Advertising Design- Creative

Strategy and Planning

VARTIKA SRIVASTAVA
SESSION 11 and 12
Learning Objectives

• LO1 Describe the role of creative strategy in advertising.

• LO2 Identify inputs to the creative process.
• LO3 Examine approaches to developing the major selling ideas that are
used as the basis for an advertising campaign.
• LO4 Describe the development of creative strategy.

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The Advertising Message

Creative Strategy
• Determines what the advertising
message will say or communicate.
• Creative tactics:
• Determine how the message strategy will be
executed.
• Creative strategy development process
and various approaches helps in
determining the big idea that will be Advertising can be used to create images or associations and
used as the central theme of the position a brand in the consumer’s mind. Many consumers
who have never driven in a BMW perceive it as “the
advertising campaign and translated ultimate driving machine,” or as this ad states “joy is the all.”
into attention-getting, distinctive, and
memorable messages.

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The Importance of Creativity in Advertising

• Creative Ads
• Good creative strategy and execution can determine success of product or service.
• Does not always increase sales.
• Debate over advertising awards.

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Creativity in Print Advertising

MarComm and Advertising 5

Creativity in Print Advertising

MarComm and Advertising 6

 Different Perspectives on Advertising Creativity
Managers’ perspective:
• Advertising is creative only if it sells the product.
• Ads are promotional tools used to communicate favorable impressions to the
marketplace.
• Risk-averse and want more conservative ads.

Creative people’s perspective:

• Ad creativity in its artistic value and originality.
• Ads are communication vehicles for promoting their own aesthetic viewpoints and
personal career objectives.
• Maximize impact of message.

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Determinants of Creativity
Advertising creativity:
Ability to generate fresh, unique, and appropriate ideas that can be used as
solutions to communication problems.

• Two central determinants:

• Divergence.
• Relevance.

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Divergence
Extent to which ad contains elements that are novel,
different, or unusual.
• Achieved through:
• Originality.
• Flexibility.
• Elaboration.
• Synthesis.
• Artistic value.
• This ad for KFC Hot and Spicy chicken uses
divergence based on originality and artistic value.

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Relevance
• Degree to which elements of ad are meaningful,
useful, or valuable to consumer.
• Achieved through:
• Ad-to-consumer relevance—Ad contains
execution elements that are meaningful to
consumers.
• Brand-to-consumer relevance—Advertised brand
of product or service is of personal interest to
consumers.

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Impact of Creativity
• Does impact consumers’ responses across various
stages of response hierarchy.

• Draws more attention to advertised brand, higher

levels of recall, greater motivation to process the
information, and deeper levels of processing.

• Divergence achieved through novelty/originality

and/or elaboration is particularly important.

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Impact of Combinations of Creative Elements on Sales
% Relative Effectiveness
What Creativity Combinations
(Sales Uplift of Pairing Relative
Work Best?
to Average Effectiveness)
Originality + Elaboration More effective +96
Originality + Artistic value +89
Elaboration + Artistic value +28
Originality + Synthesis +1
Originality + Flexibility −1
Synthesis + Elaboration −5
Flexibility + Synthesis −20
Synthesis + Artistic value −29
Flexibility + Elaboration −59
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Flexibility + Artistic value Less effective −99
 Must transform advertising
message into engaging and
memorable ad.
Challenges of
Creative
Marketing Every marketing situation is
different, and each campaign
or advertisement requires a
different creative approach.
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Taking Creative Risks
Essential for creating breakthrough advertisements that get noticed.

Nike’s willingness to allow

their ad agency,
Wieden+Kennedy, to take
creative risks has paid off
in powerful and effective
advertisements like this
one.
The Perpetual Debate: Creative versus Hard-Sell Advertising

• Suits or rationalists:
• Advertising must sell the product or service.
• Poets:
• Advertising must build emotional bond between consumers and brands or companies.

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Creative Strategy Development - Advertising Campaigns
ADV Campaigns - Set of interrelated, coordinated marketing communications activities that center on a single
theme or idea.
• Appear in different media across specified time period.

Campaign theme:

• Central message communicated in all advertising and promotional activities.

• Expressed through a slogan or tagline.
• Summation line that briefly expresses company or brand’s positioning and the message it is trying to deliver to target audience.
• Attempt to develop campaign themes that last many years.
• Guided by specific goals and objectives.
• Creative strategy statement outlined in copy or creative platform.

Slogans:

• Should be simple, catchy, and predictable.

• Should connect with consumers emotionally.
• Many companies not using them.

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 Company or Brand Slogan

Just do it.

Examples Youngistan ka WOW

The Best a Man Can Get

of Effective I’m Lovin’ It!

It’s Finger Licking Good

Advertising Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai

Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye

Slogans The Taste of India

Life’s Good
Is se sasta aur Accha Kuch Nahi
Tedha hai par mera hai
Thanda Thanda Cool Cool
Desh ki Dhadkan
Shock Laga Kya
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 Company or Brand Slogan

Examples
1. Nike Just do it.
2. Pepsi Youngistan ka WOW

of Effective
3. Gillette The Best a Man Can Get
4. McDonald’s I’m Lovin’ It!

Advertising 5. KFC
6. Asian Paints
It’s Finger Licking Good
Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai

Slogans 7. Cadbury’s
8. Amul
Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye
The Taste of India
9. LG Life’s Good
10. Big Bazaar Is se sasta aur Accha Kuch Nahi
Kurkure Tedha hai par mera hai
Navratna Oil Thanda Thanda Cool Cool
Hero Honda Desh ki Dhadkan
Havells Shock Laga Kya 19
 1. Basic problem or issue the communication must

Creative Brief address or solve.

2. Communication objectives.
3. Target audience.
• Document that specifies key elements of the 4. Insights to drive creative work.
creative strategy and serves as basis for
communication between client and advertising 5. Key benefits or major selling idea to communicate.
agency.
• Association of National Advertisers (ANA)
provides guidelines for developing effective 6. Reason to believe/supporting information.
briefs.
7. Tone and manner/brand personality.
• Two-step process: Client creates assignment
brief and then ad agency develops creative 8. Deliverables (what is needed and when).
brief.
• One collaborative brief: Client takes lead 9. Measures of success (should be tied back to
and develops brief with ad agency. objectives).
• Often gaps in information.

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Message
Strategies
Cognitive Message Strategies
• A cognitive message strategy presents rational arguments or pieces of information. The ideas require cognitive processing.
• The advertising message describes the product’s attributes or the benefits customers obtain by purchasing the product

Different Types
• Generic Messages An advertisement that directly promotes the product’s attributes or benefits without any claim of superiority
transmits a generic message, which works best for a brand leader or one that dominates an industry.
• Preemptive Messages A claim of superiority based on a product’s specific attribute or benefit with the intent of preventing the
competition from making the same or a similar statement is a preemptive message.
• Unique Selling Proposition An explicit, testable claim of uniqueness or superiority that can be supported or substantiated in some
manner is a unique selling proposition.
• Hyperbole An untestable claim based on some attribute or benefit is hyperbole. If Netflix states that it has America’s favorite
dramas, the claim is hyperbole. It does not require substantiation, which makes this cognitive strategy quite popular. Hyperbole
often employs puffery terms, including finest, best, or greatest,
• Comparative Advertising The final cognitive message strategy, a comparative advertisement, occurs when an advertiser directly or
indirectly compares a product to the competition based on some attribute or benefit.
Examples of Each??
Affective Message Strategies
• Resonance Connecting a brand with a consumer’s experiences in order to develop stronger ties
between the product and the consumer is affective resonance advertising.
• Playing music from a specific era takes members to nosltalgia.
• Any strongly held memory or emotional attachment becomes a candidate for resonance
advertising.
• A new form of resonance advertising, comfort marketing, gained traction when marketers looked
for ways to encourage consumers to purchase brand name rather than generic products. The
approach reassures consumers looking for value that a branded product stands the test of time.
• Emotional An emotional affective approach attempts to elicit powerful feelings that enhance product
recall and choice. Many emotions connect to products, including trust, reliability, friendship, happiness,
security, glamour, luxury, serenity, pleasure, romance, and passion.
• Emotional approaches were used by numerous advertisers including Verizon, Lincoln, Chevrolet,
and Cadillac during the 2020 coronavirus outbreak, emphasizing a sense of community as a major
theme.
 Conative Message Strategy
A conative message strategy seeks to lead directly to consumer responses.

Making the sale constitutes the goal, with cognitive knowledge and affective feelings forming as the product is used.

They often support other promotional efforts, such as coupon redemption programs and cash-back rebates, or encourage
consumers to access a website.

Conative ads typically encourage quick action by stating that the item cannot be purchased in stores and will be available for only
a limited time.

One note of caution regarding conative strategies has emerged. What have been termed assertive advertisements, in which
consumers are directed to “buy this,” or “do this,” or “don’t do that” have yielded some resistance, especially among the most
loyal consumers.
The Search for
the Major
Selling Idea
• Major selling idea:
Strongest singular thing
company can say about
its product or service.
• Has the broadest and The Man: Your Man Could Smell Like
most meaningful appeal campaign for Old Spice is one of the best
to target audience. campaigns of the new millennium. What is
• Basis of many creative, Old Spice's major selling idea in this
successful advertising campaign?
campaigns.
Creative Strategy Development: Developing the Major
Selling Idea

Most creative ideas try to dramatically and Approaches:

effectively convey the key benefit claim.
Using a unique selling proposition.
Creating a brand image.
Finding the inherent drama.
Positioning.

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Developing the Major Selling Idea continued
Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

• Benefit:
• Buy product/service and you get this benefit.
• Unique:
• Proposition must be unique to brand or claim; rivals can't or don't offer it.
• Potent:
• Promise must be strong enough to move mass millions.

EXAMPLE

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Developing the Major Selling Idea
Creating a brand image

• Image advertising: Strategy used to develop strong,

memorable identity for a brand.
• To be successful:
• Associate brand with symbols or artifacts that have
cultural meaning.
• Use visual appeals that convey psychosocial associations
and feelings.

• bebe uses advertising to build an

image as a sexy and stylish brand.

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Developing the Major Selling Idea
Finding the inherent drama.

Characteristic of a product that makes consumers purchase it.

Advertising should:
Be based on foundation of consumer benefits.
Emphasize the dramatic element in expressing those benefits.

• Advertising for Hallmark such as the

“Put Your Heart to Paper” campaign
often uses inherent drama.
Developing the Major Selling Idea
Positioning:
Establishes product or service in a particular place in consumer’s mind.
Done on basis of distinctive attributes.
Basis of firm’s creative strategy when it has multiple brands competing in same
market.

• Kellogg has repositioned

Special K cereal using the
“Power of You” campaign.
Contemporary Approaches to the Big Idea

• Many creative styles and strategies are available.

• Big ideas must:
• Capture consumer attention.
• Be adaptable to be used across various media.
• Engage consumers and enter into a dialogue with them.

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Executional
Framework
• An executional framework or
execution signifies the
manner in which an ad
appeal will be presented and
a message strategy conveyed.

• There are various versions.

Each is matched with the
type of appeal and message
Animation
• The use of animation has risen dramatically. The growing sophistication of computer
graphics programs makes new and exciting advertisements possible.

• Successful animated films continue to generate interest in animation advertising,

which can be featured in television spots, on the internet, and in movie trailers.

• Companies place single shots of animated characters in print ads.

• The rotoscoping process facilitates digitally painting or sketching figures into live
sequences, which makes it possible to present both live actors and animated
characters in the same frame.

• Historically rotoscoping was an expensive process; however, the cost has declined,
and many advertising agencies have increased usage of the approach as a result.
Slice of Life Executions
 • Storytelling does not include an encounter where a brand solves a

Storytelling
problem faced by a consumer or business, as in the slice-of-life
approach.
• Instead, a storytelling execution resembles a 30-second movie with a plot

Executions or story in which the brand is more at the periphery rather than at the
center of the ad.
• A “hard-sell” approach directly presents a brand’s benefits or features.
 • A testimonial type of execution has achieved success for many years,

Testimonial especially in the business-to-business and service sectors.

• A customer relating a positive experience with a brand offers a testimonial.

Executions
• In the business-to-business advertisements, testimonials from current
customers add credibility to the claims. Most business buyers believe what
others say about a company more than they believe what a company says
about itself.
Authoritative Executions
• Advertisers use the authoritative execution to convince viewers of a
brand’s superiority.

• Expert authority constitutes one form. The ads employ a physician,

dentist, engineer, or chemist, who describes the particular brand’s
advantages compared to other brands.

• Firms also feature less-recognized experts, such as automobile

mechanics, professional house painters, and aerobics instructors. These
individuals talk about the attributes or benefits of the product that make
the brand superior.

• Many authoritative advertisements include scientific or survey evidence.

 • A demonstration execution displays how a
Demonstrative product works.

Executions • It provides an effective method for

communicating the product’s benefits to viewers.
Fantasy Executions
• Fantasy executions lift the audience beyond the real world to a make-believe experience.
• Some are realistic. Others might be completely irrational. Viewers often recall the most irrational and illogical
ads.
• Fantasy execution in advertising is a style that uses special effects or fictional characters to create a make-
believe experience for the audience.
• Fantasy execution is often used for image marketing communication. It can involve showing an imaginary
situation or illusion involving a consumer and the product
• Fantasies deal with anything from a dream vacation spot or cruise ships to a juicy hamburger or an enticing
pizza.
• Budweiser had two great Super Bowl ads. Puppy Love was ranked number for the 2014 Super Bowl
by Ad Age. Both ads can provide a backdrop to discussing ad design.
• Resources:
• Puppy Love Ad
• Behind the Scenes of Puppy Love Ad

• Hero’s Welcome Ad
• The Full Story of Hero’s Welcome

• Discussion Questions:

1. Which of the two Budweiser ads did you like the best? Why?
2. What are your thoughts about the Puppy Love ad? What emotions does it generate?
3. What are your thoughts about the Hero’s Welcome ad? Why would Budweiser design this type of
ad?

4. What message strategy, appeal, and execution are being used in each ad?

5. What other 2014 Super Bowl ads did you like? Why?
the influence of social media on ad design

1.What impact has social media had on advertising design?

2.Is there a generation gap between older and younger
consumers in terms of social media?
3.Does the use of social media terms, symbols, and icons in ads
influence purchase behavior or brand attitude?
• Your team has been given
the task of preparing a
conceptual print ad. The
company you are creating
this advertisement for is a
chain of indoor children’s
play centers. Your ad is
aimed at their parents. It
should include a slogan for
the company as well as a
mascot that will represent
the company’s image.

• There is a tight deadline to

get this poster out, so you
need to act quickly. Rely on
the first things that come to
you. The team with the most
persuasive poster will be
awarded an exclusive
advertising contract.
THE RULES
The company needs the advertising poster right away so you have only 30
minutes to complete the task.

You are only allowed to use the materials provided to you. This means you
cannot research ideas on the Internet or utilize any communication devices.
Due to the competitive nature of this task you may not collaborate with other
teams or share ideas.
At the end of the allotted time, you will have two minutes to present your
poster to the marketing manager. She will then choose the best poster.
Creating an Advertisement
MECCAS - Product Attributes

• The concrete attributes/features of the product to be

communicated in the ad
• Can be either visual or verbal
• Highlights major selling points
• Typically relates to the promotional objectives
• Example: Clinically proven Pepsodent Toothpaste or Oral-B
Toothbrush
 The major positive consequences for the
consumer

What does the consumer get out of the

product or services
MECCAS -
Consumer Benefits
Functional consequences

Ex. Whiter teeth, fresher breath

MECCAS- Leverage Point
The manner by which the advertising will “tap into”, reach, or activate the value
or end-level focus

The hook that connects the tangible attributes and consequences to the
intangible personal values and goals of the target audience

Psychological consequences of the product

Ex. Better self-image