Raise your hand if you have ever seen an ad on social media for ClickFunnels, 1-800-Flowers, Amazon.com, Coca-Cola, LensDirect.com, Polaroid, or Fabletics.

I can’t see you right now (that would be weird) but I can imagine that, if I could, you’d have your hand raised – or maybe not, because you’re an independent thinker who doesn’t raise their hand just because an article on the internet told them to.

The point is, you’ve seen an ad for AT LEAST one of these companies at some point. And that’s likely due to the work of Travis Chambers.

Chambers is a creative guru who helps businesses stand out online. The bottom line is, he knows a thing or two about marketing. So, when I sat down to interview him on the Build Your Network Podcast, I asked him what type of ads companies should be running. And Travis, being a man who likes to overdeliver, gave me not just one, but SEVEN types of ads that companies need to be running.

He calls them the 7 Foundational Ads.

His team narrowed down these 7 ad types after analyzing $80,000,000 of ad spend (that’s 80 million for those of you who hate counting zeroes) over 6 years, with 30,000 different creative assets. They even hired a team to codify everything – leaving them with 100 different ad types that were likely to perform.  The 7 Foundational Ads represent the highest of high performers.

Read through, and check your own ad account to see if you’re hitting these categories. 

1. Spokesperson Video: A simple video – typically about a minute, featuring a talking head, usually a sales person or representative of the company doing a pitch for your product or service.
2. Product Demo: This one is pretty simple. It’s a demonstration of your product. A basic example of your product or service in action.
3. Social Proof/Evidence: You saying your product is good is one thing. Having someone else say your product is good is a GREAT thing. Look for social proof such as impressive press features, content posted by influencers, or just simple user-generated content that you can share.
4. Closer Ads: These are ads that are going to play more into urgency – overcoming common objections, sending add to cart reminders, or even post-purchase ads with a thank you from the founder that offers an additional discount on another product.
5. Case Study: A Case study has one purpose, to empirically support the claim that you are making. These can be clinical trials or a simple before/after or comparison video.
6. Lifestyle Ad: These videos are traditionally what you would see from a company like Nike, Febreze, or Red Bull. They focus on the more aspirational elements – how they make you feel. Showing you the product in use in a natural environment.
7. Unboxing: This really focuses on user experience. Show your product on the doorstep of a customer, create a creative stop motion unboxing video. Show what a customer can expect the minute they rip open the package and utilize your product for the first time.

Have you utilized all or some of these ad types? How did they perform for you?

If you want a little extra inspiration, check out Travis’ free Facebook group, Unicorn Ad Creative, where his team breaks down top performing Shopify ads and explain the metrics behind the most successful posts. 

And of course, don’t forget to listen to my full conversation with Travis on the Build Your Network Podcast!