4 Examples of Cross-Platform Creative Optimization

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to digital creative. Each platform – and placement within that platform – has its own characteristics, specifications, safe zones, and best practices. 

Creative that’s optimized for TikTok, for example, isn’t going to deliver the same results if it’s copied and pasted to Pinterest. To maximize performance across different platforms, marketers need to develop optimized creative variations for each of the placements in their mix. This goes beyond simply recutting and reformatting. Platform-optimized creative needs to be tailored to the aesthetic nuances and audience viewing behavior of the platform in question. 

To demonstrate this, this article showcases four examples of brands developing cross-platform-optimized creative. For each example, we will look at how the design differs from creative to creative, highlighting the techniques being used to optimize the intended placement.

1. Clarins

The creative below was produced for Clarins to launch the Joli Rouge lipstick. Clarins ran a comprehensive campaign for this launch, requiring a high volume of creative, optimized for various platforms.

Above, you can see three of these platform optimizations: Instagram Stories, Pinterest, and TikTok. At first glance, the three look quite similar. But if you look closer, you can see the nuanced design differences. 

The Pinterest creative, for example, plays with the use of borders. Specifically, the border-break technique, one of Pinterest’s breakthrough video techniques that help advertisers capture attention. 

The TikTok example uses a platform-native approach to copy, helping it better match organic content when placed within the For You feed. The editing and transitions are also slightly more playful and high-energy.

2. Palmer's 

Below you can see four platform-optimized creatives produced for Palmer’s: Instagram Stories, Facebook In-Feed, YouTube, and TikTok In-Feed.

Of the four videos, the TikTok creative stands out as having the most differentiation from the others. It was designed with a platform-native ethos, looking to match the aesthetic of organic content. This is why it uses more human-centric visuals, emojis, native-style copy design, and more personal messaging. 

If we compare the Instagram Stories and Facebook In-Feed examples, we can see that the messaging in both is the same; however, the visual approach is significantly different. The main reason for this is the different ratios of the two placements. Stories, for example, is a vertical (9:16) placement. This led to the design using horizontal split screens to efficiently convey messaging. This is contrasted with the square (1:1) In-Feed example that used a vertical split screen.

3. The Honest Kitchen

Pet Food brand, The Honest Kitchen, has a wide digital presence, promoting their products across many different platforms. You can get a glimpse of this with the four platform-optimized creatives below. 

The biggest contrast in the four videos can be seen between the TikTok and Amazon creatives. The TikTok example primarily features raw, lo-fi video footage, whereas the Amazon example is more product-focused. This is a result of ‌different audience viewing behavior between the two platforms. TikTok audiences are in an entertainment mindset, whereas Amazon audiences are in a shopping mindset.  

The Pinterest example uses another breakthrough video technique, this time with the product dropping in from the top of the frame.

4. KOHO

Canadian Fintech brand KOHO, runs lower-funnel campaigns across a range of placements. However, customer acquisition works differently on each platform, meaning that creative also needs to be tailored in line with these differences.

Above you can see three different platform optimizations: TikTok, Facebook In-Feed, and YouTube. 

The Facebook and YouTube creatives take a similar, traditional approach to their messaging. They both have a hook at the beginning, which is then backed up by different features and benefits of the app. The difference in visual approach between the two is marginal and derives from the different ratios (square vs. horizontal). 

If we look at the TikTok creative, however, both the messaging and visual approach is a lot different. The video uses a testimonial-style structure to convey its message, with raw video footage of real-life scenarios and the use of first-person copy and voice-over.

Make cross-platform creative optimization easy – with Shuttlerock

The examples showcased above highlight the fact that building optimized creative for cross-channel campaigns can be quite a complex, time-intensive process. This can be a real problem for modern marketers, as often there simply isn’t the time or resources required to do this right. Especially when these specifications and best practices are not set in stone—they constantly change and evolve. 

Shuttlerock offers a creative solution that is dedicated to solving this problem. As an official creative partner of each of the platforms mentioned in this article, our design team is rigorously trained and kept up-to-date with all the latest platform-specific best practices. With Shuttlerock, it's as easy as selecting whichever placements you need and our team will take care of the rest, delivering fully platform-optimized creative. 

If you’d like to learn more about how we optimize creative for cross-platform campaigns, please feel free to reach out to one of our team members, or request a demo of our solution.