People often ask me what I think of their “advertising idea,” usually a clever headline or a witty play on words related to their product. They seem to think that’s what makes for effective advertising, and that I have some magic power to create such things. The fact is neither of those things is true. What is true is that most of these ideas are patently bad, and that investing any time at all to produce and promote them would be a waste.
Professionals don’t work from the pun, back. Pros – like my friend at left there – have a distinct advantage over hacks and amateurs in the form of something called a Creative Brief.
A Creative Brief is a kind of intellectual scaffolding for the magic of great ad creation. It frames the communication challenge in a way that helps talented people come up with a solution. While different agencies have their own take on the particulars, most of the big boys use a minor variant of the below.
Get In The Zone
Start by thinking about your target… not as a “Target Audience,” but as a person. Put them in your head… A real live individual, think about what they look like, and what they’re doing at the time they get your message. Ready?
OK… 5 Steps, to be done in order:
- Define the Desired State: What is it, exactly, that you want this person to think, feel, or do as a result of receiving this communication?
- Define the Current State: Relative to the Desired State, what does he/she think, feel, or do today, in advance of receiving this communication?
- Define the Key Thought: What is the singular, essential idea you believe will move this person from the Current State to the Desired State?
- Define the Support Points: What evidence, if any, to you have to prove or evidence the validity of this Key Thought? If more than 3, what are the 3 most impactful?
- Begin Creative Process. Once you have all that straight, THEN you can start noodling clever ideas that will capture your target’s attention enough to deliver the Key Thought.
While there are no guarantees this approach will yield an ad that does what you want it to do, it will at least give you a fighting chance to come with what the late, great David Ogilvy called a “Big Idea.”
And it will prevent me from needing to tell you that “It just works” is a crap tagline, even if it does.
