Putting creative work in context
Most people working on the web or in marketing have been asked the question at one point or another “what do you think of my website / logo / brochure / brand / strategy?”
Of course, in almost all cases, the correct answer is: “I don’t know; who is your target client and what are you trying to achieve?”
Rory Sutherland, vice-chairman and executive creative director of OgilvyOne, has a neat little article in Precision Marketing on this subject. He recalls being on a panel of creative directors setting guidelines for a new direct marketing category of an advertising awards show. Eveyone on the panel agreed that entries should include information about target market and goals of the campaign.
The idea of [such] explanat[ion] was considered unusual because, in ad circles, unlike direct marketing, it’s axiomatic that creative work should be judged in splendid isolation. “A good ad,” so the phrase goes, “speaks for itself.”
Is this true? I’m not sure.
Some work can be judged at face value - the kind of ad which wears its creativity on the outside - but not all. David Ogilvy preferred the opposite: it was the job of the creative practitioner, he believed, to “conceal his artifice, not display it”.
Some of the UK’s greatest brands have been built by ads which do not wear their cleverness high around the waist. The genius behind “It’s good to talk” was only apparent when you knew the objectives. Tesco, Orange and (a personal favourite, this) Go are brands which have been built by ingenious work which nonetheless made light of its cleverness.
Work like this may do wonders in the market, yet it does you few favours in the [advertising awards show] jury room, or in your portfolio - where every communication has to be immediate and self-contained.
Before you ask anyone else to evaluate your marketing materials, first ask yourself: “what is my target market and what are my goals?”
Add comment May 4th, 2005