In other words, there are many types of creativity which come together to create the most engaging, best-selling campaigns. In this article we’re going to examine the role of creativity in effective advertising and see what correlation, if any, it has with revenue and ROI.<\/p>\n
<\/span>What is creative advertising?<\/span><\/h2>\nThere\u2019s a lot of content online that talks about the value and lucrative nature of creative ad campaigns. And yet, few of them ever define what a “creative ad” actually is. This is important because no one out there is making their ads and admiring how uncreative they are\u2014and yet some get it right while many don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re going to use this definition: \u201c[Creativity in advertising is] the extent to which an ad contains brand or executional elements that are different, novel, unusual, original, unique, etc.\u201d However, throughout this article we\u2019ll also discuss the more general concept of creativity in advertising\u2014that is, elements that are different, novel, unusual, original or unique across the entire process.<\/p>\n
![\"Using](\"https:\/\/www.teamly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Using-creativity-to-stand-out-from-the-crowd.png\")
<\/p>\n
<\/span>Using creativity to stand out from the crowd<\/span><\/h2>\nThe first job of any ad is (and in fact, always has been) to stop a reader in their tracks. We live in an era of constant stimulation and engagement, perpetually looking for the next hit of dopamine. It’s why we scroll social media without purpose, listen to podcasts wherever we go and load videos whenever we stop.<\/p>\n
The competition for our attention has never been more fierce, while the opportunity to access our eyes is bigger than ever. We actually pay for products<\/em> today by accepting an onslaught of tailored ads in return. The biggest social platforms in the world are built on the promise of constant advertising.<\/p>\nThis is both a weapon and a weakness for advertisers. The weapon is that businesses can put their ads in front of more eyes than ever in history, all over the internet. The weakness is that, unfortunately for those advertisers, we\u2019ve all gotten very good at filtering out noisy ads.<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.teamly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/The-self-perpetuating-cycle-of-new-ideas.png\")
<\/p>\n
The self-perpetuating cycle of new ideas<\/h3>\n
Whenever some clever clogs discovers a new technique that glues eyes to their ads over everyone else\u2019s, others quickly take notice. Word spreads and soon everyone’s doing the same thing. This, of course, dilutes the effect and means no one gets particular attention\u2014in other words, we’re back at square one.<\/p>\n
This cycle is inevitable. Creativity is how we unlock these new ways of standing out. They’re rarely era-defining changes, but more often subtle and ongoing enhancements<\/strong> which help get eyes on ads.<\/p>\nThere are 3 major ways in which companies continually manage to breathe new life into their ads: originality, flexibility, and artistic value.<\/p>\n
Originality<\/h3>\n
Originality is about looking at what everyone else is doing and going in another direction. This usually means building an ad with novel or surprising elements, an unusual viewpoint or ear-catching language. It\u2019s about subverting the customer\u2019s expectations while still conveying the core message of your campaign.<\/p>\n
For example, most adverts for body wash and shower gel follow the same pattern: they show off how much it lathers, how well it cleans, or how sublime<\/em> it smells. When Old Spice launched one of the most celebrated creative ads<\/a> of all time in 2010, no one had seen anything like it. It promoted its fundamental message (\u201cSmell nice using this shower gel\u201d) by totally subverting expectations and being extremely memorable.<\/p>\nIt was still grounded in brilliant advertising theory (for example, capitalizing on the prevalent desire for men to be attractive to women) but positioned very differently. Along with flexibility, originality is the most crucial element to creative ads.<\/p>\n
Flexibility<\/h3>\n
Some products have a singular purpose. However, many can be deployed in a range<\/em> of different ways. A powerful and regrettably under-utilized element of creativity is flexibility\u2014seamlessly linking the product to the wide variety of uses, outcomes and benefits it has to offer.<\/p>\nFor example, highlighting the unique benefits that a product offers to each potential user. Broadband providers have used this to showcase how lightning-fast internet works wonders for mom, dad, sister, brother, and even grandma. A cookware supplier might show all the wonderful (and perhaps ridiculous) ways to use their premium saucepan.<\/p>\n
Smoothly highlighting a variety of benefits or uses can add value to your ads while the competition continues \u201cplaying it safe\u201d with their stale ideas. It sounds like an innocuous tactic, but in conjunction with original ideas or brilliant artistry, the results will speak for themselves.<\/p>\n
![\"Artistic](\"https:\/\/www.teamly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Artistic-Value.png\")
<\/p>\n
Artistic Value<\/h3>\n
Adverts with high artistic value are a joy to the senses, containing highly appealing visual or verbal elements. One of the reasons Old Spice was so successful is that they combined originality<\/em> with artistic value: the ads were far more ambitious, outrageous and pleasing than anything else in their category.<\/p>\nThe bedrocks of artistic value are creativity and skill; concept and execution. As a rough guide point, there are 3 questions advertisers can ask themselves to assess if they\u2019ve maximized artistic value:<\/p>\n
\n- Is the ad visually or verbally distinctive?<\/li>\n
- Does it make ideas come to life, either graphically or verbally?<\/li>\n
- Is it artistic in its production?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/span>Creativity is what makes ads memorable<\/span><\/h2>\nAll successful ads make an impression. This isn’t the same as being seen: catching someone’s attention means you’ve stood out; staying in someone\u2019s mind<\/strong> means you’re made an impression. This is important because very few buyers move instantly from advert to purchase\u2014it takes time to settle and convince.<\/p>\nThe key to being memorable is creating the message<\/em> that resonates with prospects and engages them on an emotional level. This is a different kind of creativity to making things “pop”. It requires a fundamental understanding of the customer, their pains, their motivations, where they are and what they want.<\/p>\nFinding a powerful message<\/h3>\n
Figuring out the most effective message for your target customer, and the best way to present that message, often requires creativity. Many companies use surveys to get customer opinions and then build campaigns off this data.<\/p>\n
A few years ago, the accounting software company Intuit creatively took this a step further. They actually got permission to observe customers at work in their own homes. They saw first-hand how they interacted with the product, what issues came up, how they navigated its features, how they spoke about the product and much more.<\/p>\n
When it came time to create future ad campaigns, Intuit had a crystal clear understanding of their customer\u2019s intimate needs and could create ultra-relevant, emotionally-resonant campaigns with ease. This is a very powerful and underrated use of incredible creativity in advertising.<\/p>\n
Turning your message into a captivating story<\/h3>\n
Once you\u2019ve found your message, you need to transform it into a powerful, resonant story. This is where your typical creatives (predominantly writers and designers) will exchange a flurry of ideas, test concepts, and generally marry everything they know about the campaign goals, the customer, and the target message together.<\/p>\n
While this is an essential part of the creative process, it\u2019s interesting to note that without the extra background work, the resulting ad\u2014however impressive\u2014wouldn\u2019t be nearly as effective<\/strong>.<\/p>\n![\"Creativity](\"https:\/\/www.teamly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Creativity-and-revenue.png\")
<\/p>\n
<\/span>Creativity and revenue\u2014Is there a causal link?<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\nThe first job of any ad is (and in fact, always has been) to stop a reader in their tracks. We live in an era of constant stimulation and engagement, perpetually looking for the next hit of dopamine. It’s why we scroll social media without purpose, listen to podcasts wherever we go and load videos whenever we stop.<\/p>\n
The competition for our attention has never been more fierce, while the opportunity to access our eyes is bigger than ever. We actually pay for products<\/em> today by accepting an onslaught of tailored ads in return. The biggest social platforms in the world are built on the promise of constant advertising.<\/p>\n This is both a weapon and a weakness for advertisers. The weapon is that businesses can put their ads in front of more eyes than ever in history, all over the internet. The weakness is that, unfortunately for those advertisers, we\u2019ve all gotten very good at filtering out noisy ads.<\/strong><\/p>\n Whenever some clever clogs discovers a new technique that glues eyes to their ads over everyone else\u2019s, others quickly take notice. Word spreads and soon everyone’s doing the same thing. This, of course, dilutes the effect and means no one gets particular attention\u2014in other words, we’re back at square one.<\/p>\n This cycle is inevitable. Creativity is how we unlock these new ways of standing out. They’re rarely era-defining changes, but more often subtle and ongoing enhancements<\/strong> which help get eyes on ads.<\/p>\n There are 3 major ways in which companies continually manage to breathe new life into their ads: originality, flexibility, and artistic value.<\/p>\n Originality is about looking at what everyone else is doing and going in another direction. This usually means building an ad with novel or surprising elements, an unusual viewpoint or ear-catching language. It\u2019s about subverting the customer\u2019s expectations while still conveying the core message of your campaign.<\/p>\n For example, most adverts for body wash and shower gel follow the same pattern: they show off how much it lathers, how well it cleans, or how sublime<\/em> it smells. When Old Spice launched one of the most celebrated creative ads<\/a> of all time in 2010, no one had seen anything like it. It promoted its fundamental message (\u201cSmell nice using this shower gel\u201d) by totally subverting expectations and being extremely memorable.<\/p>\n It was still grounded in brilliant advertising theory (for example, capitalizing on the prevalent desire for men to be attractive to women) but positioned very differently. Along with flexibility, originality is the most crucial element to creative ads.<\/p>\n Some products have a singular purpose. However, many can be deployed in a range<\/em> of different ways. A powerful and regrettably under-utilized element of creativity is flexibility\u2014seamlessly linking the product to the wide variety of uses, outcomes and benefits it has to offer.<\/p>\n For example, highlighting the unique benefits that a product offers to each potential user. Broadband providers have used this to showcase how lightning-fast internet works wonders for mom, dad, sister, brother, and even grandma. A cookware supplier might show all the wonderful (and perhaps ridiculous) ways to use their premium saucepan.<\/p>\n Smoothly highlighting a variety of benefits or uses can add value to your ads while the competition continues \u201cplaying it safe\u201d with their stale ideas. It sounds like an innocuous tactic, but in conjunction with original ideas or brilliant artistry, the results will speak for themselves.<\/p>\n Adverts with high artistic value are a joy to the senses, containing highly appealing visual or verbal elements. One of the reasons Old Spice was so successful is that they combined originality<\/em> with artistic value: the ads were far more ambitious, outrageous and pleasing than anything else in their category.<\/p>\n The bedrocks of artistic value are creativity and skill; concept and execution. As a rough guide point, there are 3 questions advertisers can ask themselves to assess if they\u2019ve maximized artistic value:<\/p>\n All successful ads make an impression. This isn’t the same as being seen: catching someone’s attention means you’ve stood out; staying in someone\u2019s mind<\/strong> means you’re made an impression. This is important because very few buyers move instantly from advert to purchase\u2014it takes time to settle and convince.<\/p>\n The key to being memorable is creating the message<\/em> that resonates with prospects and engages them on an emotional level. This is a different kind of creativity to making things “pop”. It requires a fundamental understanding of the customer, their pains, their motivations, where they are and what they want.<\/p>\n Figuring out the most effective message for your target customer, and the best way to present that message, often requires creativity. Many companies use surveys to get customer opinions and then build campaigns off this data.<\/p>\n A few years ago, the accounting software company Intuit creatively took this a step further. They actually got permission to observe customers at work in their own homes. They saw first-hand how they interacted with the product, what issues came up, how they navigated its features, how they spoke about the product and much more.<\/p>\n When it came time to create future ad campaigns, Intuit had a crystal clear understanding of their customer\u2019s intimate needs and could create ultra-relevant, emotionally-resonant campaigns with ease. This is a very powerful and underrated use of incredible creativity in advertising.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve found your message, you need to transform it into a powerful, resonant story. This is where your typical creatives (predominantly writers and designers) will exchange a flurry of ideas, test concepts, and generally marry everything they know about the campaign goals, the customer, and the target message together.<\/p>\n While this is an essential part of the creative process, it\u2019s interesting to note that without the extra background work, the resulting ad\u2014however impressive\u2014wouldn\u2019t be nearly as effective<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nThe self-perpetuating cycle of new ideas<\/h3>\n
Originality<\/h3>\n
Flexibility<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nArtistic Value<\/h3>\n
\n
<\/span>Creativity is what makes ads memorable<\/span><\/h2>\n
Finding a powerful message<\/h3>\n
Turning your message into a captivating story<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n<\/span>Creativity and revenue\u2014Is there a causal link?<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.teamly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/How-much-creativity-can-you-get-away-with.png\")
<\/p>\n