Trek Bicycle. Colour wins.
What happens when you stop trying to look like everyone else in the feed. A seven-day Meta test, and a result that wasn't close.
Everyone's feed looks the same.
Lifestyle shot. Rider in the hills. Golden hour. Another brand telling you how free you'll feel on their bike. The images are technically good. They're also invisible, because the person scrolling has seen forty versions of them before lunch.
The brief from Trek was simple: improve engagement and bring down cost-per-click on Meta. The insight behind the answer was less obvious.
If every other ad looks like a ride, ours would look like a poster. And posters stop the scroll.
The Pantone series
Solid Pantone backgrounds, clean product and type that means something. The graphic directness of fashion and streetwear, not cycling. Tap any ad to see it full size.
Colour breaks the pattern.
Seven days. Pantone backgrounds against lifestyle photography. The pattern held across Procaliber, Rail+ and FX Sport, and across different audiences. Colour won because it was different, and different is what gets seen.
Only one thing changed
- Same images
- Same copy
- Same audience
- Same budget
- The background
The best creative decision isn't always the expected one.
This wasn't a production budget decision. One creative choice, to stop looking like a cycling brand and start looking like a design brand, moved the numbers by a third in seven days.
One decision, tested properly, measured clearly. That's what strategic content looks like.
Want content that actually performs?
Twenty years in marketing means every shoot starts with what has to work in the feed. Three priced options within 24 hours.