It’s not uncommon for marketers to discuss whether they think an ad might have started with poor strategic direction in the brief. Importantly, though, those who don’t work in marketing also notice and internalize these same thoughts, and this drastically affects a brand’s influence and its ads’ successes. Audiences can sniff out bad strategy, as is shown through studies on perceived quality of ads, and they treat your brand differently because of it. Something in the air changes when the foundation of a campaign is clearly established in good strategic planning. If this is true, then why don’t all brands and campaigns take time to lay the proper groundwork? Because it can be hard, time-consuming and requires smart attention to detail. Here’s why…
Unlocking a solid strategic messaging approach can often be a result of a key insight, hidden deep in the research or disguised as an unassuming footnote in the brief. Skilled marketers and strategic thinkers train their brains to search for and find these insights. The best campaigns grow from a revelation brought on by these insights.
For example, look at the famous Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign. Bland strategic thinking might have led the creative agency to focus on facts about the product: You should buy Dos Equis because it tastes good, you should buy Dos Equis because it is on sale … A lot of what beer commercials already are (and have always been). The brief, however, dove into research about the target audience’s thoughts and behaviors, not just towards beer, but life in general. The brief offhandedly noted that “Men in their 20s are generally desperate to be seen as more interesting than they really are.” This insight was taken and built out into the entire campaign, which didn’t focus on beer at all. It focused on a hilariously absurd, sophisticated and interesting gentleman who, oh by the way, prefers Dos Equis. This approach not only cut through the noise, but led to conversions because the execution, while comedic and fictional, was based on a small but meaningful truth about the real audience.
Recently, while planning our client’s new campaign about youth vaping, a note jumped out to us in the brief. Based on in-depth interviews we conducted, we knew that many parents in Oklahoma avoid talking to their kids about vaping because they’re scared it won’t go well or they feel ill-equipped. We took this insight and fleshed out a campaign designed to encourage and equip parents to intervene, based on the worries our audience felt burdened by. Approaching the messaging with these key insights in mind gave us the freedom to not make the message all-encompassing or too broad. With these insights, we allowed ourselves to be specific in our approach and dive into an aspect of the message that we knew our audience would relate to.
The result? In just the first month, 2,440 Oklahoma parents acquired our client’s educational resources after interacting with our campaign. We messaged in a way that resonated with a deep issue parents experience, and that insight proved to be a powerful strategic direction for the message. Here’s one of many creative executions for that campaign:
Far too many brands jump into wanting a big idea without being willing to take the time to understand where the idea came from and why. But it can’t be forced, nor rushed. Allowing unique insights to grow into quality strategic messages takes intentionality. Not sure where to start? We’re itching to show you. Drop us a line, we’d love to collaborate in unlocking excellent marketing for you or your client.
