CREATIVE IDEAS AND MESSAGES



Creative idea

For a creative person, an idea is a thought, concept or theme that links the product to the target market. Ideas come in many forms: you may get a single image in your head, a single word, a well-known phrase, a song lyric, a philosophical point, you may remember something you have seen or heard or just have a random silly thought.  But idea is perhaps best described as a route or a path that you can follow.

Sometimes the first or second thing we write down is our big idea but it becomes it only after investigating many other routes. Say your idea out loud and share it whit other creative minds. What might seem boring to you might spark an idea in them, what seems great to you may make no sense to them.

Sorrentino M. 2014 Creative Advertising: an introduction

John O’Toole, former President of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, described the big idea as a “flash of insight that synthesizes the purpose of the strategy, joins the product benefit with desire in a fresh, involving way, brings the subject to life, and makes the reader or the audience stop, look, and listen.”

The “creative idea,” by its very nature, is not an easy concept to define.  It is easy to identify examples of creative ideas but difficult to formulate a general definition.

The complete components of creative strategy are the creative idea, usually, and the ad’s message content and its execution tactics, which together (in the media schedule) must achieve the brand’s communication objectives and brand position.

Basically, the creative idea refers to the choice of an interesting way to express the brand position in an advertising format.  The virtual necessity of a creative idea comes from the realization that rarely can we simply print the brand’s positioning statement on a page (or film the words for TV, or record them for radio) and thereby produce an effective ad.

What is needed is a creative idea to translate the positioning statement into an effective ad. Whereas it must be admitted that some ads are little more than a straightforward elaboration of the positioning statement (and that there are situations, as we shall see, in which a straight ad is recommended), usually a creative idea is needed to breathe life into the positioning statement and thereby turn it into a compelling ad.

A creative idea is one choice from a virtually infinite number of ways of expressing the positioning statement and thus the intended brand position.  Of course, what the advertiser is looking for is a highly effective choice-to provide a “real winner” campaign.  Such winners are usually based on what advertising agencies call a “big idea.”



Components of a creative idea

Simplicity: It is the belief of many creative experts that “amazing simplicity” is the hallmark of a great creative idea.  It means putting your proposition forward with such simplicity that people are both astonished and moved by it…. the truly great ads have a certain simplicity and directness of purpose that makes them incredibly powerful.” The creative idea must, however, represent the brand’s positioning statement.

Relevance: Second, the creative idea must be relevant. A catalyst (something that increases the rate of a chemical reaction) should be realized between the brand’s positioning strategy and the consumer’s understanding of it (the result is the brand position).  The creative idea is playing the role of the catalyst by helping to initiate and speed up this reaction.  However, while the positioning strategy is being communicated more effectively by the creative idea, the creative idea must not change the positioning strategy itself. Adherence to the positioning strategy turns the creative idea into an effective ad, rather than just a creative ad.  Therefore, we exclude as irrelevant creative ideas that are “simply creative” without being capable of selling the brand.

Versatility: In most cases, a creative idea has to be versatile or “campaignable.” We say “in most cases” because sometimes a creative idea only has to be used once.  But, in most cases, the creative idea has to provide the “creative platform” for a pool or series of ads that will be needed in the advertising campaign for the brand.

In detail: The creative idea must be sufficiently detailed to allow it to be executed as an ad.  Generally, for ad testing purposes, it is a truism that you cannot test an “idea” but only an execution of that idea.  You can only indirectly test a creative idea-by “sampling” it in the form of several executions, A creative idea is not an ad.  Rather, it is a “prescription” for an ad or for a series of advertising executions.  As such, the creative idea must be expressed in sufficient detail to serve as a rough script for its execution.



The message

A message is a communication left for someone who cannot be spoken to directly. However it has come to mean a simple refinement of an idea.
FitzPatrick & Valskov 2014, Internal Communications.
The definition of a message is a short communication sent from one person to another or the central theme or idea of a communication.



Message strategy

Your message strategy consists of a positioning statement and three to four support points. The positioning statement addresses the target market’s most pressing problem by stating a benefit; i.e. why the target market should care about your product, solution, service, company or technology.

Support points reinforce the importance and uniqueness of the positioning statement, providing a reason to believe it. Most importantly, support points must support, not compete with the positioning statement.

Your message strategy makes it easier to deliver the same message in all your marketing communications. Consistent execution of the same message is a critical factor in successful marketing. Messages that Matter uses a formal, systematic business process that helps you develop a unique message strategy; one that communicates concrete benefits and sets you apart from the competition.



Message Strategy Steps

Determine communication objectives: What type of impact does the message need to achieve?
  • Cognitive path
  • Affective path
  • Behavioral path

Find customers insights: dig down below the surface attitudes and beliefs that influence customers’ behavior.

Select a selling strategy:
  • Generic: basic feature or benefit.
  • Pre-emptive: focus on attribute or benefit that any other product in the category could have claimed but they did not.
  • Credibility: heightens conviction and decreases the perception of risk (endorsement, expert or testimonials).
  • Association: Make a psychological connection between a brand or image and consumer (celebrity).
  • Emotion: connects with consumer at the affective level and move them to response with feelings.
  • Informational: based on giving the fact about the brand and its attribute (distinctive feature).
  • Lifestyle: use situation and symbol of lifestyle that target can identify with or aspire
  • Incentive
  • Reminder: to keep a brand top-of-mind
  • Interactive



Factors to consider when designing the message

There are thousands of techniques available for creating effective advertising messages. However, the vast majority of effective advertising campaigns share four common characteristics. By paying attention to your would-be customers, what they need, and how you can benefit them, you can create an advertising message that speaks directly to them and provides them with the motivation to buy your product and service, as well as establishing your brand within their minds.

Common Ground: The best advertising campaigns focus on finding common ground with the consumer. There is a perception among consumers that companies do not have their best interests at heart. It is vital to build trust with a consumer before selling her anything. Effective advertising messages focus on building that common ground -- a link -- that binds the company and the consumer together. Think about your customer and the similarities you share and create your advertising message around these similarities.

Fulfill a Need: If consumers feel they "need" something, rather than just plain "wanting" it, they are much more likely to buy whatever it is you have to sell. One of the key components of an effective advertising message is establishing a need in your consumer's mind. Even if he didn't know he needed your product five minutes ago, your message should make him think he does. Everyone wants his needs met, and is much more apt to buy a product that fulfills a basic need.

Offer a Solution: Another way to create effective advertising messages is the problem/solution dynamic. In this type of advertising message, the consumer has a problem -- even if she didn't know it was a problem before -- and you have the solution. You can look at many late night infomercials for key examples of these types of messages. You have to create the problem in the consumer's mind first, sympathize with her problem and then offer her the solution -- your product or service.

Clear Benefit: Benefit-based advertising messages are among the most successful. Consumers want to know what's in it for them. They want to feel as though they are buying something that is going to make them prettier, happier, thinner or more worry-free. By focusing on the direct benefit that your consumer will receive by purchasing your product or service, you are creating a powerful message in his mind.

Consequences

This negative information has more impact on consumer’ attitudes than an equal dose of positive information and spreads rapidly over the internet as a result of the increase on social media utilization.

The wrong message is well known to have a negative influence in brand image and this problem becomes even more challenging when different products are released under the same umbrella brand.

It is relatively clear that negative publicity will have an influence on demand and brand image but the extent of this effect varies greatly depending on factors such as:
  • Brand loyalty of the customers. As a general rule, the higher the brand loyalty or commitment, the lower the impact.
  • The level of exposure. The extent of media coverage and/or how psychologically or physically far the “event” took place, have an influence on the impact.
  • Response tactic. The response of the company and whether the message turns out to be accurate has also an impact.
  • Perception of responsibility. How responsible the company is found to be has the biggest impact on brand image, followed by company’s reputation.
  • Credibility of the source. Claims of the company’s innocence or guilt made by external sources and how credible these sources are, have a critical impact on the perception of responsibility.
  • Reputation and history of the company. Consumer usually analyze whether we are under an isolated event or one more occurrence of a known issue.

Sources:

https://smartamarketing.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/creative-ideas-in-advertising/
http://nemohanke.blogspot.fi/2015/04/how-can-companies-effectively-measure.html

http://www.caad.au.edu/attachments/article/43/Class%207-Creative%20IMC%20Message%20Strategies.pdf
www.yourdictionary.com/message#LuqDcy7RKzWGfP9v.99
http://www.messagesthatmatter.com/messaging-defined/
http://www.caad.au.edu/attachments/article/43/Class%207-Creative%20IMC%20Message%20Strategies.pdf
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effective-advertising-messages-10751.html




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