By Wonderful Adebagbo, founder
One Flier and a ₦1 Million Budget: Shiny Is Not the Same as Ready
At a ₦1 million budget the ad isn't trial and error; it has to convert. A plan with one flier doesn't support that, so more creatives had to be made before any ad money moved. The wider lesson: explain what will work, but start by asking what the client expects.
A friend, ₦1 million, and one flier
A friend came to me wanting to run an ad with ₦1 million. Their creative plan was one flier.
If you’ve been following these posts, you already know that doesn’t fly with me. I’m not going to jump on something because the number looks big and exciting. Shiny is not the same as ready.
Why one flier was already enough information
So I told my friend we needed more creatives made and out before any ad money moved. I didn’t even bother asking more qualifying questions. One flier against ₦1 million had already told me what I needed to know.
Instead, we sat down and worked out what other kinds of creatives the product could have if we ever ran an ad at that scale.
Here’s why I was that firm. At this budget, I’m not treating the ad as trial and error. It has to convert, which means it has to bring in sales. For that to happen, everything has to be right from the beginning, and one flier is not right. It’s the same reasoning behind launching with far more than three creatives.
What I’m learning in public today
For every client who comes to me, I have to be willing to take the pain to explain, in detail, what will work for them from a professional standpoint. If they then decide to go with their own idea instead of mine, that is their right, and we both understand that they are calling the shots.
This doesn’t reverse the lesson about over-explaining
I’ve written before about losing a client by giving them too much value. This is not me reversing that. It doesn’t mean I should stop educating people, and it doesn’t mean I should assume they know what they want.
What I can do is start with questions about what they expect and what they already understand, then decide how much to explain. The lesson was never to stop explaining. It was to ask first, so I can decide how much to say and how to say it.
As this project goes ahead, I’ll share the process and the results here.
Questions this answers
Why is one ad creative a problem for a large ad budget?
A large budget isn't a place for trial and error; the ad has to convert. One creative gives the algorithm nothing to compare, so there's no way to find what works, and everything needs to be right from the start for a spend at that scale.
How much should a paid ads specialist explain to a client?
Enough to say plainly what will work from a professional standpoint, but start by asking what the client expects and already understands, then decide how much to explain. If they choose their own approach, that's their right; the specialist advises and they call the shots.