PART 1: The Creative Process and Tools.

It’s now been over a quarter century since the Mac was introduced, complete with the hoopla that surrounded the 1984 Ridley Scott ad that we’re all familiar with.

Since then, technology has played an ever-increasing role in how concepts are executed and sometimes (unfortunately) generated. On the positive side, technology has allowed us to quickly see exactly what an idea could look like in its final form, made creating final art more efficient, and made digital projects a possibility. But on the negative side, tech has made it way too easy to put the execution ahead of the concept - giving us ads that look polished but are actually devoid of a solid idea or marketing backbone.

The Creative Process

What does this process look like now compared with pre-mac times and what changes came about with technology advances? Let’s compare the three stages of the creative process: Problem, Concept, and Execution.

Problem

The process still starts with an objective, strategy and usually a specific marketing problem that the client wants us to solve. Technology didn’t change this stage too much.

Concept

Concepting used to be a combination of Copywriting and Art Direction — a process replete with frustration, inspiration, bar napkins, carriage returns and chicken scratchings.

Did the Mac change this stage of the process?

More than most creatives care to admit. It is just so easy to quickly make a “first look” look like a final, produced version. Our challenge is to make sure the concepting process still resembles the picture above while using the computer to realize the vision.

Execution

This has changed so much since pre-Mac days. Although some traditional tools are still used to realize the concept, concept executions get done on a computer.

Treat Technology Like a Really Good Pen.

If we use technology as if it were a high quality Rapidograph (remember those?) and not an idea generator we should be OK - as long as we make sure our concepts focus on solving marketing problems first and, only then, kick-butt creatively.

COMING IN PART 2: Creatives beware - accountability, discipline, and measurability are not the devil.

Whether you’re pitching a media story about the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or a start-up business, here are the five “Ws” to consider before getting started on your next corporate PR project:

The Five Ws: In a New Corporate World; the “Why” Always Comes First.
Many of you who have studied journalism learned the five Ws in this order: Who, What, Why, Where and When. In today’s ever-changing world of marketing, have you ever wanted to stop in the middle of a marketing project and ask, ” Why are we really doing this project?”

How many campaigns, projects and job orders have gone from beginning to completion, with the “why are we doing this?” getting lost somewhere along the way? Based on my 25 years of experience, I can tell you that a great many have.

In Public Relations today, “Why are we doing this story?” is the most important question you can ask yourself before embarking on a time-consuming campaign. If the answer to your “Why” question will not result in the ultimate reward of press coverage, then take a pass on that story. Dig deeper and find a stronger, more compelling “why” and therefore, a stronger and more compelling media story and PR campaign.

For example, at Wayfinder, we recently launched a PR campaign about CEO Louis Briones and his leadership in launching a new national nonprofit, Expedition Balance, that helps combat vets with PTSD. The WHY in this campaign is that we at Wayfinder want our clients, potential clients, friends and associates to know that Wayfinder is not only a national marketer, but is also a caring, philanthropic leader that gives back to our community.

What: The Substance of Your Media Story (Release).
My college journalism professor was right: if you cannot sum up your media story idea in one sentence—then you should probably move on to another story idea with more clarity and substance.

At Wayfinder, we summed up our PR story idea in one sentence:
New Wayfinder CEO takes on a mission to help combat vets with PTSD.

After you get the story idea captured in one sentence, that becomes your media release headline. The rest of the media release should be written like a short news story, with an interesting angle that grabs your audience’s attention in the first one or two sentences. The next paragraphs should provide a unique idea with enough details to prove its potential as a news story worth their follow up.

In part two of this article, we will cover the remaining Ws of PR: Who, When and Where.

We all know Youtube is a hit. But were you aware that the internet is increasingly the way people watch TV shows?

TVWeek reports that adults 18-34 prefer their TV over the internet instead of TIVO/DVR by almost two to one. The study, conducted by Solutions Research Group, also notes that all online Americans watching television shows has doubled over the last two years from 25% to 50%.

With more people migrating from the difficult to measure world of TV and DVR to the easily measured world of the internet, there is tremendous opportunity for practicitioners of Branded Responsesm. Combining the branding power of TV with the responsiveness of the internet opens up a whole new world of accountable, high ROI marketing.

Could video save the printed word? Readers are fleeing printed media. Those media are migrating content onto the web, but banner advertising support for them has so far failed to satisfy the media, readers, or advertisers.

Video could be the answer. Video sections are increasingly prominent on newspaper sites. Because content is on the web, it’s bite-size, and specifically demanded by the viewer. The format works for the medium even if (or maybe because) it often lacks the polish of broadcast or cable TV.

I respond to faces that aren’t quite TV-ready - as long as the content is there. AND I’m willing to watch a :30 TV commercial in order to watch the content I want. Internet TV is actually watched, as opposed to banner ads that are virtually ignored, and pop-unders and overs that are closed as soon as they open. And even if I don’t click on the ad, advertisers only pay for ads that are viewed.

The result? Content that viewers demand. Advertising that’s actually viewed. And financial support for the ultimate content providers.

Americans consume more video than ever, according to Nielsen. In their report, American’s Can’t Get Enough Of Their Screen Time, Nielsen reports that the average person watches about an hour more TV than he or she did 10 years ago, now totaling 4:45 each day.

And that’s not the only screen we’re watching. We’re spending about an hour a day on the internet. We watch about 2.5 hours a month watching videos on the internet, and those of us with cellphones that get video add another 3.5 hours a month with this very small screen - both activities that Nielsen didn’t even bother to measure in 2007, but up +14% and +12%, respectively in just 3 months, growth rates that, if continued, translate to triple the time viewing videos in these outlets over the next 2 years.

What’s fueling the obsession beyond multiple ways to watch? DVRs, which help people squeeze an extra 6.5 hours a month of “time-shifted” TV (I’m surprised it’s not more. I love my tivo.) And the explosion of HD helps too with 23% of American households having one, up from only 10% in July of 2007. And that # doesn’t reflect the 2008 holiday season.

What’s the takeaway? Say it with video - if you can’t afford TV, make sure you’re developing a video strategy for the web, and mobile devices.

And don’t assume that internet and mobile video are just for youngsters. Adults 35-44 watch more video on their phones than 18-24 year olds.

What do pizza, dry cleaning and gift wrapping have to do with banking? That’s a connection TDBank in New Jersey is trying to make.

According to this article on nytimes.com, the bank is tie-ing in with pizza parlors, dry cleaners and shopping malls near its branches. Since its positioning is all about convenience, maybe these friendly gestures allow appreciative prospects to make the connection.

There are two things to admire with this approach.

First, there’s a single mindedness about one attribute - convenience. In the crowded world of financial services, positioning as simply and clearly as possible makes it easy for customers who value convenience to connect to the brand.

Second, they extend the communication into the realm of experience and response. It’s one thing to say you’re convenient. It’s another to engage people all singlemindedly on this attribute. TDBank is as convenient as a delivered pizza, TDBank is as convenient as your local dry cleaner. TDBank offers a sweepstakes with convenience as the prize - limo services, maid services, etc. You get the point.

We admire this approach that generates response that ties back to the brand promise. We call it Branded Response.

Our friend George Revutsky at ROI.Works spends much of his time training ad agency types and marketers how to make search engine marketing work. He recently introduced us to a great tool from (who else) google.

The google slider provides an interactive demonstration of how changing budgets, keywords, and the amount bid per click affects impressions, ad placement and clickthroughs. The best way it helps is to illustrate what happens if you change your budget, your bidding, your number of keywords and your geographic focus.

Here’s a site for all us complainers. Get Satisfaction is a community of people looking for help with issues and company reps who monitor the conversations, offering help, and (we hope) addressing problems that crop up too much.

As social media evolves, it’s nice to see a community that’s devoted to customer concerns/complaints and companies trying to help.

The platform provides an avenue for companies to provide FAQs pretty easily, plus it gives consumers a way to see who’s trying to solve customer problems (and who isn’t).

Check it out.

Marketing Sherpa reports that two major trends will shape marketing in 2009 -

1. a shift away from traditional media to online
2. a shift away from brand communications to direct

This is an acceleration of long-term trends we’ve seen as marketers and their bosses place increasing emphasis on demonstrable ROI from marketing campaigns.

One other factor underlies these major shifts; consumer behavior. According to The Pew Center’s Internet and American Life Project, almost 50% of internet users perform search every day. As the web replaces newspapers, magazines, and, increasingly, radio and TV, advertisers have slowly re-prioritized their marketing budgets.

Branding remains an important activity for marketers. They just have to build their brand with new tools, new media, and increasing scrutiny on ROI. That’s where a Branded Response approach fits. Our experience with this approach shows that intelligent use of brand equities actually improves response, as long as sound direct-response principals are followed. For our white paper on how to manage and deliver Branded Response marketing, go here.Technorati Tags: marketing sherpa, 2009 marketing, marketing planning, branded response, branding, response marketing

Barry Judge, Best Buy’s CMO openly talks about his marketing issues on his blog. I got to his blog via twitter, and I tip my hat to how open he is. It’s a great way to help turn shoppers of a big box retailer into brand advocates. Plus, he probably does get some good free ideas.

Would you be willing to talk about your job in the open?