KPI Media

What’s one trend in advertising that’s overhyped, and one that’s under-appreciated?

Overhyped: Influencer marketing as a silver bullet.

Everyone’s rushing to put creators front and centre, thinking it’ll fix bad ads. But if your offer, targeting, or funnel isn’t right, no influencer can save it. You’ll just lose money faster and in higher definition.

Under-appreciated: The power of creative testing, not creative production.

Most brands spend 90% of their time making ads and 10% testing them. It should be the other way around. You don’t win with one perfect ad; you win by testing ten average ones and finding the one that clicks. Execution beats inspiration every time.

What’s the role of paid advertising in an early-stage startup, and how does that differ from an established brand?

For a startup, paid ads are a testing tool, not a growth engine. You’re using them to find your audience, message, and offer. Learn cheap, fail fast.

For an established brand, paid ads are an amplifier. You already know what works, so the focus is on scaling efficiently.

The mistake startups make is acting like a big brand too early. You can’t buy your way to product-market fit. You have to earn it first.

Between platform choice, budget, targeting and creative, which matters most?

Creative. Every time. The ad itself is what stops the scroll. You can have the best audience and biggest budget, but if your creative doesn’t connect, you’re invisible.

Platforms and targeting matter, but they amplify results; they don’t fix them. Great creative, paired with a clear offer, wins even with average targeting.

When would you not recommend running paid ads?

If your product isn’t ready, your tracking is broken, or you don’t have money to test properly, don’t run ads. Ads don’t fix business problems; they expose them faster.

You should also hold off if your market is too expensive or your margins are razor-thin. In those cases, focus on organic channels or partnerships first until you can afford to play the paid game properly.

How is generative AI changing how you work, and where’s it heading?

Right now, AI speeds up everything. We use it to write copy, test creative angles, and build ad variations in minutes instead of hours. In two years, AI won’t just help us create ads; it’ll help us run them. It will analyse data, tweak budgets, swap creatives, and optimise performance automatically.

The edge won’t come from using AI, because everyone will. The real edge will come from who uses it better.