IMC Lec 9

Session 9 - Creativity
Advertising creativity is the ability to generate fresh, unique, and appropriate ideas that can
be used to solve communication problems.
What makes something creative?

1. Divergence - the extent to which the ad contains concepts that are novel/unusual
2. Originality - straying from the obvious (coca-cola)
3. Flexibility - contains different ideas (Amul)
4. Elaboration - Extend basic ideas so they become more intricate, complicated, or
sophisticated
5. Synthesis - connecting unrelated ideas
6. Artistic value
Steps: Creative process

1. Preparation - research, consume, immerse, gather
2. Incubation - Explore, experiment, synthesize
3. Illumination - Idea
4. Evaluation - reflect, criticize, assess
5. Implementation - actual work
Young’s model of the creative process contains five steps:
1. Immersion. Gathering raw material and information through background research

and immersing yourself in the problem.
2. Digestion. Taking the information, working it over, and wrestling with it in the mind
3. Incubation. Putting the problems out of your conscious mind and turning the
information over to the subconscious to do the work.
4. Illumination. The birth of an idea—the “Eureka! I have it!” phenomenon
5. Reality or verification. Studying the idea to see if it still looks good or solves the
problem; then shaping the idea to practical usefulness.
Young’s process of creativity is similar to a four-step approach outlined much earlier by

English sociologist Graham Wallas:
1. Preparation.
2. Incubation.
3. Illumination.
4. Verification.
To facilitate the creative process, many agencies now use account planning, which is a
process that involves conducting research and gathering all relevant information about a
client’s product or service, brand, and consumers in the target audience.
Inputs to the creative process - preparation, incubation, illumination, verification, revision
Background research
 Reading anything related to the product or market—books, trade publications,
general interest articles, research reports, and the like.
 Asking everyone involved with the product for information—designers, engineers,
salespeople, and consumers.
 Listening to what people are talking about. Visits to stores, malls, restaurants, and
even the agency cafeteria can be informative. Listening to the client can be
particularly valuable since he or she often knows the product and market best.
 Using the product or service and becoming familiar with it. The more you use a
product, the more you know and can say about it.
 Working in and learning about the client’s business to understand better the people
you’re trying to reach.
Product-specific research - This information generally comes in the form of specific studies
conducted on the product or service, the target audience, or a combination of the two.
Qualitative research - attitude studies, market structure and positioning studies such as
perceptual mapping and lifestyle research, focus group interviews, and demographic and
psychographic profiles of users of a particular product, service, or brand are examples of
product-specific preplanning input. Ethnographic research, to observe consumers in their
natural environment.
Verification - Storyboard (frame-by-frame breakdown of the ad)
Pretesting
Advertising campaign - which is a set of interrelated and coordinated marketing

communication activities that center on a single theme or idea that appears in different
media across a specified period.
Advertising campaign plans are

 short-term in nature
 Like marketing and IMC plans, are done on an annual basis.
 However, the campaign themes are usually developed to be used for a longer
period.
 Unfortunately, many campaign themes last only a short time, usually because they
are ineffective or market conditions and/or competitive developments in the
marketplace change
Several approaches that can guide the creative team’s search for a major selling idea and
offer solutions for developing effective advertising are,
 Using a unique selling proposition.
o Truly unique attribute/benefit
o Should be compelling enough to drive customers to your brand
o An example of advertising based on a USP is the campaign for Colgate’s new
Total toothpaste. The brand’s unique ingredients make it the only toothpaste
that provides long-lasting protection and has been proved effective in fighting
cavities between brushings.
 Creating a brand image
o high appeal and brand recall
o Ogilvy said that with image advertising, “every advertisement should be
thought of as a contribution to the complex symbol which is the brand image.”
 Finding the inherent drama
o Another approach to determining the major selling idea is finding the inherent
drama or characteristic of the product that makes the consumer purchase it.
o The inherent drama approach expresses the advertising philosophy of Leo
Burnett, founder of the Leo Burnett agency in Chicago.
o Burnett said inherent drama “is often hard to find but it is always there, and
once found it is the most interesting and believable of all advertising
appeals.”
 Positioning
The advertising appeal refers to the approach used to attract the attention of consumers
and/or to influence their feelings toward the product, service, or cause. An advertising appeal
can also be viewed as “something that moves people, speaks to their wants or needs
several important product attributes or features that will lead to favorable attitudes and can
be used as the basis for a rational purchase decision.
a. Technical and high-involvement products such as automobiles often use this
type of advertising appeal.
2. Competitive advantage appeal - The advertiser makes either a direct or indirect
comparison to another brand (or brands) and usually claims superiority on one or more
attributes
3. Favourable price appeal - Makes the price offer the dominant point of the message.
b. Price appeal advertising is used most often by retailers to announce sales,
special offers, or low everyday prices.
c. Price appeal ads are often used by national advertisers during recessionary times
4. News appeals - those in which some type of news or announcement about the product,
service, or company dominates the ad.
d. This type of appeal can be used for a new product or service or to inform
consumers of significant modifications or improvements.
e. This appeal works best when a company has important news it wants to
communicate to its target market.
5. Product/service popularity appeals
Emotional Appeals
Combining rational and emotional appeals
Reminder advertising
CREATIVE EXECUTION
1. Straight sell or factual message

 This type of ad relies on a straightforward presentation of information concerning
the product or service. This execution is often used with informational/rational
appeals, where the focus of the message is the product or service and its specific
attributes and/or benefits.
2. Scientific/Technical Evidence
 In a variation of the straight sell, scientific or technical evidence is presented in
the ad.
 Advertisers often cite technical information, results of scientific or laboratory
studies, or endorsements by scientific bodies or agencies to support their
advertising claims.
3. Demonstration –
 Demonstration executions can be very effective in convincing consumers of a
product’s utility or quality and of the benefits of owning or using the brand.
 TV is particularly well suited for demonstration executions since the benefits or
advantages of the product can be shown right on the screen.
4. Comparison
 The comparison execution approach is increasingly popular among advertisers
lesser-known since it offers a direct way of communicating a brand’s particular
advantage over its competitors or positioning a new or lesser-known brand with
industry leaders.
 Comparison executions are often used to execute competitive advantage
appeals, as discussed earlier.
5. Testimonial
 Many advertisers prefer to have their messages presented by way of a
testimonial, where a person praises the product or service based on his or her
personal experience with it.
6. Slice of Life
 A widely used advertising format, particularly for packaged-goods products, is the
slice-of-life execution, which is generally based on a problem/solution approach.
 This type of ad portrays a problem or conflict that consumers might face in their
daily lives. The ad then shows how the advertiser’s product or service can
resolve the problem.
7. Animation
 An advertising execution approach that has become popular in recent years is
animation.
8. Imagery
9. Dramatization
10. Humour
Evaluating a creative approach

Consistency with brief and objectives
Is it appropriate for the target audience
Does it communicate a clear & convincing message?
Is it creative overpowering the message?
Is the creative appropriate for the media environment?
Is it truthful and tasteful?
Does it comply with all norms and ad regulations?

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Session 9 - Creativity

What makes something creative?

Steps: Creative process

Young’s model of the creative process contains five steps:

1. Immersion. Gathering raw material and information through background research

Young’s process of creativity is similar to a four-step approach outlined much earlier by

Inputs to the creative process - preparation, incubation, illumination, verification, revision

Verification - Storyboard (frame-by-frame breakdown of the ad)

Advertising campaign - which is a set of interrelated and coordinated marketing

Advertising campaign plans are

Combining rational and emotional appeals

1. Straight sell or factual message

Evaluating a creative approach

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