Should I discuss the latest political and economic views and how it relates to our industry or take a different trip down blog lane? I think it might be more appropriate if I described something that is more relevant to what I do on a daily basis – come up with campaigns and ads that sell the client’s product.
When I come to a new project I go through a couple of phases to get myself to a place where I think the creative is going in the right direction. When we first look at the brief we are told what we are selling, why we are selling and to whom.
We often hear the trademark brief order of why we do what we do – to increase traffic and revenue. Well you might say to yourself that that is a stupid answer to a complicated question and in many cases you might be right but that is the basic relevance of all advertising. The question however is always how?
With a product you may have to take certain avenues of thought given the nature of the product to its consumer. Many consumers for a product come out of different demographics and those all have relevance to the idea and its execution. An older demographic may require that you use more traditional media that they are more likely to come in to contact with whereas a a younger demographic may be easier to reach if you use a newer social media marketing idea. These different mediums require different execution solely based on the media itself. So now even within the conception of a campaign it goes beyond the traditional print basis and opens up a whole new avenue of interactive media that now can contain three or more layers within a single concept and ad. Gone are the days when a simple three ad campaign and a TV execution ruled the day and signaled the whistle blow when all creative could go home and rest on their laurels. The new dawn of ever changing media executions has paved a way for a more in-depth evaluation of consumer and product relationships and put all creative on alert as to what it takes to get a full campaign off the ground.
I know that when I start a campaign I take the core ideal to heart, the need of the consumer and its relation to the seller. What is the most essential ingredient that makes that consumer want what the client has. How many different ways has that product been sold before and did those executions yield benefit. My purpose for research is to gain a fresh perspective and give the consumer the product with a whole new jacket that shows its point of difference and its point of relevance. It is important to sell even the oldest of traditional items in a new way so that people rethink what they are or have been buying, and why they should switch or continue with what you are representing. Beyond all, this basic formula is what generates the basis of any great campaign no matter what the media for it’s execution.
As new avenues of advertising opens up to us we must realize that there are more opportunities in the future than hindrances. We now have different avenues of approach that in and of themselves offer up parts of the solution. I still believe that the core of the idea will always direct every bit of an integrated campaign but now we have so many more ways of touching people by aligning ourselves with they hold dear in their lives. Social media gets our foot in the door where we can begin our market push.