The UK advertising landscape is shifting fast. With rising customer expectations, the explosion of retail media networks, and increased pressure to prove ROI, British brands need creative that can adapt to every audience, placement, and moment.

That’s why Dynamic Creative Optimisation (DCO) has become a priority for leading UK retailers, agencies, and performance teams. Powered by AI and creative automation, DCO enables teams to deliver highly personalised ads at scale, without drowning in manual production.

From Meta and TikTok to retail media platforms like Tesco Media & Insight Platform, Boots Media Group, and Nectar360, UK advertisers are utilizing DCO to create smarter campaigns that evolve in real-time.

Here’s everything you need to know.

What Is Dynamic Creative Optimisation?

Dynamic Creative Optimisation (DCO) is an AI-driven approach to personalising ads, where creative elements, such as images, videos, headlines, product feeds, CTAs, and price points, are automatically assembled, tested, and optimised for performance.

Instead of producing dozens (or thousands) of static creative versions, DCO:

• Generates creative variations automatically
• Tests combinations to see what resonates
• Personalises delivery based on user intent, context, and platform signals
• Continuously learns and improves in real time

The result? More relevant ads, higher engagement, and better campaign efficiency.

How does DCO work?

DCO uses three main components:

1. Creative assets variations

Variations of images, videos, copy, product data, offers, and brand elements.

2. AI-driven assembly

Smartly’s platform dynamically combines these elements into personalised variations for each audience or placement.

3. Real-time optimisation

AI tests and adapts creative in-flight, prioritising the best-performing versions automatically.

This gives marketers full brand governance while AI handles optimisation behind the scenes.

Why Dynamic Creative Optimisation Matters for UK Marketers

With the UK’s advertising industry moving toward privacy-safe targeting, first-party data activation, and retail media expansion, DCO is the natural evolution of creative production and delivery.

Here’s why it’s gaining traction across British brands and agencies:

1. Personalization that drives results

British consumers expect relevance, especially in categories like fashion, beauty, grocery, and home retail.

Dynamic Creative Optimisation allows retailers like Tesco, Boots, Sainsbury’s, ASOS, and Next to tailor creatives based on:

• Local pricing
• Inventory levels
• Store availability
• Seasonal demand
• Customer preferences

2. Powerful for retail media and omnichannel strategies

With retail media networks surging, DCO ensures creative aligns seamlessly across:

• Tesco Media & Insight Platform
• Boots Media Group
• Sainsbury’s Nectar360
• ASDA ReTail Media
• Walmart Luminate (UK exporters)

3. Reduced production costs and time

Agencies like GroupM, Dentsu, and Publicis Groupe are leaning into DCO because it reduces the manual hours normally required for:

• Versioning
• Testing
• Localisation
• Always-on creative refresh

4. Better performance across channels

DCO adapts messaging to each placement across Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and retail media, helping teams improve:

• CTR
• ROAS
• Conversion rates
• Incremental reach
• Lower-funnel sales

In a competitive market like the UK, every improvement counts.

Smartly’s Approach to Dynamic Creative Optimisation

Smartly helps UK advertisers scale personalisation through AI-powered creative automation, predictive insights, and cross-platform optimisation, all in one workflow.

Here’s what sets Smartly apart:

AI-powered creative generation

Scale high-quality variations for every audience, market, and placement, without rebriefing your design team.

Feed-driven dynamic ads

Automatically pull in pricing, promotions, inventory, and product attributes to personalise ads in real time.

Predictive insights and pre-launch intelligence

Know which concepts have the strongest potential before you spend a pound.

Cross-platform creative and media orchestration

Run DCO across Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and retail media platforms with unified measurement and governance.

Brand safety and compliance built in

Ensure every creative output stays on-brand and compliant with UK advertising standards.

Want to see it in action? Book a demo with our London team.

FAQ: Dynamic Creative Optimisation

What is Dynamic Creative Optimisation?

Dynamic Creative Optimisation (DCO) is an AI-powered method of automatically assembling and testing creative variations to deliver personalised ads that improve engagement and conversion.

How does Dynamic Creative Optimisation improve campaign performance?

DCO identifies top-performing combinations of images, videos, copy, product data, and formats,optimising toward the best results in real-time and reducing wasted spend.

Which platforms support Dynamic Creative Optimisation?

Smartly supports DCO across Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Google Performance Max, and UK retail media networks, including Tesco Media, Boots Media Group, and Nectar360.

How can UK marketers get started with Dynamic Creative Optimisation?

Teams can begin by integrating their product feeds, building creative templates, and activating Smartly’s AI-powered DCO workflows. Book a demo with Smartly’s London team to get started.

Scale Personalisation with Smartly Dynamic Creative Optimisation

Dynamic Creative Optimisation is transforming how British advertisers build and scale personalised creative across social and retail media channels. With AI, automation, and real-time optimisation, UK marketers can deliver relevance at scale, without exploding production costs.

Smartly helps brands and agencies unify creative, media, and intelligence to launch smarter, faster, and with more impact.

See how Smartly helps UK advertisers scale personalisation with AI. Book a demo today.