The Creative Side & Message Strategy Lecture 12 Week 7 Strategy  Creative Idea  Creative Execution  Media Use = Effective Advertising = Sound Strategy + Great Creative

Creative Strategy “Advertising: the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it.” Stephen Leacock (Canadian Humorist) “Creative without strategy is called art; creative with strategy is called advertising.” Jeff I. Richards (Advertising Professor) There is both a science & an art that drives effective advertising. Research / Strategy / Insights form the foundation stone of advertising or give it directional thrust. Creative side of advertising forms the actual façade or the visible part of advertising. Effective Ads Relevant Original Impact

Big Idea in Advertising Taking the creative leap! Creative concept that implements the advertising strategy so that the message is both attention grabbing and memorable It is expressed visually and verbally to express the complete thought Looks at things from a different, unobvious perspective Example: Got Milk Campaign Big Idea: People drink milk with certain foods and if it is unavailable, then they get frustrated TVC example

Got Milk original

Creative Advertising Creative Idea Copycat Advertising! Challenge A new combination of thoughts A thought that comes from placing 2 previously unrelated concepts together No one else has thought of it before Copycat Advertising! The original sin 80% Pakistani ads 50% American ads (John Eimy, Advertising Expert) Challenge Original + Interesting ideas (esp. for boring products) Ex: Chimanlal Charlie

Starter’s Guide to Better Creativity To Do Unexpected Twist Unexpected Association Catchy Phrasing Play on Words Analogy / Metaphor Familiar & Strange Not To Do The Common The Look-Alike Cliches The Tasteless Sofia Bank – Unexpected association Spiderman – familiar and strange Pringles - play on words Sealect Tuna – the unexpected twist Heinz Baked beans – Tasteless? Tabasco – metaphor? Arano – catchy phrasing Warid Glow vs. Ipod – The look-alike Bank Alfalah vs. Samba – look-alike

Copycat advertising Similar product – similar visuals – just different grid / layout.

Sealect Tuna

Sindoor ad

Tabasco

The Creative Side & Message Strategy Lecture 13 Week 7 Read the steps and stages of How to Come Up with a Creative Idea (immersion, ideation, brainfog, incubation, illumination, evaluation) and the various techniques of doing so (brainstorming, free association, creative aerobics, etc.) from the book and ask questions if you have any. So, as part of your creative strategy & message development process, your objective is to think of the big idea, and you also need to figure out what technique, format, approach & appeals you will use to create your message & most effectively achieve your advertising objective. There are a number of different techniques employed together or alone by advertisers to achieve the advertising objectives for a particular campaign.

Basic Approaches Selecting approach depends on: Target audience Marketing situation Product Product category Involvement level Head / rational / hard sell approach or the heart / emotional / soft sell approach. The hard sell approach is when you talk about attributes, benefits, etc, and create a response based on understanding and logic. Soft sell is when you use images and emotional appeals to create a response based on attitudes, moods, dreams & feelings. Most ads combine both a hard sell and soft sell approach.

Awareness Strategy Objective  Stop, pull & stick Techniques Shockvertising High Contrast Storytelling Jingles Clever slogans Colors, shapes, key visuals & brand characters Shockvertising  ads try to get attention through outlandish creative ideas or provocative visuals Contrast  stand out from the medium – in print, if everything is small and gray, be big and bold, if magazine then be white and plain (maybe like the thai toothpaste ad or the pringles ad). In tv, be loud and bold. Teasers  mystery ads that don’t identify the product or don’t deliver enough information to make sense but are designed to arouse curiousity. Storytelling in an ad because most people want to know how the story ends. (The Camlin marker ad) Colors, shapes & brand characters also help in increasing memorability of an advertisement or a product.

Information Strategy Objective  Understanding Techniques Claims / Straightforward PODs & features Long copy ads / Infomercials Claims – ads using claims focus on how the product will perform – giving factual information. What we call informational ads. PODs – ads that focus on the product’s points of differentiation. Long copy ads in print or infomercials in TV are used so the audience can read and assimilate the information that is being provided (usually for high-involvement products).

Persuasion Strategy Objective  Attitudes; conviction & preference Techniques Selling premises Comparison Demonstration Problem-Solution/Problem Avoidance – Vivel ex? Slice of life Testimonials Endorsements – ICI Dulux Example Interview / audience involvement Persuasion can be produced by rational arguments or compelling emotions A selling premise states the logic behind the sales offer and identifies a reason or argument that might appeal to prospects & motivate them to respond – basically a rational idea designed to convince through proof. Such ads usually show benefits of products and support those benefits with reasons and logic. Some ads are based on the USP again, supported by reason why. Also, to build conviction a number of different techniques are used such as Product comparisons (direct or indirect) Demonstration of product use and what it can do for you. Problem solution/avoidance – the message begins with a problem and the product helps solve it or avoid it. Slice of life is just a format of problem solution in a typical situation. Credibility techniques such as testimonials, endorsements, audience interviews.

Emotion Strategy Objective  emotions, liking Techniques Humor / Comedy / Satire (Ufone) Sex & fear appeals (Motorazr) Fantasy & surrealism Song & dance Most product ads usually carry some or the other sort of emotional appeal these days even companies like banks are trying to touch their customers emotionally rather than just purely based on straightforward rational messages. There are a number of appeals that can be used to create an emotional connection between the product and user. Most commonly, they make us feel good or anxious or scared or happy and so on.

Ufone 5 ka 15

Moto Razr

Brand Strategy Objective  Associations, brand meaning Techniques Brand characters Image & lifestyle ads Simple identity cues

Bibendum

Action Strategy Objective  Trial, purchase, etc. Techniques Call-to-action Price ads Reinforcement / Reminder ads

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Kashmir Banaspati