The Best Ads for Subscription Boxes

THIS WEEK’S FODDER
☀️ Good Morning

You’re reading Marketing Fodder, a newsletter dedicated to helping you improve your Facebook and Instagram ads.

Today, we are focusing on the ads of these companies:

1. KitNipBox

2. FabFitFun

3. Fuel Goods

4. KiwiCo

What do they have in common? They all sell subscription boxes! Let’s take a look at how these companies can improve their ad copy and images.

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MAIN
What’s in the box?

How big is the market for subscription boxes?

According to Market Research Future, the US market for subscription boxes was valued at 13.5 billion (USD) in 2022 and is projected to grow to 44.5 billion (USD) by 2032. That’s a projected compound annual growth rate of 14.20%.

The convenience of having products delivered to your doorstep every month is driving growth for subscription boxes.

How I Analyze Facebook Ads

A great Facebook ad communicates the benefits of the product or service, not solely the features. Think about it like this: a feature makes the product better but a benefit makes the customer’s life better. So, focusing on benefits helps get the conversion.

Alright, let’s see how these companies market their subscription boxes:

#1: KitNipBox

The Good:

• Ads for subscriptions are tricky because a significant number of people detest paying for something monthly. So, a good ad needs to communicate the benefit quickly and alleviate the negative bias that customers have about subscriptions.

• Putting “Free US Shipping. No Commitments. Cancel Anytime.” in the Primary text is a smart move because these statements address some of the core negative associations viewers have with subscriptions.

• Having images of cats next to the box, and interacting with a toy in the box, helps the potential customer visualize the value of this subscription.

The Bad:

• The two photos of the cats with the box are great, but the image backgrounds (graph lines and solid yellow) behind each cat photo are distracting and do not enhance the appeal of the subscription box.

The Recommendation:

• Test the two images without the stylized background.

• This ad needs to spell out why this box is worth it, something like, “Sit back and watch your cat go crazy.”

#2: FabFitFun

The Good:

• The main thing this ad does well is turning the ad into a quick game. At the top of the image, the customer is invited to find the code in the image below to get a free gift bundle worth $200.

• Turning your ad into a game or challenge is an incredibly effective way to boost CTR because the viewer feels like they achieved something by finding the code, making them less hesitant to click the ad.

• For those who can’t or don’t want to look for a code, the ad also provides the same code in the description section.

• The ad also does a decent job of signaling scarcity—“LIMITED INVENTORY” with a red exclamation point on either end is definitely eye-catching.

The Bad:

• The Primary text section is far too long. Some viewers may scroll past because they enjoy looking at images on the platform, not reading a wall of text.

The Recommendation:

• Test a shorter version of the Primary text. Bullet points that list the main benefits of this subscription.

• For the text above the image, test other background colors, in addition to pink.

#3: Fuel Goods

The Good:

• This ad does a great job of using humor and meme culture to create an approachable and engaging ad for their subscription service.

• “Don’t sweat it” is a amusing play on words, and the image perfectly captures the benefit of subscribing: you won’t be out of energy like this person.

• This ad speaks directly to their core audience with language and imagery that resonates with them.

The Bad:

• Nothing terrible here, but there’s no explicit mention of what the customer gets in the box.

The Recommendation:

• Testing a longer Primary text section with a customer quote or a bullet list of what the customer gets in the box.

#4: KiwiCo

The Good:

• The Primary text is short and to the point, which is effective here because this is a video ad.

• I’m only including a screenshot from the video, but that screenshot captures why this ad is effective: it shows a parent and child, both smiling, interacting with the projects in the box.

• “Monthly deliveries of fun” is a great way to describe a subscription service.

The Bad:

• The video quality wasn’t very high (that’s why the screenshot looks low resolution) but I can’t criticize that too much because it makes the video feel more authentic and less like an ad.

The Recommendation:

• I recommend including information about it being a no risk subscription or being able to cancel anytime. Also, including information about shipping fees in the ad could cost-related surprises.

Meme of the Week: