Techniques in Print & Broadcast Advertising Creative Message Strategies

Message Strategy An idea about how to creatively and persuasively communicate a brand message to a target audience A message has to have an appeal- an idea that motivates an audience to respond

An idea about how to creatively and persuasively communicate a brand message to a target audience

A message has to have an appeal- an idea that motivates an audience to respond

Creative Brief Statements about a brand that summarizes the research and insights for the creative team. Also known as IMC Message Strategy Brief, Creative Platform, Creative Plan or Work plan, Creative Strategy or Copy Strategy

Statements about a brand that summarizes the research and insights for the creative team.

Also known as IMC Message Strategy Brief, Creative Platform, Creative Plan or Work plan, Creative Strategy or Copy Strategy

Three basic Steps in Developing a Message Strategy Brief Step 1: Determining communication objectives: What type of impact does the message need to achieve? Sample Marketing Communications Objectives: Cognitive: awareness, educate, explain, brand knowledge Affective: image or personality, attitudes & brand liking, desire or need, strike emotional chord Behavioral: increase trial, purchase, repurchasing

Step 1: Determining communication objectives: What type of impact does the message need to achieve?

Sample Marketing Communications Objectives:

Cognitive: awareness, educate, explain, brand knowledge

Affective: image or personality, attitudes & brand liking, desire or need, strike emotional chord

Behavioral: increase trial, purchase, repurchasing

Three basic Steps in Developing a Message Strategy Brief …Cont’d Step 2: Customer Insight: Finding diamonds in the data Customer insight: below-the-surface attitudes & beliefs that influence customer’s behavior. For example, Marlboro cigarettes. Insight that young and middle-aged men fantasize about freedom & macho independence of cowboys. It allowed men to escape into this fantasy.

Step 2: Customer Insight: Finding diamonds in the data

Customer insight: below-the-surface attitudes & beliefs that influence customer’s behavior. For example, Marlboro cigarettes. Insight that young and middle-aged men fantasize about freedom & macho independence of cowboys. It allowed men to escape into this fantasy.

Three basic Steps in Developing a Message Strategy Brief …Cont’d Step 3: Selecting a Selling Strategy Benefit: how a product satisfies customers’ needs, wants & desires; promise: what good things will happen if a person buys this product; reason why: substantiation, support or proof that explain why a product will provide the promised benefit

Step 3: Selecting a Selling Strategy

Benefit: how a product satisfies customers’ needs, wants & desires; promise: what good things will happen if a person buys this product; reason why: substantiation, support or proof that explain why a product will provide the promised benefit

Three basic Steps in Developing a Message Strategy Brief …Cont’d Step 3: Selecting a Selling Strategy Feature: attributes that give a product a distinctive difference Value-pricing: offers the best quality product you can buy for that price. There may be better-quality products but it would cost more. Price is fixed, value is not. Value is a perception of what something is worth in terms of quality and price.

Step 3: Selecting a Selling Strategy

Feature: attributes that give a product a distinctive difference

Value-pricing: offers the best quality product you can buy for that price. There may be better-quality products but it would cost more. Price is fixed, value is not. Value is a perception of what something is worth in terms of quality and price.

Three basic Steps in Developing a Message Strategy Brief …Cont’d Step 3: Selecting a Selling Strategy Unique-selling proposition: selling strategy based on a product’s most distinctive difference from competitive products; provide reason or proof on which a claim, benefit or proposition rests Generic: stresses a basic feature or benefit of a product that is not brand specific

Step 3: Selecting a Selling Strategy

Unique-selling proposition: selling strategy based on a product’s most distinctive difference from competitive products; provide reason or proof on which a claim, benefit or proposition rests

Generic: stresses a basic feature or benefit of a product that is not brand specific

Three basic Steps in Developing a Message Strategy Brief …Cont’d Step 3: Selecting a Selling Strategy Pre-emptive: focuses on an attribute or benefit that any other product on the category could have claimed but did not. Informational: based on going facts about a brand & its attributes Credibility: heightens conviction & decreases perception of risk; use of endorsers, PR, testimonial

Step 3: Selecting a Selling Strategy

Pre-emptive: focuses on an attribute or benefit that any other product on the category could have claimed but did not.

Informational: based on going facts about a brand & its attributes

Credibility: heightens conviction & decreases perception of risk; use of endorsers, PR, testimonial

Three basic Steps in Developing a Message Strategy Brief …Cont’d Step 3: Selecting a Selling Strategy Emotional: connects with customers & prospects at the affective level & moves them to respond with feelings Association: psychological connection between a brand & its customers & prospects

Step 3: Selecting a Selling Strategy

Emotional: connects with customers & prospects at the affective level & moves them to respond with feelings

Association: psychological connection between a brand & its customers & prospects

Three basic Steps in Developing a Message Strategy Brief …Cont’d Step 3: Selecting a Selling Strategy Lifestyle: Uses situations & symbols of lifestyles that the target audience can identify with or aspire to. Incentive: Creates a sense of immediacy & rewards customers for responding quickly

Step 3: Selecting a Selling Strategy

Lifestyle: Uses situations & symbols of lifestyles that the target audience can identify with or aspire to.

Incentive: Creates a sense of immediacy & rewards customers for responding quickly

Three basic Steps in Developing a Message Strategy Brief …Cont’d Step 3: Selecting a Selling Strategy Reminder: Keeps a brand top-of-mind with the target. Used by mature brands with established brand identity & designed to jog the customer’s memory at point of purchase. Interactive: Creating two-way communication in order to open up communication with customers & capture their feedback

Step 3: Selecting a Selling Strategy

Reminder: Keeps a brand top-of-mind with the target. Used by mature brands with established brand identity & designed to jog the customer’s memory at point of purchase.

Interactive: Creating two-way communication in order to open up communication with customers & capture their feedback

Selling Strategies Incentive, reminder, interactive Buy, try, repeat, visit, contact Do Emotion, association, lifestyle Brand image & personality, liking, desire, self identity Feel Info, generic, pre-emptive, credibility Awareness, brand knowledge, understanding, conviction Think Message Strategy Message Objective Type of Response

The Big Idea Simple Has legs: can cater to difference audiences or media or versions ROI: relevance, originality & impact

Simple

Has legs: can cater to difference audiences or media or versions

ROI: relevance, originality & impact

The Creative Process Formal procedure for increasing productivity & innovative output by an individual or a group Step 1: Exploration Brainstorming: gather to generate many new ideas Lateral thinking: bouncing from one thought to another in free association; look for metaphors of what the product is like

Formal procedure for increasing productivity & innovative output by an individual or a group

Step 1: Exploration

Brainstorming: gather to generate many new ideas

Lateral thinking: bouncing from one thought to another in free association; look for metaphors of what the product is like

The Creative Process …Cont’d Step 2: Insight Reviewing all info, analyzing the problem, identifying patterns and searching for a key verbal or visual concept to communicate what needs to be said Changing patterns Looking at things in different ways Adaptation- change context Imagining- what if? Reversal- opposite, negative effect (what would happen if you did not use the product?)

Step 2: Insight

Reviewing all info, analyzing the problem, identifying patterns and searching for a key verbal or visual concept to communicate what needs to be said

Changing patterns

Looking at things in different ways

Adaptation- change context

Imagining- what if?

Reversal- opposite, negative effect (what would happen if you did not use the product?)

The Creative Process …Cont’d Step 2: Insight Reviewing all info, analyzing the problem, identifying patterns and searching for a key verbal or visual concept to communicate what needs to be said Connection- join 2 unrelated ideas Comparison- metaphor Elimination- subtract or break rules parody- make fun of something

Step 2: Insight

Reviewing all info, analyzing the problem, identifying patterns and searching for a key verbal or visual concept to communicate what needs to be said

Connection- join 2 unrelated ideas

Comparison- metaphor

Elimination- subtract or break rules

parody- make fun of something

The Creative Process …Cont’d Step 3: Execution Step 4: Evaluation & Copy testing Copy testing: testing the effectiveness of a brand message, a creative concept, or elements such as a headline, slogan, or visual for creative impact and understandability

Step 3: Execution

Step 4: Evaluation & Copy testing

Copy testing: testing the effectiveness of a brand message, a creative concept, or elements such as a headline, slogan, or visual for creative impact and understandability

Creative Brief (Mccann-Ericson 7-question format) Who is our audience? Where are we now in the minds of our target audience? Where are our competitors in the minds of our target audience? Where do we want to be in the minds of our target audience? What is the consumer promise or the big idea? What is the supporting evidence? What is the tone of voice of the ad?

Who is our audience?

Where are we now in the minds of our target audience?

Where are our competitors in the minds of our target audience?

Where do we want to be in the minds of our target audience?

What is the consumer promise or the big idea?

What is the supporting evidence?

What is the tone of voice of the ad?