Creative Drives Growth but Lack of Standards and Measurement Limits Advertising Impact, Finds TripleLift and EMARKETER Report

Creative Still Drives Advertising Growth, But Measurement and Scale Lag Behind

A new report from TripleLift and EMARKETER highlights a key challenge in advertising today: while 83.5% of marketers agree that creative is the biggest driver of campaign performance, many struggle to define and scale what makes creative truly effective. Without shared standards, teams face slower feedback, complicated approvals, and inefficiencies that hold back results.

The report surveyed 164 US marketing professionals to understand how creative is evaluated and optimized. Clear brand storytelling and visually compelling design were the top qualities marketers look for in great creative, each cited by nearly 70%. Personalization and audience relevance were also important, emphasizing the need for smart segmentation and targeting.

Why Creative Excellence Remains Out of Reach

One of the main hurdles is the lack of a common language and metrics around creative quality. Every company has its own definition, making it difficult to adopt industry-wide standards. As a result, many marketers operate without a unified framework to measure and improve creative effectiveness.

With generative AI becoming more common, now is the time to align on what "great creative" means and connect creative analytics more directly to digital marketing KPIs. This shared understanding could speed up decision-making and improve campaign outcomes.

Marketers Are Using AI to Streamline Creative Production

AI is already part of many creative workflows. Half of marketers use AI to generate ad copy, while over a third leverage it for images and video. Looking ahead, most expect AI to bring the biggest gains through workflow automation, followed by performance optimization and enhanced insights.

To truly boost productivity, brands and agencies will need to integrate AI throughout multiple steps of the creative process, not just isolated tasks. This shift requires rethinking how creative teams collaborate and produce work.

Infrastructure Shortfalls Limit Creative Impact

Today's digital campaigns span many formats and channels, with online video, display, and native ads leading the way. Connected TV is also growing as audience viewership rises.

Despite this variety, many marketers lack the infrastructure to update assets quickly or create enough creative versions to keep campaigns fresh. Over half reported these issues as key reasons for underperforming programmatic ads. Relying too heavily on a single format also reduces effectiveness.

Measurement Is Improving But Still Has Gaps

While over 70% of marketers say evaluating creative has become more important, only about 58% regularly link creative quality to performance outcomes. Reliable dashboards and metrics are even rarer.

Most expect data analysis to play a bigger role in creative success, but moving from reactive reporting to proactive, real-time measurement remains a challenge.

One approach is to connect creative diagnostics with outcome metrics using incrementality testing and controlled experiments. Combining creative analytics with media performance data in unified dashboards helps teams see which creative elements drive ROI.

Strategies to Boost Creative Effectiveness

• Establish clear creative standards to align teams across functions
• Use AI to scale production efficiently without losing human oversight
• Invest in creative analytics that link assets directly to business outcomes
• Treat creative as a strategic lever throughout the entire marketing funnel

About the Research

The survey was conducted by EMARKETER in partnership with TripleLift in June 2025, gathering insights from 164 US marketing professionals focused on programmatic advertising.

About EMARKETER

EMARKETER provides data, forecasts, and insights for marketing, advertising, and ecommerce. Their research helps companies make informed decisions to improve revenue and optimize spending. EMARKETER is part of Axel Springer S.E.

About TripleLift

TripleLift is a leading Creative SSP that transforms ad placements into scalable, high-performing experiences across desktop, mobile, Connected TV, and Retail Media. Their platform unites premium supply, creative technology, and data into one programmatic solution. Based in New York with offices worldwide, TripleLift focuses on creative excellence to deliver better results for publishers, advertisers, and consumers.