark.
Strategic partners dig deeper, aligning creative with commercial goals and course-correcting when needed.
Going back to our previous examples…
The animation studio pivoted from dog-centric ads to broader creative to attract diverse clients.
The finance company adjusted its creative to match early-career aspirations.
The automotive client used messaging to target women effectively without platform constraints.
In each case, creative wasn’t a standalone fix, it worked because it was informed by audience insights, data, and strategic intent.
Conclusion: Strategy, Targeting, and Creative in Harmony
The idea that “creative is the new targeting” oversimplifies the reality of B2B advertising.
Creative has always been a form of targeting, shaping who engages with your ads and how they respond.
But it’s not a substitute for nailing audience fit, channel strategy, and buyer intent.
As ad platforms push broader targeting and less control, B2B marketers must lean on strategic partners who blend old-school marketing principles, knowing the customer, crafting resonant messages, with modern technical savvy.
Whether you’re running Google Ads for a CRM or Meta campaigns for a service, success lies in aligning strategy, targeting, and creative in a feedback loop that drives conversions.
If you’re struggling with broad targeting or inconsistent lead quality, don’t just double down on creative.
Revisit your audience strategy, test messaging aligned with buyer stages, and use data to refine both.
Growing up in a place called ‘Login’, Looey was always destined for the digital world. He’s the founder of Web Marketer, a data nerd, and a wizard with Google Ads, Analytics, Tag Manager, and Looker Studio. Looey’s a coffee aficionado, a bacon enthusiast, and a proud Welshman, now living by the West Wales coast. Above all, he’s a devoted father to three spirited boys, blending his passion for data with family life. His aim? To take online advertising performance to new heights for clients – using clear, effective data.
Are you pouring budget into B2B paid ads but seeing lackluster leads? The problem might not be your ads, it’s likely your landing page. In episode EP004 of the B2B Performance Marketing Podcast, we dive into B2B landing page strategy, revealing how to create landing pages for paid traffic that actually convert.
Are you pouring budget into B2B paid ads but seeing lackluster leads? The problem might not be your ads, it’s likely your landing page. In episode EP004 of the B2B Performance Marketing Podcast, we dive into B2B landing page strategy, revealing how to create landing pages for paid traffic that actually convert.
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