creative certification: evaluating creative
Post on 15-Dec-2014
197 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to the DMA’s Creative Certification Course
Part One
Evaluating Creative Wed., Oct. 17, 2012 ; 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Presented by Alan Rosenspan &
Carol Worthington-Levy
2
• How to Evaluate Creative
• How to Get Great Print Work
• How to Get Great Digital Work
• Questions & Answers throughout, breaks as needed
Scope of the Course
3
Alan Rosenspan Creative director in three countries, for O&M and
Digitas
My teams have won over 100 Awards – including 20 DMA Echo Awards for results.
More importantly, a working creative director and direct marketing consultant
Client list has included American Express, Ancestry.com, Bank of America, Capital One, Embrace Home Loans, Humana, HSBC, Life Line Screening, Oreck, Princess Lines, Scotts Lawn Service, Viking River Cruises, many others
4
Carol Worthington-Levy
Wears three hats – Design/art director, writer and creative director/consultant
A stickler for responsive design: has read it all, tested it all, and even attended a seminar in Switzerland to learn what will encourage response… or crush it!
Recently sold her multichannel marketing partnership – yay!
Possibly one of the only 8-time DMA Echo winner in 3 categories: Mail, Catalog and Online/digital
Clients: AAA Auto Clubs, 5.11 Tactical, Adventures Cross Country teen travel, Wine of the Month Club, Jacuzzi, French Toast School Uniforms, Hewlett-Packard Printer Division, Niman Ranch premium meats, Comcast, American Isuzu, Intuit, BMW and more
5
Two points of view
Carol’s primary background is art
Carol is from the West coast
Carol has an impeccable sense of style, design, color…
Alan’s background is copy
Alan is from Boston
Alan is from Boston
6
But more importantly
We are both working creative directors and direct marketing consultants
We are both teachers and students of direct marketing
We both believe in great creative work
7
Who are you?
• You want to learn more about how to develop winning creative
• You want be a better manager and motivator of your team or your agency
• You want to be able to better evaluate creative before investing a lot of time and money
8
Introductions
• Your name and what you do
• You biggest challenge…
• What makes you unique?
– “I think I am the only person in this room who…”
9
Before we begin…
• Judgement call
• The truth about evaluating creative…
• Backgrounds and introductions
10
What do you think?
16
What do you think?
• What’s your overall reaction?
• Do you think it will work?
• What do you like?
• What do you think might be improved, or what would you do different?
22
The Truth about Evaluating Creative
• You are an excellent judge of creative
• You are intuitive and thoughtful…
• …when you stop to actually think about it in a critical way
23
Case History
Adventures Cross Country Teen Work Travel(ARCC)
Building a multichannel creative and marketing effort
24
ARCC was founded 30 years ago by two wise educators who saw promise in taking teenagers on work/travel adventures
25
Their catalog was being used for direct mail — and it was too expensive
• Even good response could not make up for bad ROI
• Big catalogs make poor lead generators because they’re too hard to get through
26
Plus the catalog was designed by a creative who made it
‘pretty’ but too hard to read
Tip: Reversing type out of a solid dark color can reduce comprehension to as little as 10% of what it could be
27
• Mail costs and printing have
gone up $$$
• People are SO busy
• Email and websites are better
for teens
• In-person presentations are
ideal to answer questions of
concerned but interested
parents
The world had changed: a new approach was needed to reach parents and teens who would be good prospects
28
• Instead of sending the catalog out first… Send self-mailer
ARCC multichannel program
29
• Quick-reading piece
• Highlight the learning and
mentoring aspect for
parents
• Show fun and adventure
for the teens
Self mailer …
30
• Plug in testimonials
by impressed parents
Self mailer breaks the concept down into short, easy pieces
31
• Prominent call to action keeps
the parent thinking about next
steps
Includes an intro that shows the founders, and says ‘in their own words’ their vision for ARCC
32
Break down the barriers one by one… using abbreviated schedules to tease
• “I don’t know whether we’ll have time this summer…”
• “They may not go places my kid wants to go…”
• “My son loves to swim and boat — will there be anything for him?”
• “It’s important for my kid to have experience that colleges will take notice of.”
33
• Prospecting lists used for the self mailer can also be used for the cards
• Send to customers from prior years, who are likely to be “pre-sold”
• The cards highlight locations of in-person presentations in their exact geographic area
Postard campaign
34
Reinforce the vacation- classroom concept, plus testimonials from students
35
We create many touchpoints: highly targeted and focused — and each with a specific goal
Print catalog is sent to respond to requests
Mailed cards invite families to special presentations held near their home, or online
Mailed brochures reach targeted lists to drive traffic to web, phone and catalog request
Seminars are powerful touchpoints!
36
• Brand concerns: how different can we make an
effort and still have it recognized as a brand?
• We had response reasons to choose different
fonts, different treatments, etc.
• In the long run, the ‘brand look and feel’ they
had was counter-responsive…
• Our approach was to do what we knew was the
‘right thing’, and go for the response
The material did not exactly match the catalog…
37
What do you think?
• What’s your overall reaction?
• Do you think it would work?
• Why or why not?• Questions about the methodology or approach
38
SuccessThe campaign served several purposes…
• Generated interest among those who never heard of ARCC
• Educated parents and kids about what’s available
• We didn’t get deeply into the topic of the competition… why start educating the reader that there IS competition?
• Cannot share numbers… but client came back for the following year’s campaign!
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Our goals
How to get the best creative work
What to look for; what to watch out for
Checklist on “How to Evaluate Creative”
How to motivate people to do their best work for you.
46
Section 1:
How to Get The Best Creative Work
47
• How can you tell if it will work in advance?
• How to give useful and welcome feedback
• Timing & Budget Questions
48
First, a definition
What is the best creative work?
You’re not looking for work that makes you laugh, or may win an award show
You’re looking for creative work that’s going to generate response
49
• Does it have to be new?
• Does it have to be different?
• What are some signs of good creative?
50
Does it have to be new?
• Not for the sake of being new
• New in this category
• It must be relevant to the product and the market
52
Does it have to be different?
• Not for the sake of being different
• Good creative should tell you something you don’t know…
• …or make you think of something in a new or different way
55
• But it should never, ever take away from the message
• Or worse, send the wrong message
58
7 Key Elements to Look For
59
1. Does a Big Idea Burst Through?
60
The first question to ask of any direct mail piece, advertisement or press release
61
“Without a big idea, your advertising will pass like a ship in the night.”
-David Ogilvy
“In direct marketing, the ship will sink.”
62
Why are big ideas so important?
A big idea cuts through the clutter
A big idea can multiply your success 10 times over
You only need one
It costs more to do a bad idea than to do a big idea
63
What is an Idea, anyway?
An idea is a change
“I have an idea; let’s do things the way we’ve always done them before!”
The bigger the change, the bigger the idea
64
Letter to Ministers in Germany
They were concerned about declining church attendance
They wanted to “wake up” ministers – and invite them to a discussion about the problems
They used a very simple letter – with just one sentence!
1700 Views!1700 Views!
69
70
71
72
73
74
How do you know if it’s a big idea?
Is it a new idea? Or new in this category?
Is it relevant to the product?
Does it make you think? Not “what are they talking about?” but about your relationships, your job, your
life, your future…
75
How do you know if it’s a big idea?
Does it make you feel?Emotion is stronger than logic
Is it credible? Do you believe it?
Does it stand out from others in it’s category?
76
2. Does a single-minded message come through?
77
People have a hard time “getting” even one thing
It’s not because they’re dumb; they’re just busy
Make sure your message breaks through the clutter – by focusing on one message
78
The “Bed of Nails” Approach
79
80
81
3. Is the Creative
Focused on People?
82
One of the great secrets...
Most companies focus on their products...or worse, themselves
The best companies focus on their prospects and customers
83
Ancestry.com
The world’s largest genealogy company
Has access to over 3 billion records, and will help you search
Their most successful direct mail and e-mail
84
85
86
87
But make them look good
Don’t show your prospects as “dumb”
Don’t make fun of them…
Make them into heroes – like Kodak
88
89
90
9191
92
93
94
4. Does it have an arresting Visual?
95
The Power of Visual Thinking
People remember less than 10% of what they’re told (and it’s always the wrong 10%)
“Follow my directions carefully”
People remember more than 50% of what they see
They even make it up - to fill in the gaps
96
Show and tell
Show me what you’ve got
Show me what you’re made of
“Show me the money”
97
101
102
Imagine a Harley Davidson Motorcycle parked inside a great cathedral
103
106
5. Does it have a compelling headline?
107
Headlines are Critical
They should have your key benefit in them
80% of people read that – and nothing else
Subject line in e-mail even more important
Johnson box serves the same purpose
108
109
110
WFNX – 101.7
• Alternative Rock Station in Boston
• How can they capture the tone of their station in a billboard?
111
112
113
6. Is it involving?
What Barnes & Nobles knows
115
3 Proven Ways to Involve People in your
Advertising
Ask questions or quiz them
Use an involvement device
Use the word “you” – a lot
117
121
122
123
124
125
126
6. Is it “campaignable?”
127
“Campaignable?”
Is it just a one-shot, or can you build a long term campaign around it?
Does it easily lend itself to other media?
A big idea can last for years…
128
Antwerp Zoo in Belgium was looking to boost attendance
Their elephant got pregnant
Send out a birth announcement?
…or create a campaign?
129
130
131
Multi-media campaign started right after conception
Turned all of Belgium into proud parents
Millions of people followed her 22 month development from inception to birth – including her first ultrasound photograph!
Congratulations, it’s an elephant!
132
133
Kai-Mook became the first elephant born on the internet on May 17, 2009 – weighing a healthy 100 kilograms.
Zoo attendance more than doubled – over 300,000 new visitors
134
135
Absolut Best Campaign
First ad appeared in 1980; still going strong 1500+ ads later
Created by Geoff Hayes of TBWA
Ads have become collector’s items; thousands of people write in requesting their favorite
Rolled out “In an Absolute World” in 2007
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
145
Judge for yourself:
Do these upcoming examples meet that list of criteria?...
• Big idea• Single-minded message• Focused on people• Arresting visual• Compelling headline• Involving• Campaignable
146
• Target market: Web
programmers and
webmasters for
medium to large sized
businesses
• They hate getting
junk mail
• We’re going to “sell”
them a web portal for
a new research site
• Client doesn’t believe
that mail works
147
• Big idea: make your website charismatic, like Elvis!
148
• Letter
149
• Brochure:Only Elvis can
draw as many people to your site…
150
• Reply with Offer: a limited edition Elvis collection that everyone wants, even programming geeks
151
Comcast … see if this mailer meets the criteria
• Single-minded message• Focused on people• Arresting visual• Compelling headline• Involving• Campaignable
152
Home entertainment: Comcast
• VIP invitation gets attention
• They flip it over…
153
Home entertainment: Comcast
• Concept: you can have your own private film festival in your home — how??...
154
• Challenge: Comcast high speed internet might at first not seem like entertainment as much as for email and website access. But Comcast wanted to position it as a way to download movies
155
• This positions the reader as a VIP when they get Comcast high speed internet
156
Did it fit these criteria?Do you think it worked?
• Single-minded message• Focused on people• Arresting visual• Compelling headline• Involving• Campaignable
157
Isuzu B2B mailing: does this meet the criteria too?
• This Isuzu truck is a huge seller• It’s especially well sized for two
industries: light construction, and the food industry
• Challenges: how to get companies with fleets to consider buying several instead of just one
• Budget $90,000
158
Isuzu Fleet campaign• Targeted two
markets ONLY
• Created a mailer for each, that is very specific to that industry
• This one is light construction: This truck can carry “6000 pounds of cement”
159
Isuzu Fleet campaign• This truck can
carry about 6,000 lbs of cement – sized specifically for typical construction load
• Of course it’s absurd – the box is 12 in. wide
160
Isuzu Fleet campaign• A dimensional package
needs all the hardworking elements that traditional flat mail does!
161
“500 gallons of Tomato Paste enclosed”
• This one is for the food service industry
• Typical load for this industry would be 500 gallons of tomato paste
162
Sent out 3000 boxes per targeted market
• Campaign cost $90,000• We sold 140 trucks• Bottom line - $4.2 million in sales• New leads generated for future contact• Huge ROI
163
Isuzu B2B fleet mailing: does it meet our criteria?
• Single-minded message• Focused on people• Arresting visual• Compelling headline• Involving• Campaignable
164
One last example: The Wayfarers Walking Tours
Does it have…• Single-minded message• Focused on people• Arresting visual• Compelling headline• Involving• Campaignable
165
Wayfarers had a very expensive catalog they were mailing
• Too expensive for prospecting: beautiful production values, heavy paper, etc
• Response not high enough when going to cold prospects
166
Mail is great for lead generation to travelers
• Costs a fraction of a catalog• You can actually get to the point much faster,
generate more action
167
The big idea: A walking tour is
different — and this difference gives you a more
wonderful vacation
168
Roll fold self mailer releases information gradually
169
Targeted a high end audience who loves travel
• Emphasized great meals• Showed people becoming friendly• Emphasized that the most memorable
adventures are best experienced close up• The journey is as important as the destination
• Response: 5% to cold mailing lists• Strong respondents converted in high numbers
170
The Wayfarer’s mailing: does it meet our criteria?
• Single-minded message• Focused on people• Arresting visual• Compelling headline• Involving• Campaignable
171
How Mick Jagger
briefed Andy Warhol for
“Sticky Fingers”
album cover
172
173
The Secret to Getting Great Creative
Creative people always have choices. They can’t always decide what they will work on; but they can always decide how much of their effort and heart they will put into their work.
Your goal is to make them want to go that extra step for your projects, your product , your company – and of course, for you.
174
Where the Best Creative Work Begins
175
Briefly speaking
• Successful creative starts with a well thought-out brief or Creative Strategy Form
• It doesn’t end there – but it starts there
• The more time and effort you put into your brief – the more likely you are to get effective work
176
The Briefing Meeting
• A brief should never simply be handed-out or e-mailed.
• It should be an interactive process; with the final brief emerging from the meeting
• You need to encourage comments and questions – and get the answers as soon as possible
177
Your Role in Briefing Creative
To initiate the project and provide the information necessary to complete it
To be an “expert” on your business; or to get the answers they need before the work is completed
To be open to new ideas and solutions To give constructive and specific feedback to
help improve the work (when necessary)
178
Not Your Role
To dictate the work
To withhold information or fail to provide it on a timely basis
To not have the answers
To create false deadlines or emergencies
To abuse creatives in any way, shape or form
179
The Role of Creatives
To represent the consumer’s point-of-view
To be an “expert” on their business – advertising and direct marketing
…and to become an “expert” on the clients business
To come up with big ideas
180
Not the Role of Creatives
To give the client only what they asked for…
To postpone the work and do a last-minute scramble
To give up, or do less than their best
To think that that account people, or clients, aren’t smart or good at their jobs
181
The Death
of an Agency
182
The Creative Strategy Form
183
The Creative Strategy Form
Every company has a different format
It is a blueprint of the job -- and a contract
It should be developed, agreed on and signed by everyone involved in the project - particularly the most senior person
It can be used to evaluate work
It has to be simple, understandable – not just filled with jargon
184
185
The Creative Strategy Form
1. Project Description What are we doing? Why?
2. Objective What are we trying to achieve? What do we want people to do? Be as specific and realistic as possible
3. Target Audiences The more specific, the better
186
The Creative Strategy Form
4. Main message and proof
What is the single most important reason that someone will buy our product or respond to our mailing?
Why should anyone believe you…?
187
The Creative Strategy Form
5. Offer What do they get? What do they have to do to get it?
6. Key points What other benefits do we need to communicate?
7. Ways to Respond Did we make it easy? Did we give them a choice?
8. Tone and Manner Consistent with the product?
188
The Creative Strategy Form
9. Mandatories Legal, logo, etc.
10. Budget How much do we have? Let the value of the customer drive the budget
11. Schedule How much time is left?!!!!
190
Put time on your side…
You want to give creative people time to do their best…
..but you also want your project to stay top-of-mind
Plus you don’t want them to forget anything, or worse, do it at the last-minute
191
Think in stages
Ideally, you want them to come back with rough ideas within 5-7 days
This keeps your project fresh in their minds and motivates them to get started right away
After this first meeting, you can give them more time to refine, make changes, add to the mix
192
Two questions you must answer
12. What is the target market currently using/doing? Understand their mindset Are they using a competitive product? Making do
without? Why should they switch to yours?
13. “You know you need it when…” When does someone know they need your product? Puts you in their shoes Identifies points of pain You’re looking for agreement...
193
Reviewing the Work
194
Best Practices
Allow them to finish their presentation, before you jump in
Start by acknowledging how much work has been done, and what you like
Review the brief to make sure that everything important has been addressed
195
Be constructive
See the big picture first – don’t nitpick
Never get personal. Not “I don’t like that headline” but “Does this headline have the main benefit?”
Go through the Checklist with them
196
Moving ahead
Take the time to provide thoughtful, useful feedback
This is your first exposure to the work; they have been at it for days
Resist the urge to change for change’s sake
198
Never say “The client will never buy this…”
Don’t try to anticipate what others will say or think; give your own opinion
Remember you are all on the same side
199
How do you know if it will work before it goes
out?
200
“You cannot judge direct marketing.
It judges you.”- Denny Hatch
201
Besides…
“Creative” packages don’t usually work
The “ugly” stuff almost always seems to win
Even the best work seems to produce a disappointingly low response
202
How do you know…?
The only guarantee in direct marketing is a moneyback guarantee
It can be very surprising what works and what doesn’t
However, if you use the following checklist, you will maximize the probability of success
203
Checklist
12 questions to ask about any creative execution
204
1. Is it on strategy?
2. Is it appropriate to the product and the positioning?
3. Is there a big idea? Does it come through?4. Does it have a striking visual or
graphic?
205
5. Do the offer and main benefits come through quickly and clearly?
6. Does the offer stand out?
7. Is it believable? Are claims supported with facts or testimonials? Is there a guarantee?
8. Does it include a strong call to action in every element?
206
9. Does it make you think or make you feel
10. Will it stand out from others in this category?
11. Are all the elements working as hard as they can for you?
12. The big question: would you respond?
207
These are all the ways to evaluate creative for regular advertising.
But direct marketing has to work even harder
208
We have to get people to act
Go to our website
Call a toll-free number
Send in an application or response form
Bring something into a store
209
1. It must be 100% absolutely clear• Above all, it must be clear and easy-
to-understand
• If people don’t “get it” – you lose
• You need to be direct in direct marketing
210
2. It must have a compelling offer• “If you want to dramatically improve your
response, you must improve your offer” – Axel Anderson
• They must know exactly what you want them to do, and how
• They must have an urgent reason to act now
211
3. Credibility is king• We need to prove what we claim
• We must use numbers, specifics, facts, lists
• Testimonials are critical
• One false note can kill response
212
213
The rest of the Scott’s LawnService
case-history
227
What do you think?
• What’s your overall reaction?
• Which package did you like best?
• Which do you think worked best?
• Why?
228
We told you that you’re an excellent judge of creative!
229
Thank you!
Alan Rosenspan& Carol Worthington-Levy
See you tomorrow atPart 2: Creative Rules that Work for Print
Thursday Oct 18, 2012 — 8:30am - 12:00pm
top related