External Creative Onboarding

Overview

Video is one of the strongest drivers of advertiser performance, yet adoption in Google Ads remains constrained. 90–95% of assets are added during campaign construction, but many campaigns still launch without video—even when advertisers already have high-performing social creatives.

This project evaluated External Creative Onboarding, a concept that enables advertisers to reuse existing social video directly during campaign setup. The opportunity is structural: increasing video adoption does not require new creative spend, only removing friction from reuse.

Concept testing with 11 active video advertisers identified clear adoption gates. 100% cited creative quality and preview confidence as required to proceed. ~80% had avoided reuse due to format degradation, and 7 of 11 required multi-placement preview before committing. Automation alone did not increase intent; control and transparency did.

When these conditions are met, impact compounds: faster time-to-launch, higher likelihood of video inclusion, and expanded eligibility for premium inventory such as Shorts and Discover. When they are not, adoption stalls and downstream support and trust costs increase.

This research de-risked product investment and isolated the exact levers that convert advertiser intent into spend. Additional research and design capacity enables post-launch validation, pattern scaling across campaign types, and a durable foundation for AI-assisted creative workflows.

The challenge

Advertisers already invest in high-performing social video, yet a significant portion of that content never reaches Google Ads.

The constraint is not demand, it is activation.

Reusing social video introduces friction at the moment of campaign creation. Manual uploads, format mismatches, and unclear ownership requirements increase effort and risk. Each additional step reduces the likelihood that video is included at launch.

At scale, this friction compounds. Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns frequently ship without video, premium inventory across Shorts and Discover remains underutilized, and revenue tied to existing advertiser assets goes unrealized.

This is not a tooling gap. It is an activation problem with direct revenue impact.

The product opportunity

External Creative Onboarding addresses a core growth constraint: time-to-activation.

By allowing advertisers to import existing social video during campaign setup, the product reduces:

• Creative production costs

• Time to campaign launch

• Dependence on specialized video workflows

This creates a path to unlock net new video usage without requiring advertisers to produce new assets.

But there is a critical caveat.

Creative is not a utility.
It is brand equity.

Any solution that prioritizes speed over confidence will fail adoption—and create downstream support, trust, and brand risk.

The strategic question

Can we remove friction from video onboarding while preserving advertiser control, quality, and trust at a level that supports scaled adoption and revenue growth?

Why research was necessary

This problem cannot be solved through intuition or benchmarks alone.

Small design decisions such as preview placement, copy clarity, AI controls, ownership confirmation determine whether advertisers proceed or abandon.

Without deep understanding of advertiser mental models, the product risks:

• Launching a feature that looks efficient but feels unsafe

• Driving initial curiosity but long-term abandonment

• Creating hidden costs through support, reversals, or reputational damage

Research was required to de-risk these outcomes.

Research approach (designed for decision-making)

We conducted qualitative concept testing with advertisers who actively spend on video across Google Ads and Meta.

Participants were experienced, revenue-generating customers—not edge cases.

Each session:

• Began with current workflows and platform mental models

• Introduced the concept within real campaign creation context

• Evaluated reactions to automation, trust signals, and decision points

This ensured feedback reflected real business constraints, not hypothetical preference.

What the research revealed

The value proposition is real.

Advertisers immediately understand the benefit of reusing existing social video. Eliminating the YouTube upload step alone removes a major activation barrier.

However, adoption is conditional.

The largest risk to revenue is not effort, it is creative degradation.

Advertisers consistently cited format mismatches and quality loss as reasons they avoid reusing social video today. Without previews and control, they will not proceed—even if the workflow is faster.

Automation increases leverage only when paired with visibility. AI enhancements without previews feel unsafe. Advertisers expect to verify, adjust, and approve before publishing.

Transparency directly affects confidence. When sourcing, authorization, or hosting logic is unclear, hesitation increases even among highly experienced advertisers.

Workflow diversity matters. Teams vary in how they approve creative, where they host assets, and how they manage risk. A rigid flow excludes high-value customers.

Product implications (where investment pays off)

The research reframed the success metric.

The goal is not fewer steps.
The goal is confidence to proceed.

To drive scaled adoption and revenue, the product must:

• Explain asset sourcing and permissions clearly and early

• Provide previews across placements before commitment

• Pair AI-driven efficiency with manual override

• Support multiple hosting and approval models

These are not “nice to haves.”
They are adoption gates.

Each reduces drop-off, increases activation, and protects brand trust.