Studio Lewis ads

I was that video producer who thought brand mentions ruined the storytelling. First 6 seconds of an ad? Nah, too kitschy. Too salesy. I'd be "subtle" and "clever" instead. The ads underperformed every time. My first clients never renewed. I was basically producing expensive creative that nobody remembered. After losing my third client in a row (🥴), I did what any desperate video producer does - I went down a Google research rabbit hole at 2am. That's when I found it. Google's own data showing the most effective thing in video ads: >> 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻. << I was skeptical. Like, physically uncomfortable with the idea. But then I noticed something - every top-performing ad from big tech companies did exactly this. Grammarly, Monday, Hubspot. All of them. Brand name dropped quickly. Next shoot, I swallowed my pride and filmed ALT versions with the brand upfront. The results? • 2-3.5x more engagement across creative • ~3.2x avg higher clickthrough rate • Client booked a second campaign Here's why it actually works (and why I was an idiot): 95% of people skip YouTube ads. That's reality. But when your brand appears in those first 5 seconds, even the skippers see it. That's free impressions, baby. Plus, it associates your brand with whatever positive outcome you're about to show. Now it's my north star for every script. Brand early. Brand often. Brand creatively. In today's video, I break down exactly how to do this without feeling like a used car salesman. Including 3 examples from ads that absolutely nailed it. (Spoiler: It's not about being boring. It's about being memorable AND visible.) Who else learned this lesson the hard way?

There's one mistake a lot of B2B video ads make before production even begins. It's the crime of not being✨ feed native✨ ...lemme explain 👇 Big love to Scribe and ClickUp for being such good examples on Meta & TikTok. (Shown in the video below)

My manager once called me a "tornado" in a performance review. Not the good kind. The chaotic, destructive, "where tf did that come from" kind. Videos would randomly appear. Deadlines were suggestions. Estimates? Pure fiction. My organizational skills were basically non-existent, and everyone knew it. Fast forward to now: Actual updates to clients. Complete with project boards. Progress bars at 20%. The whole nine yards. Why? Because after 571 videos, I finally admitted something: >> 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀. << Pre-production alone is a nightmare to track: • Locations, actors, scripts, storyboards, props • Shot lists, call sheets, crew logistics, food orders • Coordinating animators who just joined the project • Clarifying what's editable vs. locked with clients And honestly? After casting all day or location scouting for hours, the LAST thing I want to do is document it all. I'm exhausted. My brain is mush. But that's exactly when clients start wondering where things stand. The transparency has changed everything though. Clients are actually engaged in the Slack channels now. They add thoughts during pre-production instead of after delivery. Zero "just checking in" messages. They see the messy middle and... they're fine with it. B2B video production isn't polished. It's contingencies and dependencies and things falling through last second. But at least now they can see it happening in real-time. Still building this habit. Still a weak muscle. Still fighting my tornado tendencies every single day. But that 20% progress bar? That's me trying to be the project manager I never was. One update at a time. (If you saw my Slack updates from earlier this year, you'd know how far I've come. And how far I still have to go.)

Everyone talks about video ad hooks. Nobody shows the actual edits. So here's a real before/after from one of our 2025 top-performing ads. The "Clumsy" version we started with: • Long reaction line eating up precious seconds • Redundant explanations nobody needed • Brand mention buried at 20+ seconds • Product demo... eventually The "Great" version that actually converted: • Props that eliminate 4 seconds of talking • Brand name dropped within 5 seconds • First line down to 7 essential words • Product visual by second 8 As a screenwriter, these edits physically hurt me. Cutting all that context? Felt wrong. Leading with the brand? Too salesy. Skipping straight to product? Where's the story? But here's what the data taught me - 95% of viewers bail after 5 seconds. Even on brilliant creative. So now we edit for clarity, not cleverness: → What you do (immediately) → How it works (visually) → Why they care (through the demo) The fun part? You can still get weird within these constraints. For this exact ad, we literally gathered dust from under my couch. Built the world's gnarliest binder. Made it memorable AND effective. These aren't just tips - they're the actual edits that took a mediocre hook to top-performer status. Fundamentals first. Creativity second. Performance always.

Sometimes, the simplest ads are the most powerful. These Riverside ads are quietly doing numbers on YouTube. But the format is educational, aspirational, and easy to replicate. (Read: cheap + good + easy) Today, I'll break down why this ad works AND how you can produce it for your B2B software company. --Why it works-- 𝟭 - 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 Marketers (like me) tend to get really bogged down in how to show the >pain< But, like, you don't have to do that. This whole ad is built off of 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴 + 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 language. It starts with a dream outcome and shows you how to accomplish it, clearly. Any software can do this: • What's a dream outcome you provide? "𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰'𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦?" • Plug the brand. "𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 [𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥], 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯!" • How do you do this? "𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥." • Bring it home. "𝘛𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸." 𝟮 - 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 The beginning and end of this ad have very clear brand mentions. Riverside is mentioned in the first 5 seconds (amazing) and at the end (great). Now, even if someone skips the ad, you've still imprinted your brand as something that causes a dream outcome. Since you don't pay for folks who skip ads, that's literally a free brand impression! Get that brand name in there. 𝟯 - 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 Underrated. This section basically qualifies the viewer. If they don't care about this outcome, they will skip the ad. Which is GOOD. You don't want people who don't need your tool to gobble up ad budget. Anyone who is curious will stay and learn how to use your tool. Now, let's replicate this for your brand. --How you can make this from scratch-- 𝟭 - 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 Start with the end. What's an end state ONE of your features can do? Are you a CRM? --> quick-to-read customer history Are you a project management tool? --> project timelines & prioritization Do you calculate sales tax? --> tax filings on autopilot Then just pose it as a question to the viewer. "What if you could catch up on all of your customer conversations in 5 seconds?" "With [our CRM's AI tool], you can!" 𝟮 - 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱" This ad is relatively cheap to make. Notice how this whole ad is at a desk? You basically just need to shots: • A spokesperson running through the whole script, direct-to-camera • A reverse shot of their laptop with a green screen on it You can film this in under an hour. OR Do what Riverside did and batch a bunch together. 𝟯 - 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘀 Finish it off by showing the viewer exactly how to use your software. Don't overcomplicate things. Just show two screens. What is the input? What is the output? Then, go to CTA. Then you've got yourself an efficient, yet effective, ad.

On this fine Tuesday, I invoke the 2010s pop star Katy Perry. Bc she had a point. Not all ads have the same intent. Some are hot. Some are cold. (no, this was not a forced metaphor. yes, this is definitely what she meant. stop looking at me like that) When we're making an ad suite, we try to have a balance of both. Cold traffic ads • focus on getting attention • focus on being memorable • focus on provoking curiosity • focus on pain Warm traffic ads • explain the product • explain the pricing • explain results (social proof) • explain what to do next Also, was Katy Perry underrated or overrated? Pls help me decide.