The Case for Creative Integration - Ignore at Your Own Peril
Forgettable ads and dumb websites litter the digital landscape. Consider these six tips to avoid those pitfalls.
Forgettable ads and dumb websites litter the digital landscape. Consider these six tips to avoid those pitfalls.
Try asking anyone in an agency environment or in a marketing department how great creative contributes to the marketing campaign. They’ll quickly reply with all the best practice approaches like marrying good creative with good placement, bringing creative professionals early into the planning stages, and blah, blah, blah. The reality is usually something far different and it shows. Our digital world is littered with forgettable ads, dumb websites, and other digital experiences that don’t apply what we know about our prospective audience. These efforts don’t give a clear next step, don’t use the power of creative to tell an interesting story, or fail to communicate a relevant and memorable message.
Creative can mean many things to all the people that touch it professionally. Ads and apps, websites, search copy, and Twitter replies are among dozens of options that provide communication touch points that have the power to inform, entertain, and persuade – or not. Digital creative goes far beyond the obvious visual or copy writing elements to include timing, tone, and channel chosen for outreach or response.
Good digital creative requires the integration of media planners, UX pros, social community managers, the search team, technology experts, research folks, the client or account team – in fact the whole agency or team must think creatively and in concert to ensure a solid strategic foundation and the desired impact. The “creative department” is or should be the whole agency as we are all in the business of creating powerful digital experiences that support a business objective.
I polled a cross-section of our “creative team” to get their insights and tips on delivering great digital creative.
Good design and creative execution are not about pretty pictures or clever copy, at least not by themselves. Extraordinary creative results often come with some risk that is not always comfortable or even appropriate in every situation. So while not all creative can be great, it can certainly all be good/effective. And the way to get there is by involving your full team in the creative process.