Getting an advertising campaign right is vital. When done well, it can not only drive sales but also raise brand awareness and can sometimes even be remembered nostalgically in years to come. When done badly, however, an ad campaign is a waste of time and money that, in some circumstances, can actually damage a brand.
Although a creative process, when designing an ad campaign it’s important to carefully consider a number of key points. Here are my top ten questions to ask yourself when embarking on an ad campaign:
1. Is the creative brief right? Behind every great ad campaign there is an excellent strategy, proposition and a concise brief communicating the requirements of the campaign. If you’ve ever had a conversation along the lines of “did you see that great ad, you know the one with the dancing chicken, I can’t remember who it was for..” you’ll know there can also be some really creative work done that’s highly memorable but clearly was a total waste of the client’s money.
2. Who are we trying to reach? Pretty basic, but who is it that research says will be in the market to buy our product or service? Or who will we be trying to influence? By this I don’t just mean a broad catch all but provide insights with as much granular detail as you can.
3. What are we trying to achieve? Pretty obvious question to ask I know but getting it down to one sentence will really ensure you focus on exactly what you are trying to say.
4. What is the creative focus? This is the key one, what is the single most motivating proposition and compelling attribute we need to get across?
5. And why should I believe this? Again, this will be your supporting argument for the creative focus. I’m sure I’m not giving too much away here if I say that, as someone who was both an art director and latterly a creative director, this section is often where the basis of the campaign can first be ignited from. These key little insights can send a creative team off in all sorts of wonderful directions, believe me.
6. What is the media plan? Now I still believe that a core idea should be developed in a “media neutral” way, and by this I mean purely as an idea. However it’s always worth knowing what the end media format (outdoor poster, TV, radio, print, on-line etc) is going to be.
7. Are there any mandatories or corporate guidelines? Are there any previously run campaigns we need to be aware of? Is there a house style that will affect the creative work? Do we need a strong CTA (Call To Action)?
8. Is there anything else that would be handy to know? Here we look for insights such as concepts that may have been rejected in the past, or references to other campaigns in other sectors to give a “feel” on potential directions. Though if I hear “we want something like Apple” one more time I may lose the will to live.
9. What is the competition doing? What is currently running? What are they saying? And what have they said previously?
10. And finally… Does the brief do what it says on the tin? The clue is in the name “brief.” If the requirements can’t be put down on two pages of A4 (maximum) then how on earth do you expect someone to come up with a compelling, targeted advertisement that communicates the message in a short headline?
So those are my key questions, would you like to share any points?
