net © Digital Vision RF creating ads: strategy and process 190 www.net T his chapter demonstrates Some compete with Walmart by fo- years that Walmart became a global how advertising strategies cusing on a single product category, leader.1 are used to develop creative like clothes, electronics, pet supplies, Why has Target succeeded where briefs and message strategies. It ex- or toys, and offering a broader selec- other retail giants have not? In part by amines the characteristics of great tion within that category. An even being one of the greatest practitio- campaigns, the nature of creativity, riskier strategy is going head-to- ners of positioning, a concept we and the role of the agency creative head, as Kmart, Sears, Montgomery continued on p. We discuss how research op- Ward, and others have learned the erates as the foundation for creative hard way.
But standing tall among the Learning Objectives development and planning, and scattered ruins of Walmart’s direct After studying this chapter, you will be point out common problems that competitors is one company that has able to: can challenge the creative team. found a way to prosper: Target. LO8-1 Identify the members of the creative team and their primary Walmart has changed the retail world. Target’s origins date to 1962 when responsibilities.
The company’s success, a result of its the Dayton Company opened the LO8-2 Describe the characteristics of great advertising. relentless focus on offering a broad first store in a Minneapolis suburb. LO8-3 Explain the role of the creative selection of goods at low prices, has Today the company operates nearly strategy and its principal elements. made it the largest public company in 1,700 stores throughout the United LO8-4 Show how advertising enhances the world.
For its competitors (and in States and is fifth in overall revenue creativity. this day and age, that is most stores), among U. Not bad for an LO8-5 Define the four roles people play at different stages of the creative finding the right strategy for success organization whose greatest expan- process. is an ongoing challenge.
sion occurred during the same 191 www.net get at Walmart, or anywhere else—in-house lines like Labworks, Zutano Blue, Room 365, and TOO by Blu Dot.3 Then, there is the red. Lots of red. As Michael Francis, se- nior VP of marketing at the retailer, notes, “Trust us, red does go with everything.” The strategy at Target is to “own red,” that is, have the consumer associate the color with the brand. One way to communicate that Target owns red is through its retail stores.
But the color plays a prominent role in Target advertising as well and helps tie the many execu- tions together. Target spends nearly four times as much on its advertising as a percentage of sales than does Walmart. Its ads are fun and quirky, in direct contrast to Walmart’s more conserva- tive approach. Target’s ads are also softer, focusing on life- style themes that suggest ways that products sold at Target help the shopper have a better and more fun life.
Source: Target Brands, Inc. The campaigns have been remarkably effective, and have helped fuel Target’s growth. Target’s creative and captivat- ing ads have helped the company position itself as a more continued from p. 191 enjoyable place to shop than its biggest competitor.
And introduced in Chapter 7. Everyone knows that Walmart is that strategy has helped Target thrive even in the midst of synonymous with the concept of a “big box store.” To the Walmart’s successes. ■ individual who is looking to save money but finds Walmart’s offerings or shopping environment just a bit ordinary, Tar- get proudly proclaims “Expect more, pay less.” LO8-1 Identify the members of the creative team and their The slogan says it all. You’ll save money at Target (compared primary responsibilities.
to many retailers) and you’ll have more fun shopping (com- pared to Walmart). The promise of a better shopping experi- ence (the “expect more” part of the equation) has been the THE CREATIVE TEAM: key. As retailer trade journalist Jeff Arlen asks, “Without Andy ORIGINATORS OF Warhol, could Target Stores exist as it is today? Have CEO Bob Ulrich and his team of retailing alchemists learned the ADVERTISING CREATIVITY Every great ad campaign starts with human imagination. In secret of turning the mundane into the sublime?”2 most ad agencies, the people who first conceptualize the sym- bols, words, and images are the members of the creative team.
Start with the merchandise. Lots of the things you find at The team’s copywriter develops the verbal message, the copy Target you can find at Walmart as well, but Target displays (words) within the ad. The copywriter typically works with an them with more style and space. And some things you can’t art director who is responsible for the nonverbal aspect of the 192 PART 4 | The Creative Process www.net copywriter Person who creates the words and concepts for ads and commercials.
art director Along with graphic designers and production artists, determines how the ad’s verbal and visual symbols will fit together. creative director Head of a creative team of agency copywriters and artists who is assigned to a client’s business and who is ultimately responsible for the creative product—the form the final ad takes. creatives The people Bright colorful images, geometric shapes, and strong contrasts in both copy and graphics are who work in the creative qualities for great creative ads. Not only do they successfully draw the reader’s attention, they department, regardless of help brand Target as an “upscale” discount store.
Source: Target Brands, Inc. message, the design, which determines the look and feel of the LO8-2 Describe the characteristics of great advertising. Together, they work under the supervision of a creative director (typically, a former copywriter or art director), who is ultimately responsible for the creative product—the form the final ad takes. As a group, the people who work in the creative department are generally referred to as creatives, regardless of CREATING GREAT their specialty.
ADVERTISING This chapter focuses on the creative process: how it’s d eveloped What does someone mean when they say an ad is great? What and how it relates to a company’s marketing and advertising would your definition be? strategy. But to get a proper perspective on creativity, we need Some of the classic ads in history, offer a clue: Volkswagen’s to understand the characteristics of great advertising. famous “Think small” ad; DeBeers’s “A diamond is forever” line; Clairol’s “Does she or doesn’t she?”; Nike’s “Just do it”; Apple’s “1984”; and Coca-Cola’s “The real thing.” What do check yourself ✓ these campaigns have in common that make them universally considered great? This is a very important question, since a lot of research indi- 1. What does a copywriter do? What does an art cates that “ad liking” has a tremendous impact on “ad success.” director do? But is a likable ad the same as a great ad? 2.
Who is ultimately responsible for the creative No matter the platform, great ads have certain things in product? c ommon. We can lump most of these elements into two dimensions of greatness: audience resonance and strategic relevance.4 Great ads have certain things in common:. audience resonance and strategic relevance. CHAPTER 8 | Creating Ads: Strategy and Process 193 www.net informational ads Promising benefits that will offer relief from an undesirable situation or condition.
Informational ads tend to address negatively originated purchase motives, such as problem removal or avoidance, in an attempt to provide solutions to those problems. transformational Promising benefits that will reward consumers. Transformational ads tend to address positively originated purchase motives, such as sensory gratification, intellectual stimulation, or social approval, in an attempt to make people feel happier. One way Target communicates that it offers an extraordinary shopping experience is through the use of extraordinary ads that successfully capture the attention of its consumers.
These ads showcase the effective use of color to hook audiences. Source: Target Brands, Inc. The Resonance Dimension Look at the Target’s ads throughout this chapter. They are un- usual, so we stop to examine them more closely.
And as we do To resonate means to echo, reverberate, or vibrate. It also so, the colors and the familiar logo convey exactly where we means to boom, ring, or chime. And that’s what a great ad does can find things we like, in an environment that is contempo- with the audience. It echoes in their ears.
It res- rary, upscale, clean, and fun. The ads resonate. It moves people and makes the message unforgettable. Other ads may resonate for different reasons.
In some of the clas- Why? Because of the boom factor. sic campaigns we just mentioned, it’s simply the headline that When a cannon goes “boom,” it gets your attention— resonates—so much so that it becomes a part of our daily immediately! The same is true with an ad. It’s the surprise language. Other memorable classics include California Milk element—the “aha,” or the “wow.” But in advertising, it not only Processors’s “Got Milk?” and iPhone’s “There’s an app for that.” gets your attention, it captures your imagination.
In this sense it’s Recall from Chapter 5 our discussion of consumer motives. like great art. It invites you to pause and think about the message. Negatively originated motives, such as problem avoidance or problem removal, provide the foundation for many great ads.
These resonate with the audience by being highly informa- tional. Informational ads resonate because the consumer per- ceives that the brand offers a credible solution to a significant problem. (Uber’s “Get there. The day belongs to you” or Slack’s “Be less busy”).
Other motives are positively origi- nated as consumers seek pleasant experiences, intellectual stimulation, or social approval. Here, ads may achieve great- ness by being transformational, using positive reinforcement to offer a reward (such as Ted’s “Ideas worth spreading” or Weight Watchers’ “Success starts here”). Unfortunately, most ads, whether they’re informational or transformational, fail to resonate with the audience. Why? Be- cause they lack a “big idea” or they fall down in the execution.
Target ads are quirky and creative. But the nonverbal elements of the The copy may be uninspiring, the visual may be less than at- red and white colors and repetition of the Target logo make them tractive, or the production techniques used may be low quality. instantly recognizable and they resonate with consumers. From the consumer’s point of view, these ads are a waste of Source: Target Brands, Inc.
time, and from the client’s point of view, a waste of money. In 194 PART 4 | The Creative Process www.net creative strategy A written statement that serves as the creative fact, for them the greatness of the advertising is in the “bang strategy then describes a means to team’s guide for writing per buck.” Great ads give sponsors much more advertising achieve that objective through the and producing an ad. It effectiveness per dollar spent. development of advertising exe- decides the most cutions and media plans.
The cre- important issues that The Relevance Dimension ative strategy is the component of should be considered in The second dimension of great advertising is strategic relevance. the advertising strategy that the development of the ad An ad may get you to think, but what does it get you to think guides those who create ads. (the who, what, where, about? In a column explaining why Apple’s iPad succeeded so when, and why), including To be sure that everyone has the the objective of the spectacularly while Microsoft’s competing product, the Surface same understanding of the task at advertising; a definition RT, failed, columnist Nick Bilton recently wrote, “the ads for hand, account managers (or, in and description of the the iPad and Surface RT are different. Apple simply shows the larger agencies, account plan- target audience; the key device, making the iPad the hero.