What should one ad creative cost us?
By Dan BartleyUpdated 3 minute read
The short answer
Whatever keeps your cost per winning ad below what one winner earns. Add the price of each creative to the test spend it needs, divide by your hit rate, and compare that with the gross profit a winning ad brings in before it fatigues. If the sum works, $50 and $500 a creative can both be the right price, and unit prices fall as volume rises.
How do we work out the most we should pay per creative?
Start from what a winner is worth. Multiply the gross profit one winning ad earns before it fatigues by your hit rate, then subtract the test spend each creative needs: the result is your ceiling per creative.
| Input | Example |
|---|---|
| Gross profit a winner earns before it fatigues | $8,000 |
| Hit rate (one winner in ten creatives) | 10% |
| What each creative tested is worth | $800 |
| Test spend per creative | $150 |
| Most you should pay per creative | $650 |
Use your own numbers, and be honest about the hit rate. If one creative in twenty wins rather than one in ten, the same account can afford $250 a creative, not $650. Your hit rate is the number that moves this most.
What drives the price of an ad creative?
The format, how the imagery is made and how many you order. A static built from existing photos takes the least work; a filmed video with people on camera and paid usage rights takes the most.
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Static or video | Video takes longer to plan, make and edit, and every second adds work |
| How the imagery is made | A shoot adds crew, location and freight; scenes made from phone photos do not |
| People on camera | Creators and models charge for their time and for paid usage |
| Volume | Research and setup are spread across more creatives |
| What is included | Concepts, copy, every placement size and a test plan, or the design alone |
Why does the price per creative fall with volume?
Because the setup work is done once. Understanding the product, the buyer and the style takes the same effort for three creatives as for thirty.
Bartley Studio’s published product video prices show the effect: one 10-second video is $500, and three are $830, about $277 each. Product imagery works the same way, with the per-image rate falling to as little as 55% of its starting price at volume. All prices are in AUD and exclude GST.
Should we pay per creative or a monthly fee?
Pay for output either way. A price per creative or per batch tells you exactly what each ad costs; a monthly fee only works if the number of finished creatives is written into it.
Bartley Studio sells ad creative in packs of 25, 50 or 100 ads, from $1,600 plus GST, ordered once or every month: see the packs. Account management, which includes the creative, is quoted per brand because it depends on the brand’s size and spend.
What should the price include?
Finished ads you can upload without rework, and the right to keep using them.
- Every placement size you need, counted as one creative per idea
- Distinct concepts, not variations of one image
- A test plan saying what to launch together
- Ownership of the finished files, with no licence to renew
- A clear revision policy, including fixes when the product looks wrong
At Bartley Studio the brand owns the delivered images and videos on full payment, indefinitely and worldwide, and any image that fails to match the real product is re-edited until it does, at no extra cost.
How do we compare quotes fairly?
Put them on the same basis: excluding GST, per finished concept, with rights and revisions spelled out.
- Ask whether prices include GST. Bartley Studio’s are in AUD and exclude it.
- Count concepts, not files. Five sizes of one idea is one creative.
- Check usage rights, especially for creator content in paid ads.
- Ask for turnaround in working days, because speed decides how many tests you can run each quarter.
Other questions people ask about this
Is a low-cost creative a false economy?
Only when its hit rate is so low that test spend per winner climbs. Measure cost per winner across a few batches before deciding.
How much should we spend on creative compared with media?
There is no fixed ratio. Work back from how many new creatives your spend needs each month, then check that cost per winner stays below what a winner earns.
Read the full answerWhy does a video creative cost more than a static?
It takes longer to plan, make and edit, and each extra second is more work. Short cuts keep the cost down and suit Reels and Stories.
Still have a question? Ask us