prentice hall, © 200912-1 the creative side and message strategy part 4: principles: creativity and...

Prentice Hall, © 2009 12-1

The Creative Side and Message Strategy

Part 4: Principles: Creativity and Breakthrough Advertising

Chapter 12


Questions We’ll AnswerQuestions We’ll Answer

• How do we explain the function and most important parts of a creative brief?

• What are some key creative strategy approaches?

• Can creative thinking be defined, and how does it lead to a Big Idea?

• What characteristics do creative people have in common, and what is their typical creative process?


The Art and Science of AdvertisingThe Art and Science of Advertising

THE TWO SIDES OF ADVERTISING

• The advertisement translates the logic of planning decisions into a creative idea that is original, attention getting, and memorable.

• Ads must persuade people to take action and make a relevant connection with the audience while presenting a selling idea in an unexpected way.

• Effective advertising is the product of both science (persuasion) and art (creativity).


The Role of CreativityThe Role of Creativity

THE TWO SIDES OF ADVERTISING

• Advertising creativity is a product of teamwork between copywriters, art directors, and even broadcast directors working together to generate concept, word, and picture ideas.

• In advertising, creativity if both a job description and a goal.

• Creativity is a special form of problem solving.


What is creative strategy?What is creative strategy?

MESSAGE PLANNING

• The creative strategy phase brings together the art and science of advertising.– Ad ideas must be creative (original, different,

novel, unexpected) and strategic (right for the product and target; meets advertising objectives.

• Creative strategy/message strategy– What the ad says

• Execution– How it is said


The Creative BriefThe Creative Brief

MESSAGE PLANNING

• Spells out the creative strategy and key execution details.

• Prepared by the account planner to summarize the basic marketing and advertising strategy.

• Provides direction to the creative team to develop a creative concept.


Key Points in a Creative BriefKey Points in a Creative Brief

MESSAGE PLANNING

• Problem that can be solved by communication.• Target audience and key insights into their attitudes and

behavior.• Brand position and other branding decisions, such as personality and image.

• Communication objectives that specify the desired response to the message by the target audience.

• Proposition or selling idea that will motivate the target to respond.

• Media considerations about where and when the message should be delivered.

• Creative direction that provides suggestions on how to stimulate the desired consumer response. These aren’t creative ideas but may touch on such execution or stylistic direction as the ad’s tone of voice.


The Road Crew Creative BriefThe Road Crew Creative Brief

MESSAGE PLANNING

• Why are we advertising at all? To create awareness for an evening alternative ride service.

• What is the advertising trying to do? Make the new ride service appealing to men in order to reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes.

• What are their current attitudes and perceptions? “My car is here right now. Why wait? There are few options available anyway. I want to keep the fun going all night long.”

• What is the main promise we need to communicate? It’s more fun when you don’t have to worry about driving.

• What is the key moment that we tie to? “Bam! The fun stops when I need to think about getting to the next bar or getting home.”

• What tone of voice should we use? The brand character is rugged, cool, and genuine. We need to be a “straight shooter” buddy on the barstool next to the target. They do not want to be preached to or told what to do. We need to communicate in a language they can relate to. (Words like “program” may cause him to tune out.)


Message ObjectivesMessage Objectives

MESSAGE PLANNING

• See/hear—create attention, awareness, interest, recognition.

• Feel—touch emotions and create feelings.• Think/learn—deliver information, aid

understanding, create recall.• Believe—change attitudes, create conviction, and

preference.• Connect—establish brand identity and

associations, transform a product into a brand with distinctive personality and image.

• Act—stimulate trial, purchase, repurchase or some other form of action.


Road Crew Goals and ObjectivesRoad Crew Goals and Objectives

MESSAGE PLANNING

• Goal—Reduce alcohol related crashes by 5%

• Objectives– Create awareness of the ride service program and

positive attitudes toward it.

– Establish a cost-efficient level of rides in the first year of operations, which involved fund-raising, soliciting volunteers, and other community support.

– Address the gap between awareness (don’t drink and drive), attitudes (risky, scary, potentially dangerous), and behavior.

– Encourage a behavior change consistent with new attitudes and awareness..(get


TargetingTargeting

MESSAGE PLANNING

• Target decisions are very important to message strategy.

• Target audience for Road Crew Campaign– 21- to 34-year old single men with a high-school

education and a blue-collar jobs.

– They are responsible for most alcohol-related crashes; most likely to kill or be killed.

• Consumer insight– Tended to worry about driving home drunk and this

worry took the edge off an otherwise delightful evening.


BrandingBranding

MESSAGE PLANNING

• Brand positions and brand images are built through message strategies and brought to life through advertising executions.

• Advertising creates brand salience.– The brand is visible, has a presence in the

marketplace, consumers are aware of it, and the brand is important to its target market.

• Brand icons reinforce lend personality, emotion, and stories to their brands.– Burger King’s “creepy” BK King

– Geico Gecko


Creative Strategy ApproachesCreative Strategy Approaches

MESSAGE STRATEGIES

• Head and Heart– Head: uses more rational, cognitive (thinking)

objectives.

– Heart: uses more emotional, affective (feeling) objectives.

• Hard Sell and Soft Sell– Hard sell: uses an informational message that

touches the mind and creates a response.

– Soft sell: uses emotional appeals or images to create a response based on attitudes, moods, and feelings.


Creative Strategy ApproachesCreative Strategy Approaches

MESSAGE STRATEGIES

• Frazer’s Six Creative Strategies– Six creative strategies that address various types

of advertising situations; identify common approaches to advertising strategy.

• Taylor’s Six-Segment Strategy Wheel– Divides strategies into the Transmission view

(“head” strategies) and the Ritual view (“heart” strategies).

– Each view is divided into three segments: Rational, Acute Need, and Routine on the Transmission side; and Ego, Social, and Sensory on the Ritual side.


Strategic Formats and FormulasStrategic Formats and Formulas

MESSAGE STRATEGIES

• Lectures – A series of instructions given verbally

– Speaker presents evidence to persuade the audience

– Lectures are inexpensive, compact, and efficient

– A “talking head” delivers a lecture about a product

• Dramas– Funny or serious stories about how the world works– Characters speak to each other and audience infers

lessons



MESSAGE STRATEGIES

• Selling Strategies– A selling premise uses a rational (head)

approach that states the logic behind the sales offer.

– An appeal uses an emotional (heart) approach to make the product attractive or interesting.

– A feature or attribute has a practical effect on customers.

– A claim is a product-based strategy based on how well the product will perform.

– Support is the proof or substantiation needed to make a claim believable.



MESSAGE STRATEGIES

• Rational Customer-focused Strategies– Benefit—what the product does for the user; the

benefit.

– Promise—what benefit the user will get in the future by using the product.

– Reason—why you should buy this product; “because.”

– Unique selling proposition—a benefit unique to the product and important to the user.



MESSAGE STRATEGIES

• Message Formulas– Straightforward

– Demonstration

– Comparison

– Problem solution /problem avoidance

– Humor

– Slice of life

– Spokesperson

– Teasers



MESSAGE STRATEGIES

• Matching Messages to Objectives – Get attention

– Create interest

– Resonate

– Create believability

– Are remembered• Slogans

• Taglines • Key visual



MESSAGE STRATEGIES

• Matching Messages to Objectives • Get attention

• Create interest

• Resonate

• Create believability

• Are remembered• Slogans

• Taglines • Key visual

– Touch emotions

– Inform

– Teach

– Persuade

– Create brand association

– Drive action


What is a creative concept?What is a creative concept?

CREATIVE CONCEPTS

• An idea—a thought or concept formed by mentally combining pieces and fragments into something meaningful.

• Concepting—the process of coming up with a new advertising idea.

• James Webb Young defines an idea as a new or unexpected combination of thoughts.


Advertising Big IdeasAdvertising Big Ideas

CREATIVE CONCEPTS

• The point of focus for communicating the message.

• A theme or central concept (creative concept).

• The “Road Crew” name helped define the campaign’s big idea.

• The “Beats driving” slogan supported the Big Idea and communicated a benefit.


The ROI of CreativityThe ROI of Creativity

CREATIVE CONCEPTS

• According to DDB agency, an effective ad is relevant (means something to target audience), original (novel, fresh, unexpected, unusual), and has impact (makes an impression).

• An idea can be creative for you if you have never thought of it before, but to be truly creative it has to be one that no one else has thought of before.


The Creative LeapThe Creative Leap

CREATIVE CONCEPTS

• Divergent, right-brain thinking explores possibilities rather than using rational thinking.

• “Thinking outside the box.” • Taking creative risks.• To get a creative idea, you must leap

beyond the mundane language of the strategy statement and see the problem in a novel and unexpected way.


Characteristics of Creative PeopleCharacteristics of Creative People

CREATIVE CONCEPTS

• Assertive, self-sufficient, persistent, self-disciplined.

• High tolerance for ambiguity and powerful egos; risk takers who are internally driven.

• Don’t care much about group standards and opinions; typically have inborn skepticism and strong curiosity.

• Key characteristics of advertising creatives: – Problem solving

– Ability to visualize

– Openness to new experiences

– Conceptual thinking


The Creative ProcessThe Creative Process

CREATIVE CONCEPTS

How to get an idea:

1. Immersion—read, research, learn about problem.

2. Ideation—look at the problem from every angle; generate as many ideas as possible.

3. Brainfog—you may hit a wall and want to quit.

4. Incubation—let your subconscious work on it.

5. Illumination—the idea often comes when you’re relaxed and doing something else.

6. Evaluation—Does it work? Is it on strategy?


BrainstormingBrainstorming

CREATIVE CONCEPTS

How to get an idea:

• Get a group of 6–10 people together to come up with ideas.

• People and ideas play off of each other and stimulate more ideas than one could alone.

• Stay positive, don’t judge, don’t criticize.

• No distractions or interruptions.

• Write everything down.

• Only after all ideas have been expressed and every avenue exhausted, you start picking through and evaluating the ideas.


How to Create Original IdeasHow to Create Original Ideas

CREATIVE CONCEPTS

• What If? • An unexpected association

– Free association • Dramatize the obvious • Catchy phrasing • An unexpected twist • A play on words • Analogy and metaphor • Familiar and strange • A twisted cliché • Twist the obvious• To prevent unoriginal ideas, avoid “the look-alike”

and the tasteless.


Little Guys and Big IdeasLittle Guys and Big Ideas

CREATIVE CONCEPTS

• Small, boutique agencies may be more open to risk.

• Sources like Zimmerman Advertising sell stock advertising online.

• A professional licensing firm, Thought Equity, recycles unused advertisements.

• User-generated “citizen ads” like those found on YouTube or contributed through contests can form an entire campaign.


Little Guys and Big IdeasLittle Guys and Big Ideas

MANAGING CREATIVE STRATEGY

• Extension: An Idea with Legs– A strong “Big Idea” be an umbrella for a variety of executions.

• Adaptation: Taking an Idea Global– Standardizing the campaign across multiple markets only works if

the strategy and objectives are the same.– Creative executions may be customized due to cultural differences.

• Evaluation: The Go/No Go Decision– Is it on strategy?– Structural analysis:

• The power of the narrative• The strength of the product claim• How well the two are integrated

• Copy Testing– A formal method to evaluate effectiveness.

– Vampire creativity — so creative the product may not be remembered.


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Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice HallPublishing as Prentice Hall

prentice hall, © 200912-1 the creative side and message strategy part 4: principles: creativity and...

Documents

creative direction

creative concept

creative people

creative team

creative thinking

advertising strategy

creative strategy phase

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