Creative as Currency: how to price, deploy and compound brand value
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It’s 2025, we’re living in the digital era and the currency that really matters? Well, that’s creative.
Content production has hit an all time boom with more people and businesses creating content – faster and cheaper – than ever before.
Of course, more isn’t always better, but in a market shaped by AI, algorithms and scroll fatigue, if we want to do more with less, it’s great creative that makes the difference.
But how do we make our creative stand out in the crowd, gain attention (and better CTR/CVR) and work smarter, not harder?
This recap bottles up the best bits from our Creative as Currency webinar with QRY and Darkroom, showing how creative can lift performance.
Shared language beats silos 👊
Most “brand vs performance” debates are just that – semantics. At Tracksuit, we see them as the dynamic duo you need in the race for success, and you should too.
And a “shared language” is the golden ticket. But what is a shared language in creative terms? And why is it so important? Creative winners point everyone at one shared scoreboard: the marketing funnel, key brand associations and the brand statements you care about.
A shared language for brand growth – powered by Tracksuit – keeps suits, strategists, creatives, media and clients looking at the same scoreboard.
But what goes on the board?
- Brand KPIs: brand engagement, social listening lift, organic search lift, post-purchase survey responses, Tracksuit brand tracking.
- Commercial KPIs: CTR, CVR, AOV, ROAS revenue.
Read the KPIs together to diagnose the leaks (e.g. awareness is up, but consideration stays the same = a mid-funnel creative problem).
Tracksuit gives teams with real-time read (awareness, consideration, preference) with our agency-friendly dashboard that works like you do.
Design creative as a system (not one-offs) 🔄
Consistency compounds. Great creative takes one core idea and adapts it by stage, creating a portfolio that ties together across the funnel:
- Upper funnel (awareness): seed memory and themes that make you easy to recall at entry points. Check out our Imagery tool in action above, where you can find unique associations your brand is known for by consumers.
- Mid funnel (consideration/investigation): Reasons to believe in your brand - proof, UGC, comparisons, demos, third-party reviews, FAQs.
- Lower funnel (preference/conversion/usage): Keep the brand creative strong while you lean into features/benefits, bundles, FAQs, guarantee/warranty for people who are ready to buy.
When your creative assets align, brand and commercial KPIs move together – that’s “creative as currency” getting the job done.
Make the paid math love you (CPM → CTR → CVR → revenue) 🤑
In today’s market, CPMs continue to rise and CAC is spiky, but that doesn’t mean you’re powerless in the game.
The simple chain still rules: CPM → CTR → CVR → revenue.
Lift CTR and CVR by primary memory and preference so people recognise you in crowded spaces.
Investing in distinctive brand awareness helps CTR and CVR climb, and your paid spend gets more efficient as you scale (win, win).
That’s why brand work is a moat for performance. Why? If people already know your brand (and like it), they’re primed to click and convert when an offer appears. Brand lifts performance. Period.
How to make the paid math love you:
- Invest in distinctiveness early (such as ownable themes + codes)
- Expect awareness → CTR/CVR lifts to offset rising CPMs.
- Track organic search lift and brand statement movement to see demand forming, not just clicks happening.
Tip from Query: For brand search, watch total available impressions (inverse of impression share) to see if more people are looking for you after major brand flights.
Point your creative with brand statements 🎯
Being known isn’t the only job. What does your business want to be known for? Once you know this, build your brand statements and move them vs. your competitor set. Check out Tracksuit's Brand Statements tool in action above.
Use upper-funnel to establish the theme – let performance ads reinforce it while doing the features-and-benefits heavy lifting.
Pointing your creative will tighten the brand and performance link too.
Focus your creative with audience → positioning → messaging blocks 🏗️
Making great creative is a journey, and there are a few stops we need to focus on along the way.
Focusing your creative with audience → positioning → messaging is the key:
- Audience analysis: Who are we speaking to? What are their category entry points?
- Positioning: For [segment], who want [X], our brand is [frame of reference] that [point of difference] because [reasons to believe]
- Messaging building blocks:
- Value prop (core promise)
- Reasons to believe (proof, claims, social proof, demos)
- Objection handling (FAQs, comparisons, specs)
- Distinctive brand codes (visuals, tone, memory cues)
- Hooks (category entry points + tensions).
Use this formula to choose the brand statements you’ll move this quarter. Statements are your north star, creative will help get you there.
Spin the creative flywheel: organic → paid 🎡
“Treat organic like a free R&D lab.” – Words of wisdom from Darkroom.
The best way to do this?
- Publish lots of short-form variants (hooks, angles, edits)
- Watch the signals (views, watch-time, comments, saves)
- Promote winners into paid with light tweaks to the hook, caption and CTA.
Quality + quantity + consistency over time beats one-off “genius.” The market already accepts creative as currency – paid just scales circulation.
Tooling and rituals that keep you on-brand (and on-track) 🔨
- Brand image deck: Your look book of top-performing visuals/templates so new ideas “fit” the aesthetic (faster testing, faster results).
- Creative wall audit: Pin every asset – yours and your competitors’ – to a wall. Kill sameness. Spot what breaks through.
- Cadence that compounds: No, this isn’t a hack. It’s time, process, consistency. Think weekly scoreboard stand-ups (15 minutes), fortnightly creative lab (promote 2 organic winners to paid), and monthly audits. Small, steady lifts compound into big brand momentum.
The cherry on the cake 🍰
Creative is currency when it moves the scoreboard and makes the paid math love you.
One shared language, brand statement-led briefs and an organic to paid flywheel turn nice ads into nice numbers.
Time, process and consistency compounds, so find the brand statement that moves the dial and keep working towards that north star.
Want to see how Tracksuit provides a real market read? And turn it into better briefs, great creative and bigger wins? Book a walkthrough today.
