ADV100: PRINCIPLES OF ADVERTISING

Lesson 6

Creativity and Strategic Planning

WHAT IS CREATIVITY?

Creativity has been defined as:A quality possessed by persons that enables them to generate novel

approaches in situations, generally reflected in new and improved solutions to problems

Creativity is the act of merging or connecting ideas which have not been merged before

New ideas are formed by connecting current ones in our minds

“Merging or connecting ideas which have not been merged before”

CombiningConvergence

Fusion

Any others??

OTHER WORDS

Advertising creativity refers to:The ability to generate fresh, unique and appropriate ideas that can be used as solutions to communications problems

Creative strategy involves determining what the advertising message will say or communicate

Creative tactics deal with how the message strategy will be implemented or executed.

WHAT IS ADVERTISING CREATIVITY?

IMPORTANCE OF CREATIVE STRATEGY

• Creative strategy an integral part of the promotional process

• Creative strategy is often crucial to the success or failure of the campaign

• There are also many situations where companies struggle to find a

creative formula that works effectively.

PLANNING FOR CREATIVITY: Account Planning

• Involves research & gathering all relevant information about a client’s product or service, brand, and consumers in the target audience

• Plays an important role during creative strategy development by driving the process from the customers’ point of view

• Planners work with the client as well as agency personnel, such as the creative team and media specialists

• They express the Creative challenge and pass it to the “Creatives”.

2. CREATIVE PROCESS

Ideas from the early ‘Mad Men’

(i) ImmersionGetting raw material or data, immersing one's self in the problem to get background

(ii) DigestionRuminating on the data acquired, turning it this way and that in the mind

(iii) IncubationCeasing analysis. Putting the problem out of the conscious mind for a time.

JAMES WEBB YOUNG (JWT Agency)

JAMES WEBB YOUNG (JWT)

(iv) IlluminationOften a sudden inspiration or intuitive revelation about a potential solution

(v) VerificationStudying the idea, evaluating it, and developing it for practical usefulness.

INPUTS TO THE CREATIVE PROCESS

AskingQuestions

Reading andanalysis

Productresearch

Listeningto others

Trying theproduct

Working withthe client

CREATIVEPROCESS

“COPY PLATFORM”

Plan or checklist that is useful in guiding the development of an advertising message or campaign1. The problem or issue the advertising must address2. Advertising and communications objectives3. Target audience4. Major selling idea or key benefits to communicate5. Creative strategy statement (campaign theme, appeal, execution

technique)6. Supporting information and requirements.

FINDING MAJOR SELLING IDEAS

• Use a unique selling proposition (USP)• Create a brand image• Find the inherent drama• Positioning.

UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION

• Each advertisement makes a proposition to the customer• It must be one the competition can’t or doesn’t offer• It must be strong enough to pull over new customers to the brand.

UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION

BenefitBuy this product and you'll benefit this way or enjoy this reward.

Unique Must be unique to this brand or claim; rivals can't/don't offer.

PotentThe promise.. strong enough or attractive enough to move people

PositionEstablish or “position” the product or service in a particular place in the consumer’s mind

CREATING A BRAND IMAGE (Ogilvy & Mather Agency)

David Ogilvy’s Approach• Brand image or personality is particularly important when

brands are similar• Every ad must contribute to the complex symbol that is the

brand image.

CREATING A BRAND IMAGE(Leo Burnett Agency)

Leo Burnett’s Approach• Find the inherent drama or characteristic of the product that

makes consumers buy it• “(Inherent drama) is often hard to find but it is always there, and

once found it is the most interesting and believable of all advertising appeals.”

INHERENT DRAMA…

Advertising that emphasises the benefits of a product or service, such as the speed of a car or the nutritional value of cereals, etc.

THESE DAYS IT’S ABOUT INSIGHTS

The act or result of apprehending the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitively

Synonyms: Discernment, judgment; perception; instinct

The quality or ability to grasp and comprehend what is obscure.

3. MESSAGE APPEALS AND EXECUTION STYLES

“APPEALS”

• The approach used to attract the attention of consumers, and/or

• To influence consumer feelings toward the product, service or cause.

RATIONAL APEALSFeature appeals

Focus on the dominant product features

Competitive appealsMake comparisons to other brandsFavorable price appealsMake price offer the dominant point

News appealsNews or announcement about the productProduct/service popularity appealsStress on the brand’s popularity.

EMOTIONAL APPEALS – Personal States or Feelings

• Achievement / Accomplishment• Actualization• Affection• Ambition• Arousal / stimulation• Comfort• Excitement• Fear• Happiness.

• Joy• Love• Nostalgia• Pleasure• Pride• Safety / Security• Self-esteem• Sentiment• Sorrow / grief.

EMOTIONAL APPEALS – Personal States or Feelings

• Acceptance• Affiliation/belonging• Approval• Embarrassment• Involvement• Recognition• Rejection• Respect • Status.

EMOTIONAL APPEALS – Social States or Feelings

TRANSFORMATION ADS

• The ads create feelings, images, meanings, and beliefs about the

product or service that may be activated when consumers use it

• The feelings/images aren’t normally associated with the product

• These transform the consumer’s interpretations of use of the

product

What is “EXECUTION”

• The way a particular appeal is turned into an advertising message

• The way the message is presented to the consumer

KINDS OF COPY APPEALS – see links

• Straight-sell or factual message

• Science / technical evidence

• Demonstration

• Comparison

• Slice of life

• Others

MORE EXAMPLES

• Testimonial

• Animation

• Personality• Fantasy

• Dramatization

• Humor

• Combination.

4. CLIENT EVALUATION

EVALUATION GUIDELINES…

• Consistent with brand’s marketing objectives?• Consistent with brand’s advertising objectives?• Consistent with creative strategy objectives?• Does it communicate what it’s suppose to?• Approach appropriate to target audience?• Communicate clear, convincing message?• Does execution overwhelm the message?• Appropriate to the media environment?• Is the advertisement truthful and tasteful?