IntermediateLEADERSHIP
Describe a time you had to influence a skeptical client or senior stakeholder to invest in a new creative approach (for example, new format, UGC-style content, or new funnel stage). How did you make your case and what impact did it have on results?
Creative marketing
General

Sample Answer

At my last company, I led creative for a legacy CPG brand whose VP of Marketing was very skeptical of UGC-style content. They’d relied on glossy TV spots for years and saw social as purely a reach play. I proposed shifting 20% of their paid social budget into creator-led, lo-fi video focused on mid-funnel education. Instead of pitching it as “cool creative,” I framed it as a controlled test. I brought competitive examples, platform benchmarks, and a simple test design: A/B against their existing polished assets on the same audience, same budget, same flight. I also showed a risk cap: max 20% of spend for four weeks. We launched with five micro-creators and 12 concepts. The UGC-style ads drove a 38% lower CPA, 2.3x higher view-through, and a 19% lift in aided recall in brand studies. After seeing the numbers, that same VP approved rolling the approach out across three additional product lines the next quarter.

Keywords

Reframed creative idea as a low-risk, measurable testUsed competitor examples and platform benchmarks to build credibilityDefined clear success metrics (CPA, VTR, brand lift) before launchDelivered strong performance that unlocked broader adoption of the approach