How do you judge a good advertising idea?
First, you have to think like an actor or a director. I know that’s a strange way of looking at this, but hear me out. I have known and worked with great actors and they completely understand the psyche and different motivations of many different kinds of people. (Target demographics in our business) When you know how certain “characters” will respond or react to a comment, an event or a situation, then you can have true demographic and psychographic insight.
Next, pinpoint the character traits of your target.
What do I mean by character traits? What are the belief systems of your target that go well beyond what they think about your product or your product category? What resonates with them socially, politically and professionally? What does their family believe? Their friends? What does a typical day look like in their lives?
Hopefully with good research, you can determine the answers to all of these.
Now you need to make sure that the essence of the idea resonates. Make sure the tone fits. Make sure the design is appropriate. Make sure you “Don’t break character” with the idea.
A good creative director or even a good marketing director has to understand that this is imperative.
Unfortunately, most clients and creative teams at agencies don’t even begin to think this way. They use their suppositions, their own tastes and their own cultural mores and beliefs. That is not the way to create or to approve any creative idea or any content.
Now on to the next point. Will the concept or idea help the viewer or reader believe what you are trying to get them to believe? Will it force them to make a change? Will they “Buy it?”
Bruce Haines, Former Group Chief Executive of Leo Burnett said: “Every time you assess a new idea, what you’re really doing is trying to manage change. You can either cope with change or force the pace of it.”
Once you have a great idea that is working, the next consideration is multiple executions. Make sure that the idea is extendable. A good example of this is Nissan’s “Innovation that Excites”. The executions are endless. From the new Nissan GT-R with 500 horsepower to their ‘Self Cleaning Paint’.
But, if the idea never gets sold, it doesn’t matter how good it is. Here is the greatest pitch presentation of all time given by one of the greatest characters ever created: Don Draper. It’s worth the four minutes.