TripleLift, the world’s leading Creative SSP, in partnership with EMARKETER, today launched a new report highlighting a concerning disconnect: while 83.5% of marketers see creative as a performance driver, many lack consensus on what defines “great creative” and struggle to scale it effectively across channels.
This lack of alignment leaves more than 2 in 5 teams without a unified standard, slowing feedback loops, complicating approvals, and increasing inefficiencies.
Top Creative Attributes: Clear brand storytelling (69.5%), visually compelling design (69.5%), and audience relevance (66.5%).
AI in Action: 50% use AI for ad copy, 37.8% for images/video, with workflow automation expected to be AI’s biggest contribution in the next 2 years.
Formats Most Used: Online video (79.9%), display (77.4%), native (66.5%), with CTV adoption at 50% and poised for growth.
Measurement Gaps: 71.3% say creative evaluation is more important, but only 58.5% link creative quality to performance, and just 51.2% have reliable dashboards.
“True creative excellence remains elusive because we lack a shared language and common metrics,” said Toccara Baker, VP of Marketing at TripleLift. “With Generative AI now in the mix, it’s the perfect time to align on what ‘great creative’ means and link creative analytics more directly to marketing KPIs.”
Max Willens, Senior Analyst at EMARKETER, added: “For AI to deliver exponential productivity gains, brands and agencies need to revise their creative production processes and integrate AI across multiple steps—not just one-off tasks.”
Marketers want to deliver relevant creative at scale, but many lack the infrastructure.
Top challenges: limited asset updates (54.3%) and insufficient creative versions (51.8%).
Overreliance on one format reduces campaign effectiveness for nearly half of marketers.
While most agree measurement is critical, gaps persist:
Only 58.5% link creative to performance.
Only 51.2% have reliable dashboards.
73.2% expect data analysis to play a greater role in future creative success.
“Closing the loop between creative diagnostics and outcome metrics is key,” said Izzy Morris, paid social and programmatic lead at Vodafone. “Unified dashboards that combine creative analytics with media performance and conversion data can reveal which creative attributes truly drive ROI.”
The report outlines three strategies to improve creative effectiveness:
Establish creative standards to align cross-functional teams.
Leverage AI for efficiency and scale while maintaining human oversight.
Invest in creative analytics to directly connect assets to outcomes.
EMARKETER, a division of Axel Springer S.E., is the go-to provider of forecasts, data, and insights across marketing, advertising, and e-commerce. Its trusted methodology helps companies optimize spend, maximize revenue, and anticipate digital disruption.
TripleLift is the world’s leading Creative SSP, transforming standard ad placements into high-performing, scalable experiences across desktop, mobile, CTV, and Retail Media. Its integrated platform unites premium supply, creative technology, and data into one cohesive programmatic solution.
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