Breaking Through


Good breakthrough advertising has a moment of pure magic to it. It finds a way to engage the target consumer. One key to doing this is by generating some cleverness in the ad. It can come in any number of ways – through drama, humor, the use of music, offering a slice of life, or some sort of technological special effects.

The client is a key part of this process. A campaign can’t be truly successful unless the client understands the process and becomes a partner in it. The client also needs to be willing to take a few risks, to approach the market in fresh ways. If a client is very averse to risk, they should expect the same results they’ve been getting for the past few years. A fair amount of risk taking is necessary. It takes research to convince a skeptical client that this creative idea could resonate with consumers. Research gives the project a good sense of direction and helps people feel they have a solid idea worth taking to consumers. It helps minimize risks for both the client and the agency.

A new campaign, however, isn’t without its challenges. The biggest challenge is to fully understand the brand, its core equities, the consumer, and where the brand ranks with that consumer. You have to get the brand to fit within the consumer’s cycle. Determining where the brand resides in the consumer’s life requires primary research.

Pitfalls in this work stem from failing to complete the proper research and prep work to fully understand the consumer. When you put together an image and you don’t understand what the consumer thinks, you put out an image that’s not based on reality. The consumer will see right through it, and that message won’t be persuasive. The result: People will not buy the brand, the client gets upset, and you get fired.

When a strategy is executed correctly, a brand can survive forever, but it still needs to grow with the consumer base. It can’t mean the same thing forever. People’s lives change, so a brand needs to evolve, or it will seem like yesterday’s brand. Take Coca-Cola, for example. There was a time when the brand was product-driven: It was described as being delicious and refreshing. But today it’s very much an icon brand. It’s in the fabric of our communities as a leader brand. It has worked hard to be in tune with young people, because that’s the group that drinks soda. But that group evolves – how 17-year-olds look in 2003 is very different from how they looked in 1973. Coke has been able to evolve the brand consistently. It takes commitment for a brand to live forever, and it’s not cheap to make it happen.

Keeping a brand fresh over the years has become more difficult. There’s a lot of clutter – so many brands. It’s a continuous challenge to keep a brand fresh. The competition is fiercer than ever. That’s one reason why it’s important to have a consistent message in all media. Consider how media is fragmenting – cable channels, satellite dishes, the Internet, the wide variety of print vehicles. Whether online or offline, consumers can be reached through many different touch-points. So it’s important to provide strategic communication that’s consistent across all media vehicles. You’re trying to establish frequency, and the consumer is more likely to do what you’re telling them to do if they see the same message in different places.

For me, the most exciting part of this industry is trying to understand a problem a brand is facing and then building that brand. We analyze a lot of data then develop a brief on which our creative people can base ideas. When those ideas actually work and we see sales increase, it is a gratifying experience. That’s the reward for most of the people in our company.




The Art of Advertising. CEOs from BBDO, Mullin Advertising & More on Generating Creative Campaigns & Building Successful Brands
The Art of Advertising: CEOs from Mullen Advertising, Marc USA, Euro RSCG & More on Generating Creative Campaigns & Building Successful Brands (Inside the Minds Series)
ISBN: 1587622319
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 68

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