In an increasing number of advertising agencies, account planners are in charge of collecting, assembling, and even researching product and account data. They’ll analyze it, summarize it, and choose what they feel is the most effective strategy for the brand.
In that case, why not rely solely on information coming from the account planners? Simply put, to write knowledgeably about your product, you need to know as much about it as you possibly can; you need to become an information junkie. You can never have too much knowledge—particularly in the case of parity products, where an unusual or little known fact about the product or target audience may provide the key to finding a point of difference from competition.
The author of Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This, award-winning copywriter Luke Sullivan, emphasizes the importance of knowledge. “The moral for writers and art directors is: Do the factory tour. I’m serious. Go if you get the chance. Ask a million questions. How is the product made? What ingredients does it have? What are the quality control criteria? Read every brochure. Read every memo you can get your hands on…. Your grasp of the client’s marketing situation has to be as well versed as any account executive. Know the client. Know their product. Know their market. It will pay off”.
The information compiled about a product becomes the basis for a document called the copy platform, copy strategy, creative brief, creative work plan—different agencies have different terms for it—that acts as a road map for the copywriter and art director, helping them find the direction in which to proceed with the advertising they create.
A caveat: the purpose of this is not to instruct you in developing these communications strategies, but to share strategy perspectives that will help you deliver “advertising copy that is noticeable, persuasive and effective”).
There are many articles available that go into great depth in identifying objectives and tactics. However, a brief overview of the process will give you valuable context.
Alf Nucifora, chairman of an Atlanta-based consulting group, describes the role of the creative strategy as follows: “One of the best insurance policies for guaranteeing that your advertising will convey the necessary punch is to come up with a creative strategy that very clearly outlines the objectives and the intent of your advertising message” (ibid.).
He goes on to identify what the creative strategy should accomplish: “It should be a (one-page) road map, leading you in a clearly defined direction that will guarantee that the end product (your ad) delivers against a precise set of objectives.”
He lists six key elements of the creative strategy:
1. The objective, which asks what the purpose of the advertising is: “What do you hope to achieve from the ad? Is it to raise awareness, move product, bring bodies through turnstiles?”
2. The audience profile, which requires demographic and psychographic information: Who are they? What do they feel? What do they need? Try to define them as clearly as possible. Too broad an audience definition—e.g., women 18 to 39—is less effective than single women 18 to 39, college educated, full- time employed, who carry career aspirations.
3. The promise, which identifies what the product/ service will do for the audience to fulfill its need. “This is the key selling point of your message, and so, you should resist the urge to oversell by addressing too many features and benefits. This will often dilute the message and confuse the customer. Remember clarity of focus … take one strong advertising point and punch it home.”
4.The support, which incorporates the most important facts that support the key promise. “For example, if you were an office copy center and you wanted to convey the message that yours was the best place for backup office support, your support for that statement could consist of a number of elements, including the fact that you’re open 24 hours a day; that you have the widest array of equipment in the business, including high-speed copying machines, desktop computers and fax machines; that your staff is fully trained in office support and can provide a solution to any office problem; that your staff has been specially trained in the tenets of customer service so that every customer problem is dealt with successfully, quickly and courteously.”
5. The tone, which defines the feeling or mood that the advertising must convey. “If you are an auto dealership and you have a weekend to unload 400 cars, it’s understandable that your advertising has to scream to command attention. Conversely, if you are a hospital or a funeral service, a more sedate tone would be in order. To that point, retail advertising will carry a more urgent … tone. Professional services … (consultants, attorneys, etc.) will want to be more restrained in how they communicate.”
6, The constraints, which are the legal and other mandatory requirements specified by the client. “Do we need to record trademark and copy registration? Are there particular rules as to how we should treat the logo? If we were advertising another firm’s product in our ad, have we made sure that we have satisfied their legal requirements?”
When you receive an agency advertising assignment, it will include the specifications—the type of assignment (print ad, outdoor board, radio script, etc.), the medium in which it will run, budget and time considerations, and a creative strategy, usually expressed in a separate document.
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