Introduction
Advertising has moved beyond designing traditional print advertisements or billboards near your business area. Although the idea of advertising began with appealing to a large audience by using a medium that attracts high viewership, the increasing number of businesses opting for advertising across the world has made it important to opt for creativity in advertising operations.
As more consumers spend more time on social media than traditional advertising mediums like television and print media, brands need to take online advertising. While a user spends around 2 hours and 27 minutes on social media networks daily, it is wrong to assume you have enough time to attract their attention. On average, a brand has 5 seconds to catch users’ attention and create an impact. In such a scenario, it is essential for the advertising to be creative and impactful, which compels the user to take note and perform the necessary action.
Let’s look at the critical aspects like purpose, audience, relevancy, and platforms as the four main elements of advertising and how creativity plays an important role in each. But even before we dig deep into the importance of creativity in advertising, it is essential to understand the basics.
What is creative advertising?
Creative advertising is a process in which a few creative heads come together to create a campaign or an advertisement that can effectively and creatively communicate the message to the target audience. Creative advertisements are often made as part of an advertising campaign to stand out from the competition and get the audience’s attention.
Creative agencies can perform various functions for their clients – from strategy, design, media buying, technology, and execution. Creative agencies are also responsible for creating the guiding philosophy for the brand that can act as a foundation for creative material designed by the brand.
Why is creative advertising important?
Creative advertising is important for increasing brand recognition and recall. Businesses need to rely on creativity in building campaigns that can reduce unnecessary spending on advertising. As John Wanamaker said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”
According to research, only 16% of customers can recall and correctly attribute the advertisements seen to the brand. In other words, a massive 84% of advertising cannot generate the desired results. In such a scenario, brands must create campaigns high on the creative quotient. As consumers witness a lot of advertising throughout the day, it is important to create advertisements that can cut through the clutter and generate a positive response from the audience.
Creativity and engagement are the key reasons that make advertisements more shareable. It is, therefore, critical for brands to come up with creative advertisements that are compelling for the end users.
Let’s understand the importance of creativity in advertising by analyzing the various facets of advertising:
Effectiveness
Creativity is an integral component of building an effective campaign. As per the Harvard Business Review research, a euro invested in a highly creative ad campaign is expected to deliver returns almost double that of a euro invested in a non-creative campaign. Creative campaigns are expected to deliver 11 times the ROI of non-creative campaigns. Any advertising campaign is expected to deliver effective results for a business. As a result, businesses are better off banking on creativity to build an effective advertising campaign that can deliver the expected results.
Brand Love
Creativity can generate brand love for an organization as it gives meaning and life to sales messages that may otherwise come across as boring or avoidable in front of consumers. A creative brand can create a better connection with the target audience than a non-creative one. The quality of advertisements and communication also shows consumers that the brand is worth their time and attention. For instance, brands like Coke and Pepsi have invested in creating a connection with their consumers. As a result, these brands do not come across as sugary cola drinks. They have positioned themselves as refreshing drinks that are part of important life milestones like friendships and celebrations.
Media Spend
Creative advertising campaigns can drive better results for the amount spent on buying various media. With the increased organic reach and impact, creative advertising campaigns work well with the shares, likes, and follows they can generate on online platforms. At the same time, creative campaigns work well to gain earned coverage in offline mediums as well. In other words, creative advertising campaigns can provide better returns on media spending for an organization than non-creative campaigns. For instance, new-age internet businesses like Amazon, Zappos, Dollar Shave Club, and Airbnb are known for their disruptive advertising that helps to gain a better return on investment in media spending.
Plan of action
Creativity in a campaign is not only the responsibility of the advertising agency or the marketing department. The entire organization is responsible for ensuring that the campaigns being designed are creative and created with a collaborative approach. The entire organization needs to come together with unique insights and feedback that help create a campaign that is effective and helps achieve the set objectives. Suppose the agency and marketing department are only responsible for delivering highly creative campaigns. In that case, a business may not be able to highlight the competitive edge or the unique solutions the brand can offer.
Conclusion
Creativity in advertising is a reliable way to establish solid brand recognition and a connection with the audience. As a business has almost everything to gain from building creative advertising campaigns, it is always a good idea to bank on high creativity to create effective campaigns that generate the best return on investment. Here are more insightful blogs on advertising and creativity.
