Creative conventions differ by vertical more than teams expect

This piece is now part of a longer guide: What commerce brands should take from mobile gaming UA.

Most creative advice is written as though categories are interchangeable. They are not, and the differences are predictable enough to plan around.

Supplements and health

Trust is the barrier, not awareness. Exaggeration reads as a red flag. Mechanism explanations outperform lifestyle framing more often than in any other category, and before-and-after is powerful and heavily policed.

Apparel

Desire is the barrier. Product-forward works, mechanism does not. This is the category where produced beats UGC most often, because how the thing looks is the argument.

Finance and insurance

Scepticism is the barrier and compliance is the constraint. Write the constraint into the brief rather than reviewing it out afterwards. Specificity beats reassurance: a number outperforms an adjective by a wide margin.

Home and durables

Consideration is long, so the job of the ad is rarely the sale. It is to be remembered accurately. Distinctiveness matters more than persuasion.

Mobile gaming

The mechanic is the product, so showing it is showing the thing. This is the only category on this list where leading with how it works is correct, which is why gaming teams moving into commerce make that mistake first.

The transferable rule

Ask what the barrier is before choosing the device. Awareness, desire, trust, scepticism and memory each want different creative, and most underperforming libraries are using a device built for a barrier the category does not have.

Questions people ask

How do I know my barrier? Read the objections in your reviews and comments. The barrier is whatever people argue with before they buy.