Presented by Karen Porter UM School of Business Administration & ImpactOnlineMarketing.com Creative Strategy Presented by Karen Porter Department of Marketing School of Business Administration The University of Montana

Effective Advertising Delivers the right media delivers the right message to the right audience at the right time. Assumption – that marketing foundation is intact – situation review, SWOT analysis, marketing objectives established, etc. Above done by the company (client) usually with development and production done by an agency or creative professions.

Creative Origins Copywriters Graphic designers Other creative talents Photographers, artists, videographers, producers, etc. Generally teamed up in agencies Large agencies – many capabilities besides creative Creative boutiques Independents

The Right Audience Identified by the client and the account team Important to identify the target market Market segmentation Demographics Geographics Psychographics Usage

Creative / Media Relationship Basic media must be determined prior to beginning development of creative strategy Creative strategy is based on media formats Then media plan is refined

The Creative Brief 1.Product Summary: What is the product or service? What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (or SWOTs) involved with this product or service? 2. Goals: What are we trying to achieve? Top 3 objectives? 3. Audience: Who are we talking to? What do they think of us? Why should they care? 4. Competitors: Who is the competition? What are they telling the audience that we should be telling them? What differentiates us? 5. Tone: How should we be communicating? What adjectives describe the feeling or approach? 6. Message: What are we saying with this piece exactly? What do we want audiences to take away? 7. Visuals: Are we developing new images or picking up existing ones? If we are creating them, what is desired direction – and why? 8. Mandatories: Legal restrictions, philosophical restrictions, etc.

Message Development Creative team develops concepts Copywriter works with art director in tandem Concepts are brainstormed Concepts sorted for future development Is the concept on target with goals? Will it resonate with the target audience? Will it break through the clutter? concepts developed further for presentation to client

About “Creativity” AIDA Principle Attention Interest Desire Action Don’t strive for creativity just for the sake of being “creative” Example: Cleo Awards – awarded based on creativity More than 2/3 rds of winners lose client accounts within the next two years Creativity is good; being EFFECTIVE is better!

Idea Generation Immersion – read, research, learn all you can Ideation – look at the problem from every angle, develop lots of ideas Keep going – don’t give up even when you feel like you’ve hit a wall Incubation – put conscious mind to rest and let subconscious take over Illumination – embrace new ideas when they come – aha moments Evaluation – does it work? is the idea on strategy? See also: Ten Creative Tips on page 245 (Tom Groth)

Q: Are YOU Creative? Characteristics of creative people Ability for creative problem solving Intuitive (vs. logical deduction) Playful Ability to visualize Open to new experiences / adventurous Conceptual thinkers

Q: Strategic Approaches Head vs. Heart Which is more powerful? When is one approach better than the other? Strategic Formats Lecture / education Slice of life Dramatization Humor Animation Demonstration Music