Advertising is all about branding. As one of the four main functions of advertising, building brand involves establishing an image for a company in the minds of consumers. Companies not only want to create favorable impressions, but they also want consumers to associate certain ideas or themes with their brands. For example, Nike brands itself as a company providing sports apparel, equipment, and accessories to hard-working, dedicated athletes. People around the world can match the phrase “Just do it” with the Nike brand, and consumers associate long hours spent practicing, always pushing further and further with Nike. These perceptions are carefully shaped by the Nike organization through the way it presents itself in advertisements. The company has a specific image it wants to maintain, and it uses advertisements to relay this image to consumers. In order to do this effectively, Nike must have continuity through its advertisement campaigns.
According to Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy, Design, “Continuity within a campaign means the various components of the campaign have enough commonality that the reader/viewer/listener should perceive a common theme and unified message.” This does not mean the same copy is used in every ad nor is the same design repeated across media; rather, all elements of a campaign should work toward a common objective, address a defined target audience, and maintain an overall unified idea. This includes all print ads, radio ads, TV ads, online ads, and out-of-home ads. Additionally, continuity should extend to other elements of a campaign, such as public relations efforts and direct marketing materials. The importance of continuity in campaigns is immense. A series of unrelated ads does little to build brand because consumers are unable to determine what image a company is trying to portray. Often, lack of continuity occurs when the original idea is weak. The overall theme of a campaign must meet two criteria to be truly successful: repeatability and extendability. Repeatability involves creating multiple ad executions for the same media from the same idea. For example, the Got milk? campaign features multiple print ads created from the same theme. Extendability, then, refers to creating ad executions for different media. The Got milk? campaign once again provides examples of this as it was extended to TV, Internet, and out-of-home advertising media. Overall, continuity plays a big role in a company’s brand. It determines what the company can and cannot do. For example, when the well-known toothpaste company Colgate launched a new product line of frozen dinners, consumers were unable to get past the idea of Colgate as a toothpaste company. Because Colgate had branded itself as a toothpaste company, this break in continuity caused the product line to fail. This example highlights how continuity affects not only a campaign, but also the overall brand. It affects product development, marketing, social causes supported by a company, and more. When executed properly, continuity can launch a brand to success.
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For an advertising enthusiast, few things are more exhilarating than the discovery of a well placed, brilliantly executed out-of-home advertisement. It’s those ads executed from a stroke of creative genius that give you chills and fuel aspirations to someday produce an equally enticing ad. Out-of-home advertisements provide far more potential for creativity than ads in traditional media, and they often achieve better success in standing out from the thousands of other ads we see each day. Defined as all advertising that is seen outside the home but is not in the point-of-sale category, out-of-home advertising can range from billboards to posters at bus stations, signs in airport terminals to 3D displays at a shopping mall. Besides offering plenty of room for creativity, out-of-home advertising has several advantages. First, it can be flexible in regard to location, timing, structure, and dimension. Second, it can create high-impact among viewers. Finally, it is ideal for establishing brand image, building rapid awareness, and reinforcing brand personality. Although billboards hold a special place in my heart, this transit advertisement was the one that really caught my eye. Promoting its animal-themed programming, the National Geographic Channel placed this ad on the side of a public transport bus. Whenever someone boarded the bus, the shark would open its mouth and appear to eat the passenger. By using proper design principles, this ad attracts attention and creates interest among viewers. This ad is highly effective because it capitalizes upon many of the opportunities provided by out-of-home advertising. The large audience it reaches is extended by its ability to move around the city and expose itself to more people. The shocking design makes it even more impactful than typical transit advertisements. Additionally, it follows the rules to keeping copy to a minimum so as to quickly convey the concept. Finally, the ad succeeds in building brand by creating a design highly relevant to the company and by repeating “National Geographic Channel” twice. Overall, this ad perfectly exemplifies the immense creative opportunities provided by out-of-home advertising. If the great execution isn’t enough to give you chills, maybe stepping into the mouth of a giant shark just might do it instead. To me, the hardest part of the creative process is not crafting the design; it’s not sculpting a message around your target audience; it’s not even downing those god-awful energy drinks to stay awake through the night as you work to meet terrifying deadlines. No. It’s concepting. Coming up with the big idea. Finding that initial spark, flipping the switch for that light bulb – that is what has always stumped me.
Time and time again, I will get an assignment in class, a project at work, or a request from a club, and I am just stumped. Often, I would like to let it sit for a few days to mull it over and get inspiration, but that kind of time is a luxury not usually offered to me. Instead, I kick-start the creative process with a little brainstorming. I sit down and think about the issue from all different angles. With whom am I communicating? How can I put a different spin on the issue? What have others done with similar problems? I begin to write down words or phrases that answer these questions, and then I look at what I have written and branch out from that. I keep doing this until I feel like I have a few good starting points and ideas have begun to form in my head. After this, I usually go online and search for related words or phrases to see if I can come up with any other ideas. Often, this can make me think of things outside the realm of my typical thought bubble. With this expansion, I am usually able to devise a good starting point from which to launch an idea. Recently, as an assignment for this strategic advertising class, I was given the task of selling cotton. To get ideas for an ad, I researched different and unusual uses for cotton balls. My intention was to find something out of the ordinary that would give the ad an interesting twist. Unfortunately, none of the uses I found really stood out to me. Instead, I began thinking about a cotton ball itself. What does it look like? Is there any meaning to it? How does it feel? I realized cotton somewhat resembled snow, which is quite cold. I began to consider a play on words of cotton being “cool” – both in temperature and in style. Then, I created an ad for cotton clothes that stressed both meanings of its “coolness.” After many revisions, my ad was complete. Overall, I have benefitted greatly from constantly being on the lookout for inspiration. From keeping up-to-date with the latest advertising campaigns to reviewing the older work of greats like Leo Burnett and David Ogilvy, understanding what has been done in the industry not only saves me from looking like a copycat, but it also provides me with inspiration to create something bigger and better. |
Kristin KreherMy happiness comes from meaningful interactions, the outdoors, thrift shops, and saying "thank you." Archives
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