Last week, our community engaged in dynamic discussions centered around campaign strategies and data utilization. Members explored the effectiveness of structuring campaign briefs in a three-act format, drawing parallels with storytelling techniques. The conversation on data-driven marketing was equally robust, focusing on how different types of intent data can influence cost-per-lead metrics. These threads highlighted the importance of strategic planning and data analysis in our field.
This Week’s Hot Topics
Testing a three-act brief for campaigns
A lively discussion unfolded on how adopting a three-act structure can enhance campaign briefs. This method borrows from classic storytelling and aims to create more engaging narratives for audiences. Read more here
Which intent data actually lowers CPL
Delving into the world of data, this thread examined which intent data sources are most effective at reducing cost-per-lead. It’s a must-read for anyone looking to optimize their marketing spend. Read more here
Looking forward to seeing where these conversations lead next. Have a productive week!
Ran a Q4 promo with a three-act brief: I opened with the audience pain, kept ‘Act II’ to one tension line tied to a single intent signal (pricing-page visits >45s), then closed with a simple offer + proof, and CTR lifted 18%. When we used blog readers as the signal, CPA climbed, so we split ‘research’ vs ‘buying’ intent and capped bids on the former — think movie trailer, not director’s cut.
We mapped the three acts straight onto ad > LP: Act I as the hook, Act II as one proof block, Act III as the offer, and targeted only users with “comparison-page + return visit in 7 days” — CTR up 18% and CPL down 12%. Agree with @moore59 on keeping the middle lean; if volume thins, backfill with a recency‑decayed lookalike and treat Act II like a teaser trailer, not the whole movie.
Cut it like a movie trailer on skippable YouTube: hook, one proof stat, then the offer, targeted to users with recent ‘alternatives to our tool’ searches via Google Ads custom segments; CTR +27% and CPQL down 18%. Caveat: if that intent pool’s thin, widen to ‘opened pricing email but no trial’ for 3 days or you’ll choke delivery, mirroring the beats on the LP like @bflore78 suggested.
Quick example from last month: we pushed a 3‑card LinkedIn carousel to G2 “category intent: high (30‑day)” accounts via Matched Audiences, with a simple “setup → turn → payoff” flow. CTR was up 21% and CPC down 17%, but , quality slid until we switched the final card to “book a 15‑min demo” and tightened the middle card to a single trust cue. For structure inspo, this helps: Think with Google - Marketing Research, Insights, and Trends.
@chloe_r79 We saw better results on TikTok by making the middle beat a 2‑sec calculator GIF (instant savings estimate) instead of a trust badge, and delaying the offer to the last 1.5s; slight caveat: it only worked on 7‑day engaged viewers with a 2/day cap — any broader and watch time slid.