Creative production at scale with Creative Automation templates

A template is usually described as a guide or pattern used to create something. Think of a recipe: it provides a set of instructions created in advance to guarantee a tasty result, with flexibility for personal preferences. In creative work, templates work the same way: they are design or animation files created beforehand, so you can quickly adapt and create the versions you need without starting from scratch.

But while traditional creative templates like these are useful, you still need a team of skilled creatives to handcraft the versions one by one, leading to inconsistencies and long turnaround times. Brands need quality and consistency at massive scale and speed — and this approach doesn’t allow that.

Enter Creative Automation. Though Creative Automation systems rely on templates too, there are several key differences that make them ideal for creative production at the volume brands need:

An intuitive and error-free experience

Typical templates are files you can copy and freely modify — they provide a starting point, but you still have full flexibility to make any changes you want.

In Creative Automation, templates function more like controlled frameworks. Templates can be built so that only specific elements are editable, while the parts that shouldn’t be changed manually remain locked. For example, you might be able to edit the headline and select a photo, but cannot adjust the text size, background colour, or logo placement. 

What’s more, Creative Automation templates don’t require people to know design or video software. Instead, they offer an intuitive experience with purpose-built UI elements like input fields, dropdowns, toggles, checkboxes, sliders, and croppers. Some templates even include safeguards, such as character limits and specific image resolutions, to guarantee correct usage.

All the design decisions and complex logic packaged in an easy-to-use, fail-proof interface that anyone can use. Brand and creative consistency safeguarded.

Create in bulk with data

Instead of manually adjusting each version in a visual editor, Creative Automation templates can be powered by data. In a spreadsheet-like interface, you can easily specify properties per row for each version, including colour, headline, CTA text, text alignment, button visibility, layout, and more.

This approach allows for easy bulk creation by importing data or duplicating rows and modifying specific values, rather than working through a visual interface one version at a time. This is why Creative Automation templates are often called dynamic templates.

Certain systems also allow you to connect templates to APIs or external data sources, like CMS or CRM systems, making the creation of new versions fully data-driven.

All the power you need brought together

Creative Automation templates may be easy to use, but they’re also exceptionally powerful, offering much more than typical creative templates. While many DIY builders offer basic design and animation, the best Creative Automation solutions support a broad range of needs within one template — handling all kinds of output formats, data sources, languages, channels, visual styles, animation techniques, and audio requirements.

Imagine you have an international, multi-channel campaign film showcasing your app on a phone screen with a voice-over delivering your tagline. Traditionally, a team of visual effects artists, animators, and sound engineers would be needed to create each version individually.

A Creative Automation template, however, could manage screen replacements, UI animations, dynamic text sizing, and sound mixing automatically — giving you access to a production pipeline fully customised to your project’s creative needs.

While traditional creative template files help save time, Creative Automation templates are built for scale and speed. Explore how your brand could benefit from Cube Creative Automation templates.