CREATIVE STRATEGY AND THE BUSINESS OF DESIGN

Transcription

1 @douglasqdavis CREATIVE STRATEGY AND THE BUSINESS OF DESIGN HOW DESIGN LIVE douglasdavis.com #CSBD

2 Just to establish this up front There is no design in this presentation. - Douglas Davis

3 Just to establish this up front These thoughts are examples, not absolutes. - Douglas Davis

4 Just to establish this up front You are the experts on your respective areas. I m clear on that. - Douglas Davis

5 WHAT IS THE PROBLEM Creatives: Clients expect something we weren t taught.

6 WHAT IS THE PROBLEM Suits: We weren t taught how to talk to creatives.

7 WHAT IS THE PROBLEM Clients: The agency or firm with my account isn t strategic enough.

8 Execution Flawed Sound Flawed Doomed from the beginning A Botched Job Strategy Sound Flirting With Disaster A Pretty Good Chance Strategy is Execution by Fred Nickols Source:

9 WHAT IS THE PROBLEM #CSBD #ThinkHowTheyThink Doomed from the Beginning

10 WHAT IS THE PROBLEM #CSBD #ThinkHowTheyThink A botched job

11 WHAT IS THE PROBLEM #CSBD #ThinkHowTheyThink Flirting with Disaster

12 WHAT IS THE SOLUTION #CSBD #ThinkHowTheyThink Think how they think in order to do what we do.

13 WHAT IS THE SOLUTION #CSBD #ThinkHowTheyThink Improve the elements in the creative process to improve the quality of the creative product.

14 THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: CREATIVE STRATEGY #CSBD

15 Target Brand/Product/or Service Feature/Benefit Message or Objective Target 1 defined in a short fragment with any demo, psycho, & behavioral data Target 2 defined in a short fragment with any demo, psycho, & behavioral data Target 3 defined in a short fragment with any demo, psycho, & behavioral data Historical information on the brand Brand Perception information Positive information on the brand Negative information on the brand Information from the brand website Information from blogs about brand Customer service information Product line information on the brand M: What target X should take away from the communications M: What target X should take away from the communications M: What target X should take away from the communications M: What target X should take away from the communications M: What target X should take away from the communications O: What the client wants to achieve Target 4 defined in a short fragment with any demo, psycho, & behavioral data Target 5 defined in a short fragment with any demo, etc. Parent company information Brand partnerships or associations Sponsorship information on the brand Pricing information on the brand Version information on the product Sales information on the brand O: Increase traffic by % O: Increase app downloads by % O: Engage among target 3 by % O: Convert % O: Decrease by % O: Build by % O: Acquire by % Target 6 defined in a short fragment with any demo, etc. Event information on the brand Any & All information on the brand O: Retain by % O: Grow by %

16 STRATEGIC #CSBD Target Brand Info Feature / Benefit Message or Objective

17 @douglasqdavis #CSBD

18 In Context: Example (This is just a quick example to apply the tool) ALL EXAMPLES IN THE FORM OF PRODUCTS, PLATFORMS OR TV SHOWS ARE PROPERTY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE BRANDS AND NOT THE DAVIS GROUP LLC, IN OTHER WORDS, I DID NOT CREATE, INSTAGRAM, THE SOCIALMATIC, NEW GIRL OR THE FLINTSTONES. DUH DILIGENCE DONE.

19 social matic screen shot

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23 social matic screen shot

24 IN CONTEXT Let s say that our design firm or ad agency wanted to go after this job or account for New Business.

25 IN CONTEXT 7 Days total to concept, design and develop before we pitch our ideas. Deadline 1: Design concept review 3 days. Concept Revisions: The next day (weekend). Coding & Printing & Practicing early next week and we present on next Friday.

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27 Framework Tip #1: Mine the facts for brand insights

28 Target Brand/Product/or Service Feature/Benefit Message or Objective Historical information on the brand Brand Perception information Positive information on the brand Negative information on the brand Information from the brand website Information from blogs about brand Customer service information Product line information on the brand Parent company information Brand partnerships or associations Sponsorship information on the brand Pricing information on the brand Version information on the product Sales information on the brand Event information on the brand Any & All information on the brand

29 Framework Tip #2: Go beyond the website

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32 social matic screen shot

33 Awareness Mass, OOH, TV, Radio, Print Research Digital, POS, Mobile, DR: Print, TV A Purchase Funnel Engagement Digital, POS Convert Digital, POS, Mobile, Print (DM) Post Purchase Digital, Mobile, Print (DM), WOM Advocacy Digital, WOM

34 Framework Tip #3: Objectives are usually written as verbs

35 Target Brand/Product/or Service Feature/Benefit Message or Objective O: What the client wants to achieve O: Increase traffic by % O: Increase app downloads by % O: Engage among target 3 by % O: Convert % O: Decrease by % O: Build by % O: Acquire by % O: Retain by % O: Grow by %

36 Framework Tip #4: Messaging is what you want a target to take away from the communications.

37 Target Brand/Product/or Service Feature/Benefit Message or Objective M: What target X should take away from the communications M: What target X should take away from the communications M: Message Target should take away about socialmatic M: What target X should take away from the communications M: What target X should take away from the communications

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39 Framework Tip #5: Define targets fully with short demographic, psychographic & behavioral fragments

40 Target Brand/Product/or Service Feature/Benefit Message or Objective Target 1 defined in a short fragment with any demo, psycho, & behavioral data Target 2 defined in a short fragment with any demo, psycho, & behavioral data Suburban middlehighschool teen who uses social networking to present themselves to the world through hourly photoessays. Target 4 defined in a short fragment with any demo, psycho, & behavioral data Target 5 defined in a short fragment with any demo, etc. Target 6 defined in a short fragment with any demo, etc.

41 FIND DIRECTIONAL INSIGHTS IN ONLINE COMMUNITIES screen shot a non corporate website/blog

42 VALUE PROPOSITION social matic screen shot

43 Framework Tip #6: After defining the target, create or choose a persona to represent it

44 FIND DIRECTIONAL INSIGHTS IN ONLINE COMMUNITIES

45 FIND DIRECTIONAL INSIGHTS IN ONLINE COMMUNITIES

46 WHAT IS THE PROBLEM

47 MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS Morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts Self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, respect by others Friendship, family, sexual intimacy Security of body, of employment, of resources, of morality, of the family, of health, of property Breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion

48 Framework Tip #7: Features and Benefits are written in a 1 to 1 ratio or Feature / Benefit

49 Target Brand/Product/or Service Feature/Benefit Message or Objective

50 THE VALUE PROPOSITION IS EXPRESSED IN FEATURES AND BENEFITS

51 Framework Tip #8: Quantity first, then clean for Quality

52 Target Brand/Product/or Service Feature/Benefit Message or Objective Target 1 defined in a short fragment with any demo, psycho, & behavioral data Target 2 defined in a short fragment with any demo, psycho, & behavioral data Target 3 defined in a short fragment with any demo, psycho, & behavioral data Historical information on the brand Brand Perception information Positive information on the brand Negative information on the brand Information from the brand website Information from blogs about brand Customer service information Product line information on the brand M: What target X should take away from the communications M: What target X should take away from the communications M: What target X should take away from the communications M: What target X should take away from the communications M: What target X should take away from the communications O: What the client wants to achieve Target 4 defined in a short fragment with any demo, psycho, & behavioral data Target 5 defined in a short fragment with any demo, etc. Parent company information Brand partnerships or associations Sponsorship information on the brand Pricing information on the brand Version information on the product Sales information on the brand O: Increase traffic by % O: Increase app downloads by % O: Engage among target 3 by % O: Convert % O: Decrease by % O: Build by % O: Acquire by % Target 6 defined in a short fragment with any demo, etc. Event information on the brand Any & All information on the brand O: Retain by % O: Grow by %

53 Framework Tip #9: The process should yield multiple viable solutions

54 Target Brand/Product/or Service Feature/Benefit Message or Objective Target 1 defined in a short fragment with any demo, psycho, & behavioral data Historical information on the brand Target 3 defined in a short fragment with any demo, psycho, & behavioral data Positive information on the brand Negative information on the brand Information from blogs about brand Customer service information Product line information on the brand M: What target X should take away from the communications M: What target X should take away from the communications M: What target X should take away from the communications O: What the client wants to achieve Target 4 defined in a short fragment with any demo, psycho, & behavioral data Parent company information Sponsorship information on the brand O: Increase traffic by % O: Increase app downloads by % O: Engage among target 3 by % Target 5 defined in a short fragment with any demo, etc. Pricing information on the brand O: Decrease by % O: Build by % O: Acquire by % Event information on the brand O: Retain by % Any & All information on the brand

55 STRATEGIC THREAD Target #2 Product Information Feature / Benefit #3 Message Target #5 Brand Information Feature / Benefit #6 Objective

56 Framework Tip #10: Its only as good as the information you populate it with.

57 FRAMEWORK: #CSBD * This exercise will help you focus on the common threads that exist throughout creative and strategy. Make connections by exhausting each category.

58 FRAMEWORK: #CSBD * List all potential targets, product attributes & brand information, features and corresponding benefits.

59 FRAMEWORK: #CSBD * Match them to a client objective or message the target should come away with after encountering your communications.

60 FRAMEWORK: #CSBD * After achieving quantity, refine for quality through discussion. Consider each element and ask, can we build a campaign on that?

61 FRAMEWORK: #CSBD * to focus creative development. Pull out the threads and use them

62 @douglasqdavis #CSBD If you like what you ve seen I enjoy being one of the variety of voices needed both in front of and behind the concept, marketing plan or digital strategy. - Douglas Davis

63 @douglasqdavis CREATIVE STRATEGY AND THE BUSINESS OF DESIGN HOW DESIGN LIVE douglasdavis.com #CSBD

64 There is no one way to approach a creative problem, brief or strategy document. There is no template, no formula or recipe for creative business solutions. If a solution was effective, it was developed from a custom designed strategy. This framework will help you organize the elements involved and focus on seeing the threads that exist between creative and strategy. First, populate each category below by thinking through all potential target groups, product attributes & brand information, features and corresponding benefits. Do the same with any messaging or client objective. After achieving quantity, refine for quality. Now look across the categories at what s left. CREATIVE STRATEGY FRAMEWORK BY DOUGLAS DAVIS Target Brand or Product Name Here Feature / Benefit Message or Objective - Define targets - Decide whether the job - A Feature is a physical quality - A Message is what the in fragments that should be focused on the or tangible attribute that target should take away state demographics, brand or a particular product defines the product. from your brand psychographics & or or service within the brand. communications. behavior. - Tangible features often have - Look beyond the brand s intangible benefits and thus - A client Objective usually - Look here for segmentation website for good and bad these are written as a ratio. begins with a verb: Convert, examples. items to list here. Blogs and This Feature/enables this Drive, Engage, Build, Grow, reviews will show any gaps corresponding Benefit. Increase, Decrease etc, by % between what the company among X target. says and what the customer is experiencing. The Davis Group LLC 2014 OBJECTIVE: Connect the most viable target, with a relevant fact about the brand/product/service, a specific feature and corresponding benefit to a client message or objective. This tool will help you focus the creative work on elements that will ensure you remain on brand, on strategy and on message. This method will yield multiple viable solutions to explore while creative problem solving. Try it and see.

65 CREATIVE & STRATEGIC RESOURCES: There are a lot of books out there but these have added value to my ability to understand, create, and sell strategic ideas. These books are in my library (with the exception of the one that isn t out yet*) and I ve come back to the concepts in their pages to teach others. I ve catergorized how they might be of use to you and the different roles on your team when developing creative elements including copy, design or advertising. I know that they will be of use to you in your persuit of Creative Business Solutions. For the Creative Team When Discouraged: Miss Remarkable and Her Career Paperback by Joanna Rubin Dranger When Creating: Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads by Luke Sullivan When drinking Coffee: The Work: 25 Years of Fallon by Pat Fallon, Bob Barrie For Solopreneurs When Managing: Truth, Lies, and Advertising: The Art of Account Planning by Jon Steel When Hunting: Perfect Pitch: The Art of Selling Ideas and Winning New Business by Jon Steel When Using Left Brain: Juicing the Orange: How to Turn Creativity into a Powerful Business Advantage by Pat Fallon & Fred Senn For Budding Marketers For Going Whole Hog on Strategy When Targeting: Tribes: (Your head will hurt but that s a good thing) We Need You to Lead Us Minor throbbing: HBR's 10 Must Reads by Seth Godin on Strategy (including featured article What Is Strategy? by Michael E. Porter) When Making Recommendations: by Harvard Business Review Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition Steady Pain: Blue Ocean Strategy: by Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin How To Create Uncontested Market Space And Make The Competition Irrelevant When Becoming a Partner: by W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne Spanning Silos: The New CMO Imperative by David A. Aaker Complete Migraine: Strategic Market Management by David A. Aaker For Developing Brands For the Future*: Aaker on Branding: I d love to hear how these resources 20 Principles That Drive Success helped you on a pitch, or in the process. by David Aaker me@douglasdavis.com with victories or for additional resources. Thanks. For Meetings with Clients: Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant by David A. Aaker Because we all love candy: Do You Matter?: How Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company by Robert Brunner, Stewart Emery and Russ Hall The Davis Group LLC 2014