Harnessing Creativity in Advertisements

-- S Saiganesh

Lecturer Alliance Business School, Bangalore. The author can be reached at saaigee@yahoo.com

-- P Asha

Lecturer Alliance Business School, Bangalore. The author can be reached at aashasree@yahoo.co.in

The prime function of an advertisement is to attract the audience, invoke their interest and finally drive them to buy
a product. Creativity can play a major role in each of these stages. Creative advertising has thus become the order of
the day for the marketers. It is a necessity for existence, rather than a tool to give a competitive edge. However,
creativity alone cannot sell a product. It can only pave the way by attracting the audience and creating interest in the
product. A good ad is thus a good product carried in a creative vehicle.

Great advertising is not about creativity for its own sake, it has to work.

-- Linda Kalpan Thaler

Advertisements follow us wherever we go. The biggest challenge faced by marketers today is to attract the audience
and secure a place in their memory. Creativity is the answer to this challenge. In a layman's words, creativity can be
understood as "Approaching the problems and identifying solutions for them in a different way." It is human nature
to get enthralled by creativity, and this fascination of audience is what all advertisers strive for. Harnessing the
immense pull of creativity can be the secret mantra to successful advertising. Creativity can be defined in many
ways, as varied as the means open to a creative person. It has no generally accepted definition. It has often been
discussed in terms of `four facets of creativity' (Altsech, 1995; MacKinnon, 1987; Kneller, 1965).

• The product or outcome of creative behavior

• The creative process
• The creative personality
• The environmental and cultural influences on creativity

Creativity is a quality possessed by ad makers that enables them to generate novel approaches, generally reflected in
new and improved solutions to problems. A customer is the raison d'être for an advertisement. The ultimate aim of
any advertisement is to stimulate the sales, directly or indirectly and the dimensions of advertisements should help
the advertiser to attain this. Creative advertising is the order of the day, today it is a necessity for existence, rather
than serving as a tool to give competitive edge. This situation is developed in this portentous way, because of
competition, increasing awareness among audience and more choice available to the audience. Today's audiences
are better informed, and there is always somebody to provide them with that specific need that they have.

Gone are the days when customers forcefully watched uninteresting advertisements. A powerful tool to catch the eye
of the audience and turn them to listen to the advertisers is creativity. Creative ads attract the audiences naturally, as
it is human nature to be interested in new things and get attracted to novel ideas. Thanks to the improved technology
and the remote control, today, the audience is better informed and has a wider choice in forms of different channels.
This has forced the copywriters to turn to creativity to attract and interest the audience. This is easier said than done,
because the audience is being bombarded with loud and attractive messages from all directions. The otherwise
obscure process of advertising is gaining trasnsparency, resulting in elevating the expectations and hence putting a
pressure on copywriters.

A lot of research has been undertaken to understand the intricacies of the delicately complex audience behavior.
Research suggests that getting attracted to new ideas is basic human nature. In childhood, we all have given priority
to learn new things, rather than remaining satisfied with what we have learnt. Sadly though, this creative ability
dwindles with age. The more older we get, the more rigid boundaries we set, the fascination remains however.

The first step in winning over the customer is to attract him. Considering that the customer is exposed to lots of
channels and with technology at his command, this is not an easy task. Promotions are creative ideas developed by
the company or its ad agency. The best rated ads are those that harness the power of creativity to spellbind the
audience. The mix of right ingredients ensures that the audience is pleased with the ad. A successful ad is one that
the audience recollects in pensive mood with a smile. Repetition is boring and fails to retain interest of the customer.
Contrary to the days of ad of `Washing Powder Nirma', now the story board keeps changing every time an ad
appears. This helps in meeting the ever demanding customer, who undoubtedly is the king. Companies have to thus
consider the cost of creating and airing varieties of ads.

AIDA and Creativity

Creativity and the message are the two eyes of any ad. The AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) model can be
referred here. The objectives of advertisements differ from each other. Some of the common objectives of
advertising are to inform and build awareness, to increase the sales, to support the sales force and to retain customer
loyalty. As the objectives of advertisement differ, the concept in the ad also gets changed. Awareness creating
campaigns need more creativity, the role of creativity is required more for the first two steps i.e., attention and
interest and message is required for converting the prospect into the customer i.e., for the rest (Refer Exhibit 1).

Making the audience to read the ad is as difficult as persuasion. Audience can be persuaded with rational and
emotional appeals based on the benefits of the products. Audiences only see that content of the advertisement which
can benefit them. But the tool available to the advertisers to make the audience read the ad or to grab the attention of
the audience is creativity. Creativity has the knack of mesmerizing the audience for few seconds. In those few
seconds, the point intended to conveyed can be made. The approximate percentage (assumed) relevance of creativity
and message is depicted in the Exhibit 2. Advertising need not be complex to be effective—it is simply about
creating enough awareness and positive brand associations for it to register as a top-of-the-mind brand when the
consumer is faced with a purchase choice. It is a myth that complex advertisements are effective; on the contrary, a
good idea that catches the attention of the audience is usually the simplest yet different one. It is the knack of the
advertiser to blend creativity and the message to achieve the objectives of AIDA principle.

Creative Tactics in Print Ads

If an ad is seen it does not mean that the ad is read. Attracting the attention of the audience to read the ads is a
Herculean task, considering the competition in this field. The copywriter's office is the place where one would find
the most creative minds at work. This is the place where the eye-catching headlines, ear-catching jingles and
eccentric and irresistible visuals and story boards are born. Compared to the audio visual media, the print ads have a
disadvantage; they require exclusive devotion of time. One can listen to the radio while doing some other work
simultaneously. This however is not the case in case of printed ads. Hence, the writer should stimulate the audience
to read the ad and this is possible if the ad and the message given in it are relevant and creative. Headlines are the
words in the leading position of the ad and they are the imperative aspect of any print advertisement. The main aim
of headlines in printed ads is to get the attention and interest of the audience. The headlines must interest and tempt
the audience to read the ad further.

Headlines can be divided into two; they are direct headlines and indirect headlines. The first one is straight forward
and informative about the product or service. Indirect headlines rely on creativity to provoke curiosity. This involves
usage of questions, provocations, challenges, etc. Subheads, Body copy, Visual Elements, Layout or Format are the
other elements of the print ad. Subheads are smaller than the main headline, but are larger than the copy. The main
text that presents the core information is the body copy. Body copy is the main text portion of a print ad, used to
present the relevant information. Visual elements are the other important aspect in print ads which can attract
customer's attention and communicate an idea or an image visually. We will now analyze the role of creativity in
using these tools effectively. No reader reads the newspaper for ads, however the headlines given in the ads can add
humor as an appeal and strengthen the message intended to be conveyed. Attention grabbing can also be done by
using creativity in varying the layout, using contrasts, space and other forms of attractive pictures.

The print ad in Exhibit 3 was created by Sayer Riley Compton. Here creativity is used in the headline. The message
intended to convey is that Pro-Balanced food is meant for dogs and the owners will not have any hurdles in feeding
their dogs. This message is communicated to the target audience in the headline itself in a very creative way. The
importance of creativity must be understood not only by the copywriter but also by other people in the team like the
art director and layout designer to name a few.
Creative Tactics in the Audio Visual Media

Visual media is in a favorable position compared to the print media due to the attraction that the media itself holds.
Advertisement is almost synonymous to TV commercials. It is a leading effortless pastime most of us indulge in.
Technological innovations and advancements have made anything possible on the screen. Any weird, abstract idea
can be presented using the versatile tool—multimedia—a promise for creative minds. This has led to the spicy
variety of ads we see today. We must admit that creative ideas linger in our minds forever, fulfilling the `informing'
objective of advertisement. Repeated administration of the creative wand results in the ultimate goal of ads—
namely buying. A big idea emerges and is commendable only if it is presented with a complementing story board
that reaches everybody. An ad is appreciated if it is cool, down to earth, represents situations which are commonly
occurring or has emotional appeals like achievement, joy, pride, sentiment, etc. For instance, the ads used by HUL
to market its product Fair & Lovely.

Creative Tactics in Selecting Innovative Media

Creativity does not stop at the content and message of the ad; creativity can be used to select a media also, catching
the customer unaware. Guerilla advertising is advertising by association. In this form of advertising, the message is
conveyed indirectly. It is an effective method by which the impression about the product is created in a subtle
manner, without the audience being consciously involved in the process. The advertising is done in such a way that
the target audience does not know that they have been advertised to a certain product, but their impression about the
product is increased according to intent of the advertiser. This method of advertising is less taxing on finances too.
The focus is to promote the products or services in a way that revolves around ingenuity rather than finances in
order to make a large impact, while spending as little money as possible. Ads follow the audience wherever they go
be it in the subways, on the buses, billboards, bus stops, etc. Sky is literally the limit for the advertisers. The media
is chosen to suit the audience, certain media especially suit the busy life of the urban audience, predicting his moves
and catching his attention wherever possible. Innovative media selection has been successful to reach both the urban
and the rural audience. In cities, we find advertisements glaring at us in huge brilliant displays and in mobile
billboards that are certainly impossible to miss. Some of the other media used by the advertisers include highway
billboards with hi-tech features and impeccable finish, wall paintings, a note here and there, at the garage, tissues at
the restaurant, not to forget the messages and mail ads that scream for audience's attention. The success of using
innovative media lies in the fact that it is able to grab the audience attention in situations that he least expects.

Harnessing Creativity for Effectiveness

Within the advertising industry, there seems to be a never-ending struggle between those who create the
advertisements (creatives) and those advertising managers who insist that it be `effective'. Advertising agencies
exist, sometimes precariously, in unstable environments (Comanor et al., 1981; Hirschman, 1989). There is a
constant struggle between the creators of advertisements and the managers whose job is to ensure that the ad is
effective. However insisting on effectiveness, creativity cannot be underestimated. A balance has to be achieved
between the two. The style of creative advertisement has to match with the advertisement attitude of the audience.
Just like the rhythm of effective music, an effective ad is the one that transports itself into the visual center of the
audience's brain, ending up in the customer visualizing the product. Meaning that, sales are not the only result of an
advertisement. Success of creativity in advertising is in fulfillment of the varied objectives of the ads.

Conclusion

Advertising industry is the most creative arena. The power of creativity has to be harnessed to produce the desired
impact on the audience. The audience may forget what you say but they will never forget how you made them feel
by providing those surprises. Since the prime motto of the advertisers is to connect to the audience, creativity gives
the advertisers the power to connect the seemingly unconnected. As Steve Jobs says, "Innovation distinguishes a
leader from a follower, if you want to be a leader, innovate!"

Reference # 18M-2009-02-07-01.