Chapter 12 Jewler & Drewniany say an ad DDB Needham: Needs a persuasive message to take action Must make a relevant connection with its audience Should present a selling idea in an unexpected way DDB Needham: An effective ad is relevant, original, and has impact

The Art and Science of Creative Advertising John Eighmy 50 percent of advertising is copycat advertising The Big Idea A creative concept that implements the ad strategy so that the ad is attention-getting and memorable Serves as a theme for advertising campaigns Should have focus, uniqueness, flexibility, truth Creative ideas must be strategic (right for the product and target)

Creative Thinking Some creative thinking techniques: An unexpected twist An unexpected association Catchy phrasing A play on words Analogy and metaphor Divergent thinking To prevent unoriginal ideas, avoid: The common (obvious or predictable) The look-alike (copycat) Clichés The tasteless

Creative Characteristics Creative Thinking Creative Roles Copywriters and art directors develop the creative concept and draft the execution of the advertising idea The Creative Person In advertising, creativity is both a job description and a goal Creative Characteristics Problem solving Ability to visualize Openness to new experiences Conceptual thinking

Creative Steps / Stages Immersion Ideation (Brainstorming) Brainfog Incubation Illumination Evaluation

Creative Strategy Where the art and science of advertising come together A Big Idea must be Creative Strategic Creative strategy What the advertisement says Also called message strategy Creative execution How it is said Writing, design, production

Head and Heart Strategies Two basic approaches to translating message objectives into strategy Hard- and Soft-Sell strategies Hard Sell: touches the mind and creates a response based on logic—customer wants info and makes a rational decision based on features and benefits Soft Sell: uses emotional appeals or images to create a response—little interest in info and will respond to emotional connections and brand image

Lectures and Drama Lecture: a serious instruction given verbally Most advertising messages use a combination of two basic literary techniques to reach the head or the heart of the consumer Lecture: a serious instruction given verbally Speaker presents evidence in form of arguments Efficient, inexpensive, several explicit points Drama: relies on the viewer to make inferences Stories with characters speaking to one another Customers become involved & learn from dramas Draw conclusions and apply them to decisions

Creative Strategy Messages that Drive Perception Attention and awareness (stopping power) Interest (pulling power to keep attention) Memory (stays with you) Messages that Drive Cognition (thought) These messages get consumers to learn about products by focusing on a product’s features May illustrate points of differentiation Messages that Touch Emotions Highlight psychological attraction of the product to the target audience through emotional responses

Creative Strategy Messages that Persuade Selling premises—logic behind a sales offer Benefit—what it can do for you Promise—a benefit that predicts the future Reason Why—provides evidence for a benefit (because) Messages that Transform Products Image advertising is used to create a picture in the customer’s mind (may use associations) Messages that Drive Action A call to action gives direction to the consumer about how to respond

Message Approaches Straightforward Demonstration Comparison Problem solution/Problem avoidance Humor Slice of Life Spokesperson Teasers

Planning and Managing Creative Strategy The Creative brief Prepared by the account planner, summarizes the marketing and advertising strategy Vary in format, but must combine basic strategy decisions Strategy Decisions The problem The target market/audience Brand strategy The objectives Proposition & support Execution suggestions Media strategy