What Makes the "Creative" Effective?

These days, when we're bombarded by media and messages from all sides, the emphasis seems to be on the medium or the delivery method.

I hear all the time marketers tell me that they're now on Facebook, or have a big social media effort. They run Google AdWords campaigns, and still place banner ads. Occasionally they run print, radio and television too; but it's the new media which catches everyone's attention.

Of course, everyone is looking at the metrics to see how effective their placement was. Zeroing-in on specific target audience types can mean greater acceptance of the message since there is a built-in preference simply because of the audience profile. Yet among all these efforts concerning the medium, we don't seem to be talking about the message; or more specifically, the "creative."

Prior to the Internet Age, it was all about the creative. The marketing channels available (TV, radio, print, outdoor, direct mail) was ubiquitous and the only way to distinguish yourself was how clever, innovative and groundbreaking you were in how you visualized and verbalized your message.

To some degree we still pay homage to those ideals (case-in-point: the annual pilgrimage to the TV to watch Super Bowl commercials - or more accurately, online to see the clips). And, there have been a few (underscore "few") notable online campaigns that actually pay attention to the creative. But, can you really remember a break-out online campaign that blew you away? I'm sure there are examples, and I would like to hear about them.

But in the grand scale of things, as I talk to marketing managers, they've been focusing most of their effort on placement and not creative. I remind them that the medium is only part of the success equation; the message and how it's creatively presented can also be the difference between success and failure.

So, what are the critical components of successful creative? Let's take a brief inventory:

1. A desire for excellence. In other words, you're not just slapping text or images on the canvas, in order to get another "to-do" off your plate. You've got a written creative brief that you and your team have closely considered as the message comes together. You want that effort to reflect your best efforts.
2. The need to differentiate from others. Of course we all say that, but do we really practice it in our work? Do we pinpoint our unique selling position? Do we approach our layout, typography, words, images so differently that we automatically stand-out from the others/
3. Work that aligns with the creative brief objectives. After all, that's why you created the brief; it's a road map so that it gets you to where you want to go. And, it has to align across all audience touchpoints. Frequently I've seen managers rush a concept because it's on deadline and there's no time to "get fancy." Well, that can be a wasted effort, and even do more damage than good.
4. A clear set of objectives (and I might add, call-to-action). As they say, "If you don't know where you're going, all roads will get you there." Same with your creative and message. If what you are putting together does not specifically address your objectives (e.g. online traffic, a download, an opt-in) but gets caught-up in cleverness, you've missed the point.
5. Identifying and understanding your target audience. More than ever you must get inside the heads of the people you're speaking with. Do you create audience personas? Does your message and creative speak to them appropriately? These days, the audiences for your work can be very, very narrow. You have the ability to speak in very personal ways. Is your creative taking advantage of this tremendous opportunity?

It's easy to see that these simple rules can be taken for granted. However in the 50/50 split of media vs. message, it's important to realize that the truly creative message (one that speaks to its intended audience and does so in a unique and appealing way) can not only compliment the delivery, but enhance the likelihood of marketing success, as it was intended.

© 2010 Bob Chernet - Need assistance with your marketing initiatives? Contact him today to see how he can be of help. View all of Bob's articles at: Bob Chernet's Marketing Best Practices . Reproduction of Bob Chernet's Marketing Insights in any manner is unlawful, without the written permission of the author.