Jillian Manges

Performance Creative

I’ve helped turn creative A/B testing into the playbook our design team works from. I started by designing the variants myself, then guided my team in building them, partnering with data science to translate results into best practices for every ad.

  1. 01

    Identify

    Turn questions from designers and customers into testable hypotheses

  2. 02

    Scope

    Define test parameters and ideal participant list

  3. 03

    Design

    Build 100+ test and control variants

  4. 04

    Measure

    Track click-through, conversion and site searches to find significant results

  5. 05

    Recommend

    Turn findings into design best practices

The Right Image Makes a Difference

One of the questions we heard most often from clients was, “Which images perform best in our ads?” So we set out to find the answer through A/B testing.

Modern hotel exterior with a glass entrance

+55%

higher click-through than room images

Exterior

Hotel guest room with a bed and sofa

−4%

conversion compared to exterior images

Room

Couple with suitcases looking out a hotel room window

−17%

conversion compared to exterior images

Lifestyle

Pool deck with loungers and umbrellas

−27%

conversion compared to exterior images

Amenity

BEST PRACTICEAlways prioritize using exterior images when available. If none are provided or additional images are required, room images are second best, followed by lifestyle and amenity images.

Designing the Strongest Call to Action

Sometimes the smallest details can make a big difference in ad performance. We tested both CTA wording and animation to understand how these design choices influence results. The findings also revealed how creative preferences vary across cultures and regions, giving us valuable insights to inform our design decisions on a global scale.

Test 1

CTA: Book Now vs. Start Planning

Won in US, LATAM & EMEA“Book Now”
Hotel Seven Days Prague display ad with a Book Now button

+12–16%

conversion

US, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa

Won in Asia Pacific“Start Planning”
Hotel Seven Days Prague display ad with a Start Planning button

+88%

conversion

Asia Pacific, plus 11% higher click-through

Test 2

Fade in vs. Always Visible CTA Animation

Fades in
Animated hotel display ad where the Book Now button fades in after a few seconds

+72%

conversion

Plus 20% higher click-through

ControlAlways visible
Animated hotel display ad with the Book Now button visible the whole time

−42%

conversion

Plus 17% lower click-through

BEST PRACTICEUse “Book Now” in the US, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and “Start Planning” in Asia Pacific. Animate the button to fade in after a few seconds for the best click-through and conversion results.

To Use One Image...or Many?

When it comes to ad creative, the first instinct many clients may have is to showcase as many images as possible. But does more always mean better? We put that question to the test, comparing ad performance across different image counts to find the sweet spot between showcasing a property and keeping the creative simple and effective.

3 vs. 5 rotating images

3 images

Control

5 images

Compared to 3 images

−12%

click-through

Plus 9.5% lower conversion

2 vs. 3 rotating images

2 images

Compared to 3 images

+25%

click-through

Plus 9% higher conversion

3 imagesRound 1 winner

Control

Rotating vs. panning

3 images rotating
3 images rotate

Compared to panning

+29%

conversion

1 image panning
Pans →

Compared to rotating

+13%

click-through

BEST PRACTICERotate no more than 2-3 images in an ad set. If the campaign goal is click rate, use a single panning image. If it’s conversions, rotate.