Analyzing Green Powder Facebook Ads

THIS WEEK’S FODDER
☀️ Good Morning

You’re reading Marketing Fodder. A newsletter dedicated to helping you improve your Facebook and Instagram ads. Here’s what we’re serving up today:

• Huel

• AG1

• Daily Elements

• Vibrant Health

What do these companies have in common? They all sell green powder supplements, and we’re taking a look at how they structure and position their Facebook ads.

STARTER
Quick Bites:

• Reddit Dynamic Product Ads are now available in public beta. The purpose of the ads is to place products in front of people who are actively looking for those products (Read more)

• Google delays the phase-out of third-party cookies again (Read more)

• Google Search cost-per-click is up 13% year-over-year, and up 40-50% in the past 5 years for retailers (Read more)

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Selling Green Powder on Facebook

What’s so interesting about green powder supplements?

According to Business Market Insights, the global green powder market size was $282.1 million USD in 2021, and is projected to reach $991.04 million USD by 2031, a compound annual growth rate of 13.4%.

The strong demand for green powder supplements can be attributed to consumers’s growing awareness and concerns about their health.

How I Analyze Facebook Ads

A great Facebook ad communicates the benefits of the product or service, not solely the features. Features are cool, but customers really care about what those features do for them (the benefit). So, ideally, a Facebook ad communicates how the features of a product or service create a result or transformation for the customer (the benefit).

Alright, let’s see how these companies market their green powder supplements:

#1: Huel

The Good:

• What I love about this ad is that it’s clear that Huel understands the main pain point of its target customer: eating healthy is hard.

• “Adulting is hard. Huel makes it easier.” This is an excellent intro to the ad because it calls out the problem (adulting being hard) and offers a solution (Huel making it easier). This hook helps grab the viewer.

• The second part of the Primary text then explains exactly how Huel helps with adulting: providing nutritious, no-prep, hot meals that are ready in 5 minutes. The ad also mentions that the meals are “affordable,” which addresses another likely concern of the target customer.

• The image is the star of the show. It illustrates the transformation the customer will go through by purchasing this product: from instant-regret fast food to easy, nutritious meals.

• The “Healthy Delicious Lunches Made Easy” text below the ad is a nice encapsulation of the product and benefit.

The Bad:

• The image of the Huel meal is not delicious looking (at least to me). Is that a forkful of noodles or shredded vegetables?

The Recommendation:

• I would test a variety of Huel meals in the image, especially ones that allow the target customer to really see what the meals look like after preparation.

• The “Free T-shirt for new customers” offer is a good idea, but I would test a free offer for something related to nutrition rather than a t-shirt. I would test offering a free food journal or membership to a Huel community.

#2 AG1 (Athletic Greens)

The Good:

• My favorite part of this ad is the repetition of “one” in the Primary text: “One minute. “One scoop. “Once a day.” This repetition is memorable but also helps reenforce the benefit of the product: an easy way to give your body nutrition.

• The image of AG1 in a glass bottle is effective because it shows what the product looks like in liquid form and explains why the product is beneficial to the customer. Each feature (Probiotics, Zinc, Rhodiola) is tied to a benefit to the customer (for gut health, for immune health, for brain health).

The Bad:

• The text of the ad feels a little dramatic, just imagine Morgan Freeman’s voice reading this ad and you’ll get a sense of what I mean. I might resonate with it more if the tone was conversational or more casual.

• “One powerfully simple habit…can transform your entire health journey” is a big promise and may be more than the target customer is looking for. Maybe we just want a tastier and easier way to eat our veggies.

The Recommendation:

• I would test a quote or review from a happy customer in the Primary text.

• Test different backgrounds, something more colorful like a light yellow or blue can increase CTR.

• Test a more conversational tone.

#3: Daily Elements

The Good:

• I like how this ad positions itself as even healthier than the other green powder companies in this category. The Primary text begins with an exclamation: “Not all green powders are created equal!”

• The image helps the customer visualize the issue, with an US vs. THEM framing.

• The description section below the images does a great job of reenforcing the overall message of the ad by simply stating: “100% microgreens. 0% gunk.” This is effective because it suggests that other brands include gunk, but doesn’t call out a particular competitor which can be risky.

The Bad:

• The Primary text could be more assertive. Instead of, “Take steps towards CLEANER” the ad may be more effective if it said something like, “Get CLEANER, greener nutrition.”

• The “US” green drink looks the same as the “THEM” one.

The Recommendation:

• Test a more assertive tone in the Primary text.

• Differentiate the two green drinks in the image; make the “US” one look tastier than the “THEM” one.

#4: Vibrant Health

The Good:

• What I like most about this ad is the “TikTok Made Me Buy It” headline within the image. Using the name of a different social media platform on Facebook makes this ad stand out. And, it makes the viewer want to know more.

• The image is effective because the man drinking the green powder looks like he is enjoying the drink.

The Bad:

• The Primary text needs work, “Take your health to the next level” is too vague.

• Having both 20% off and then an additional 10% off may be confusing. And, the description section already promotes 20% Off Sitewide; the redundancy is not helpful in this case.

• The quote from Luis M. in the image is too small, moving lower in the image and making the text larger would help it stand out.

The Recommendation:

• Test Primary text that focuses on the benefits of this product rather than getting a percentage off the order. The customer likely doesn’t trust the ad yet so it’s better to use the space of the Primary text to build a case for why this product is worth considering.

• Test different descriptions (below the image) with the goal of addressing objections that a view might have (to prevent them from scrolling past the call-to-action button).

Meme of the Week: