Introduction
Creative advertising (aptly explained by the quotation) can be considered a combination of creative strategy and creative tactics. Creative strategy involves determining the intended message of the advertising, whereas creative tactics focus on the execution of that message. Creativity is hard because the ad’s sales impact and consumer reaction are unknown.
Creative strategy development
Most of the ads are part of a series of messages that constitute an IMC or advertising campaign, which is a set of interrelated and coordinated marketing communication activities that center on a single theme or idea that appears in different media across a specified time period.
Determining a message theme
A message theme should be a strong idea, as it is the central message that will be communicated in all the advertising and other promotional activities.
The basic elements of a creative strategy, as outlined in the copy platform, include:
- The basic problem or issue that the advertising must address is a fundamental element of a creative strategy.
- The objectives of the advertising and communications should be clearly defined.
- Target audience.
- Identify the major selling ideas or key benefits that need to be communicated.
- Creative strategy statement (campaign theme, appeal, and execution technique to be used).
- Supporting information and requirements.
The advertising message is as important as the strategy developed for the execution of the same. There are innumerable cases where the message has been beneficial but because of poor execution, the strategy has failed. There are also cases that illustrate the opposite scenario.
The classic example is that of Burger King, who changed their theme so often that their franchisees also lost faith in the brand. So, the strategy or tactic used to deliver the advertising message to the target audience is as important as the message itself.
Big Idea
Introduction
“Big Idea” in marketing and advertising is a term used to symbolize the foundation for a major undertaking in these areas—an attempt to communicate a brand, product, or concept to the general public by creating a strong message that pushes brand boundaries and resonates with the consumers. Every great product or brand starts with an idea. But how does an idea grow into a big idea? Big ideas, when executed well, excite your client, the marketplace, your employees, and potential clients. Big ideas create multiple layers of engagement, not just with the brand’s customers but also with your all-important staff.
According to Rob Hernandez, Global Brand Director, Firefly Millward Brown, it seems that everywhere we turn these days we see or hear something about “big ideas.” Major global companies, including the likes of Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Diageo, are putting increasing emphasis on finding powerful, mind-blowing creative concepts to fuel their marketing communications campaigns. Not content to leave the appearance of big ideas to chance, these marketers are actively investing in the process of developing them.
According to Millward Brown, among the notable success stories, we find the Guinness campaign that creatively affirms, “Good things come to those who wait,” and P&G’s salute to moms, based on the idea that the myriad self-sacrificing tasks of motherhood make it possible for children to grow and succeed and maybe even become Olympic champions. This is where a big idea comes in. A big idea can cut through the noise to capture consumers’ hearts and minds. A big idea can change a brand’s course for the better. Yet many advertisers have traditionally neglected the stage of research in which truly big ideas are likely to emerge.
Features of Big Idea
1. Big ideas resonate with consumers.
For an idea to be powerful, it must hit home with consumers in a meaningful way. It must be based on an authentic idea. Despite its potential for rational appeal, a big idea typically evokes strong emotions.
2. Big ideas are disruptive.
One of the most important elements for any big idea is that it is a game-changer. It disrupts established norms and challenges conventional categories. Taking distinctiveness to the extreme, a big idea represents a new way of thinking, feeling, or acting.
3. Big ideas have talk value
The biggest and best ideas generate buzz and word of mouth. People feel compelled to share their reactions to these emotionally charged, highly resonant, and game-changing propositions.
4. Big ideas stretch brands.
A big idea pushes and extends brand boundaries without breaking them. We consider this an indicator of brand compatibility, one that accounts for believability and credibility all in one. So the question we ask is, does the idea push the brand in positive and potentially new ways without going so far as to strain either credibility or believability?
5. Big ideas transcend cultural and geographic boundaries
The most significant ideas are genuinely universal. Cutting across distinctions of class and ethnicity, the biggest ideas speak to people at a fundamental human level.
Brand with Big Ideas
A big idea is the driving, unifying force behind a brand’s marketing efforts. Of course you want to have a big idea behind your campaign, but how do you know if you really have one? What separates a truly big idea from one that is merely ordinary? How do you recognize a big idea or detect a kernel of a big idea that could be developed?
Here are a few examples of big ideas from brands you know:
- Google: to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
- Amazon: to be earth’s most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.
- Southwest Airlines: to be THE low-cost airline.
- Nike: to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. (And from Nike’s perspective, if you have a body, you are an athlete.)
- Facebook: to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.
- eBay: to provide a global online marketplace where practically anyone can trade practically anything, enabling economic opportunity around the world.
About the Author
