Ad Secrets Exposed: Bench Accounting

Humor, Empathy, Risk Reversal

Author

Sean Bacastow
January 24, 2024

Hi there!

Welcome back to Your Brain on Ads! We dissect winning ads to help you become a smarter social advertiser.

This week, we’re focusing on an ad from Bench Accounting.

Meet Bench Accounting

Bench handles bookkeeping for small businesses. Business owners receive a dedicated bookkeeper and an online platform to track financials in one place.

Here’s what I noticed when taking a closer look at their ad.

What Makes This Ad Effective?

“Humor is more likely to enhance recall, evaluation, and purchase intention when the humorous message coincides with ad objectives, is well-integrated with those objectives, and is viewed as appropriate for the product category. Under such circumstances, humorous advertising is more likely to secure audience attention, increase memorability, overcome sales resistance, and enhance message persuasiveness."

  • Humor 😂

    • The ad uses the familiar “POV” meme template, adds some llamas, a little humor, and voila!

  • Empathy👂

    • Bench articulates the problem that small business owners face with accounting and offers them a solution.

  • Risk Reversal🚦

    • The headline says “Get a free month of bookkeeping.” This makes it easy for someone to get started and overcome their fear of making a bad purchase.

  • Scroll-Stopping Creative 📲

    • The image of the llamas is eye-catching. People think “Wait, why is there a llama on my feed? I love llamas!”

  • What, Who, Why, How 🕵️

    • The ad clearly states what the product is (accounting support), who it’s for (small business owners), why they should choose Bench (getting access to real, live bookkeepers), and how they can take action (get a free month by clicking “learn more).”

Some Test-Worthy Ideas

  • Different Primary Text Lengths

    • I would test a short version of the primary text (one sentence) vs. this version (medium-length) vs. a long-form version and see which performs best.

  • Primary Text Hook

    • I’d test a version of this primary text that starts with a stronger hook. Something like “Small business owners! Want an easy, affordable way to get your bookkeeping and taxes done? We’ll handle everything, so you can get back to running your business.”

  • Different CTAs

    • I’d test “Learn more” vs. “Sign up” vs. “Get offer” and see which performs best. “Learn more” isn’t as action-oriented as something like “Sign-up,” which makes it very clear what the person should do next.

Applying These Learnings To Your Ads 💰

1. Try using popular meme formats to capture attention.

2. Use your copy to show target customers you understand their pain points.

3. Remove the risk of making a bad purchase. Offer a free trial or money back guarantee.

4. Use pattern-interrupting images that catch people’s attention.

5. Make it clear what your product is, who it’s for, why they should choose it over competitors, and how they can take action.

That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading!

Sean

If you’d like help with your advertising, email me at [email protected] or message me on LinkedIn. I run a marketing agency called PureFunnel that helps tech companies grow with Facebook, Instagram, and Google ads.