Previously, we analyzed the Build-A-Bear social media campaign to examine its strategies. This week, we continue this topic and will analyze one post to assess the ad’s effectiveness. The TikTok Creative Center was used to review a top-performing Build-A-Bear video ad.

https://ads.tiktok.com/business/creativecenter/topads/7358610577973673985?

Campaign Objective

The objective of this campaign is to drive conversions, increase reach, video views, and traffic.

Creative Elements

The creative element of this ad campaign is a video montage of real customers entering the store. You see children walking in and looking at the different bear options as you hear a parent talk about taking her children in and “wanting to make magical memories, and Build-A-Bear is the perfect place.” You hear another customer begin to talk about the whole process of building a bear, along with footage of the process. Including things like recording special audio messages in a little heart to put in the bears and customizing the bears with outfits and accessories.

Targeting

This ad is for adults with kids who want personalized, fun experiences with their kids or a more personalized toy. It can also draw in people who had the experience as kids or perhaps wanted to do it as kids.

Performance Evaluation

The click-through rate (CTR) for this ad peaks at 12 seconds in, with a total of 100 clicks; however, immediately after, it drops to 0. While a specific cost per click (CPC) was not provided, 100 clicks peaked within the first 4 seconds of the ad, and only 161 clicks occurred over the entire 40 seconds. All clicks occurred in the first 7 seconds of the ad. The TikTok Ad Creative Center also states that the points in the video that performed well on the metrics are at 1 second, 13 seconds, and 16 seconds. This ad also ranks in the top 88% of the industry average for CTR and in the top 1% for clicks, according to the ‘Interactive Ad Analysis’ section.

This shows that the ad was indeed successful at attracting viewers and prompting clicks. However, another notable finding is that all the points that performed well were within the first 16 seconds of the ad. This means that despite the ad’s success, about 24 seconds of the ad go ignored.

According to the 2025 Facebook Benchmarks, the average CTR for collectables is 4.13%, and the average CPC for collectibles and gifts is $0.34. Taking this average, it can be assumed that a total of $54.74 was spent on clicks. In the TikTok Creative Center, no specific budget is provided, but it is stated that the budget is “high.” The ‘Ad Performance’ section reports that the CTR is in the top 24%. While an exact CTR percentage is not provided, comparing metrics from the 2025 Facebook Benchmark supports the Creative Center’s results.

The ad has 104k likes, 955 comments, and 636 shares, totaling 105,591 engagements. Total reach for the ad was unavailable, but this still indicates significant engagement. This shows that the campaign was indeed successful and caught the attention of many viewers.

In the TikTok Ad Creative center, it is also provided that the highest conversion point was 100, at 12 seconds into the video. While the retention video reached its peak at 100 views at the beginning, views dropped to 0 by 12 seconds. This shows that while the video successfully captures attention and engagement, most of the ad itself goes unwatched, meaning the information provided in that portion does not reach customers.

Optimization Recommendations

Based on what has been observed from the analysis of this Build-A-Bear social media ad campaign, the following optimization recommendations are proposed:

1) Shortening the length of the ad from 40 seconds to 15 to 20 seconds. Most viewers did not stay to watch the full ad. The ad could be shortened to better fit users’ attention spans and ensure they get all the information it offers.

2) This ad uses customer testimonials to tell the viewer about Build-A-Bear, but primarily features adults who talk about their kids’ experiences. The video could include testimonials from kids sharing their experiences or from adult customers who enjoy building a bear.

3) Use A/B Testing to see exactly how a video like this sells Build-A-Bear to adults for kids, based on parent customer testimonials, and another talking about the nostalgia of returning to Build-A-Bear as an adult and customizing a bear for yourself.

Conclusion

While Build-A-Bear is a successful company and its social media does achieve engagement, its social media practices could still be refined to do what they already do well, drawing in views, and continuing to improve their practices.