2024 Creative Performance Trends Revealed

January 31, 2025

Hello everyone!

Our team just finished analyzing the full 2024 creative performance dataset across our portfolio and we wanted to share it with you.

Instead of chasing trends, we dug into what actually drove sustainable ROAS across different verticals and seasons.

Here’s the complete analysis (in ten minutes or less)…

THE BIG PICTURE

After tracking performance across multiple formats and millions in spend, we uncovered patterns that challenge conventional wisdom about creative strategy in 2024.

The data revealed something surprising: while headlines dominated spend (40.5% of total), they weren’t the top ROAS drivers. Dynamic Carousels and UGC showed consistently stronger returns despite lower volume.

FORMAT EFFECTIVENESS: THE REAL STORY

What’s actually working? Our analysis revealed three key performers:

Dynamic Carousels (12.4% of spend)

2.45x average ROAS
Most consistent performance across seasons
Strongest for consideration-stage messaging

The key insight isn’t just the format – it’s how they’re used. Carousels that built context before asking for action saw 40% higher conversion rates than those focused purely on attention-grabbing opening frames.

This graph tells an interesting story about engagement vs. conversion. While several formats showed strong CTRs, the correlation with actual conversion varied significantly.

Dynamic Carousels maintained the most consistent relationship between engagement and purchase (13.4% CTR leading to meaningful conversion rates).

SEASONAL PATTERNS THAT MATTER

This might be our most revealing insight. The data shows dramatic conversion value spikes in Q4, but what’s fascinating is which formats drove them. While all formats saw some lift, Dynamic Carousels and strategically timed UGC created the most sustainable growth curves.

Key seasonal findings:

Q1 (January-March)

Lowest CPMs of the year
Educational content sees 47% higher CTR
Perfect window for format testing
UGC performance peaks in wellness/fitness

Q2 (April-June)

Dynamic Carousels hit peak efficiency
New creative concepts show highest potential
Multi-panel engagement increases 23%
Building period for Q3/Q4 assets

Q3 (July-September)

CPMs drop 15-20%
Second UGC performance peak
Critical Q4 prep window
Best time to validate new formats

Q4 (October-December)

All formats see ROAS lift
Creative fatigue accelerates 2x
Refresh cycles need to shorten by 40%
Dynamic Carousels maintain efficiency longest

STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS FOR 2025

This isn’t just about numbers – it’s about fundamentally rethinking creative strategy. Our analysis points to three key shifts in approach:

The 50/30/20 Rule The highest performing brands consistently maintained a mix of:

50% Dynamic Carousels (core performance driver)
30% UGC (targeted to warm audiences)
20% Testing & multi-panel

This ratio delivered 87% higher performance than traditional equal splits. Why? It balances consistent performance with enough flexibility to capitalize on breakthrough creative when it emerges.

Testing Windows Matter More Than Ever Success in 2024 correlated strongly with systematic testing approaches. The brands that saw the highest overall performance followed this pattern:

Q1 for major format testing
Q2 for creative concept validation
Q3 for Q4 preparation
Q4 for rapid iteration

Format-Funnel Alignment The data revealed a clear pattern of format effectiveness by funnel stage:

Awareness: Multi-panel educational
Consideration: Dynamic Carousels
Conversion: UGC + testimonials

THE CONTRARIAN TAKE

While many brands chase platform-specific trends, our data suggests a different approach: Focus on foundational formats executed well, rather than constant adaptation to new features.

The most successful brands in our analysis spent 80% of their effort optimizing proven formats and only 20% testing trends. This ratio delivered consistently better results than the inverse approach.