Strategy
Monday, Creative February 20, 2012 10:05 AM
You have a strategy. Now what? Strategy is how we get from where we are to where we want to be. How we actually get there requires tactics. Tactics come to life through creative development. o Creative teams create these tactics (Art Directors/Copywriters). o Account Planners and Account Managers communicate the strategy to the creative teams via a creative briefing. o The physical document that accompanies and guides the briefing is called the creative brief. 1 page long Used to inform, inspire and guide the communications development process Provides essential info to the creative team Brings the strategy to life Sparks creativity Anchors/focuses development ** A good creative brief is... Based in thorough research and analysis Rooted in final, approved strategy (approved by the client) Brief Insightful Understandable - "Speak Human" Single-minded An idea generator Executable ** A good creative brief is NOT... The first draft of creative execution A record of everything we know about the category, the consumer or the product o Bring your back-up info to the briefing - it does not belong on the brief Simply a piece of paper o Make it come alive! Be creative! o GET OUT OF THE OFFICE - unless you are creating an ad to sell office supplies to ad executives **Common Elements of a Creative Brief Goals and objectives o What are the goals/objectives of this particular campaign Ex) to increase brand awareness by 50% The challenge Strategy Target audience Key consumer insight Consumer challenges/barriers
Single most important message Supporting messages Call to action Media vehicles Timing Budget considerations Evaluation criteria ** EXAMPLE - The Right Hand Ring Objective: o Consumer awareness - create a "buzz" around the right hand ring - specifically, create 20% awareness Project strategy o Rings are the mainstay of the diamond jewelry category - #1 selling type of diamond rings - "a woman can never have too many rings!" - command highest average price - beyond traditional symbolic pieces, "fashion ring" sales contributed $3 billion in annual sales - but fashion ring sales are down - single woman comprise quarter of diamond jewelry sales so they are prime target, but never have been Target audience o "DIAMOND ZEALOTS" - more pieces of diamond jewelry a woman acquires the more she wants and the sooner she wants them almost addictive upward curve - diamond zealots own 6+ pieces, zealot is an "evolved" woman, prob 30+ who comes to know and believe in herself -proud of who she is, may be married or single, aspires to love/romance, embraces diamonds as ultimate symbol of commitment - can afford luxuries both financially/psychologically Key Consumer Insight o When it comes to diamonds, the Zealot feels comfortable hinting, shopping and sometimes even purchasing pieces for herself however draws line at diamond rings fencing them off as exclusively romantic territory -- barrier is especially great among single women for whom the engagement ring is THE diamond ring Single Most Important Message o Diamond ring stands for more than just romance, it stands for empowerment JOMC 137 2/22/12- Creative Strategy Creative Execution o AdAge said Chipotle stole the show during the Grammy's Animated advertisement about reversing the production trends of recent years and getting back to natural, sustainable farming Starting Point: The Brief o Think of the creative brief as a roadmap o Based on research, strategic planning, and creative objectives Who is your target audience? media What are they consuming? i. What do you want to say and how? o Written by account planners for creative team (with input from account management, client, creative director, and media planner)
Example Brief From J. Walter Thompson i.1. Founded in 1864 i.1. 4th largest agency worldwide i.1. Headquartered in NYC with 90 offices worldwide i.2. Part of the WPP Group i.3. Among one of the first to have account planning function i.1.a. What is the opportunity and/or problem that the advertising must address? i.1.b. Brief summary: why you are advertising i.1.c. Take consumer's point of view i.1.a.a. Not "sales are down" i.1.a.a. Rather, "consumers are choosing cheaper alternatives" and disregarding brand loyalty i.1.a. What do we want people to do as a result of the advertising? i.1. Whom are we talking to? i.1.a. Develop rich description of target audience i.1.a. Indicated their beliefs and feelings about the category i.1.a. Avoid demographic information only i.1.a.a. Add personality and lifestyle dimensions i.1. What is the key response we want from the advertising? i.1.a. State succinctly: what single thing do we want people to feel, notice, or believe as a result of advertising? i.1. What information/attributes might help produce this response? i.1.a. Could be a key product attribute, key user need which the brand fulfills, etc. i.1.b. Avoid a laundry list i.1. What aspect of the brand personality should the advertising express? i.2. Are there media or budget considerations? i.3. Is there any additional information that might affect the creative direction? i.1. Feel free to use a visual summary, a picture, drawing, or any object which aids in understanding the nature of the brief Structure of the Brief o What is the business problem? i. Based on SWOT, marketing objectives o What is the role of communications? i. What are the ad objectives? o Who are we communicating to? i. Brand usage, demographics, geographics, psychographics o What do they think/feel/do now? And what do we want them to think/fee/do? 1. What do we need to communicate to convince them? 1.i. Key promise = single most important message 1.i.1. Example: Now you can feel better faster by taking NyQuil each night and DayQuil each day when you have a cold
i. i.
How can we communicate that? 1.i.1. Using rational and emotional reasons for the target to believe the key promise 1. Educational guidelines/mandatories 1.i. What media classes and vehicles? 1.ii. Message requirements? (i.e. logo size, URL, FB link, Twitter handle?) 1.i. Legal guidelines? 1.i. Additional client "must-haves"? The Key to Good Advertising 1. Ads that resonate and are relevant 1. Messaging appeals 1.i. How to make the ad resonate 1.i.1. Sex appeal, fear appeal, humor appeal, logical appeal, values appeal 1.i. How to make the ad relevant 1.i.1. Lifestyle 1.i.1.a. Show how the brand fits into the consumer's life: what need or problem does it fulfill? 1.i.1. Scientific, 1.i.1.a. Focus on research and evidence to emphasize brand's superiority over the competition 1.i.1. Spokesperson/testimonial 1.i.1.a. Feature individual who displays the brand's benefits or conveys cultural meaning 1.i.1.a.i. Clint Eastwood "Halftime in America" Chrystler ad 1.i.1. Demonstration 1.i.1.a. Visually display the brand's performance capabilities 1.i.1.a. Easiest medium to demonstrate: TV or online video infomercials 1.i.1.a.i. Pajama Jeans demonstrates how to wear pants 1.i.1. Slice-of-life 1.i.1.a. Create social meaning for a brand by showcasing the people who use it Creativity Resources 1. Creativity-online.com
1.i.