Creativity is the gift that earns advertising its welcome in our lives. It also de-risks an advertiser’s investment, drives efficiencies, and protects and nurtures brands. It’s the biggest single driver of advertising effectiveness.
So it’s bewildering to see growing evidence that creativity has fallen into shadow. Great work is being made, but there could be more, more often.
Somehow, we’ve taken our eye off the creative ball in recent years as we’ve obsessed over data, tech, measurement and the pipes.
Rory Sutherland put it perfectly when he lamented that advertising conferences have become like going to a poetry festival to discuss book binding.
Data, tech and the pipes are of course all hugely important in advertising – but we probably haven’t been giving enough time to what we are sending through the pipes.
An ad can reach you at the right time, in the right place, in the right need state, on the right device, programmatically bought, geo-optimised, carbon efficient, tagged, tracked and measured to within an inch of its life; but if it’s not very good, it’s not very good. All the clever media planning in the world can’t change that.
It was in this context that Thinkbox asked then advertising strategist, now IPA Director of Effectiveness, Laurence Green to undertake a practitioner-led study to distil wisdom from decorated creatives about how to foster environments where creativity can flourish.
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Thirty-three interviews with incredibly senior and seasoned folk on each side of the creative development process (all from agencies and advertisers with a proven track record of great work) later and ‘From Good to Great: Improving the Odds’ was born.
This phenomenally influential white paper contains a seven-point guide to creative development best practice as well as a host of practical actions that clients and agencies can take to improve the odds of great commercial creative.
Highlights include the need for client and agency to be “ambitious friends” with a shared mission; the importance of a memorable idea that works emotionally and stretches across platforms and time; the need to be optimistic and remember what’s possible, how transformative great advertising creative can be, and the need to spend time together to discuss work (not just yours).
It also identifies the most common working barriers to advertising creativity, such as the lack of time spent establishing a common mission; talent tilted towards science, not art, with logic squeezing out magic; a drift towards short-termism, performance marketing, and immediately measurable activity; a climate of risk-aversion fuelled by potential social media backlash; short tenures and churn…and so on.
This white paper does not pretend to be the answer to cracking creativity, but it does have answers, and it can be a useful touchstone at many different times. It’s for everyone at any time, but especially for those about to embark on a new creative journey or relationship.
It’s in everyone’s interest for commercial creativity to thrive. You can download it, and start using it, here.
