Strategy Before Creative

1. Strategy Before Creative

2. Do your strategy before your creative

3. Creative – a reflection of your personality, positioning and message

4. A design is only as good as the strategy that guided it

5. Most companies talk about who they are When they should be talking about what makes them different

6. DEFINING STRATEGY • Brand strategy • Marketing strategy • Creative strategy • Project strategy • Media strategy – inbound and outbound

7. Strategy isn’t just for large companies May be more important for local businesses

8. Strategy Overview #1 – Brand Strategy

9. In its simplest form the brand is a promise to the consumer/audience

10. Nothing in marketing is more important than strong brand recognition and loyalty

11. “A brand is what people think about when they think about us.” “Brandingis the process by which we try to shape and influence those thoughts.”

12. A Brand strategy considers every touch point you have with your audience

13. DO YOU HAVE? • Logo • Positioning line • Customer promise • Company personality/image • Differentiation • Target audiences • Key business messages • Social media guide • Brand strategy • Media strategy • Visual identity

14. WHY DON’T COMPANIES DEVELOP BRANDS? • Uncomfortable marketing • Focused on business • Don’t believe in marketing • Strategy costs too much • Don’t understand brand • Afraid of agencies

15. DEVELOPING A BRAND • Be authentic • Define your value • Be real – even personal • Be consistent in all • Build relationships • Be responsive to the audience • Be ready to adjust • Highlight your passion

16. BPS 10 • Perception • Image/Tone/personality • Product • Focus • Objectives • Audience • Competitors • Advantage/Differentiation • Messaging • Other information (barriers, items to avoid)

17. BRAND STRATEGY PROCESS

18. BRAND STRATEGY ELEMENTS • Organizational Style • Personality/Image • Differentiators • Positioning • Articulation of “added value” • General/global messages

19. MESSAGE HIERARCHY

20. WHY IS A BRAND IMPORTANT? • Consistency • Economies of scale • Trust • Understanding of structure • Message hierarchy • Focus for staff • Energy for organization • Company promise

21. Strategy Overview #2 – Creative Strategy

22. A Creative Brief is “a blueprint, guide, and source of inspiration” detailing the project requirements

23. WHY IS IT DONE • Tie brand to project creative • Outline the communication strategy • Clarify what’s expected of the deliverables • Inspire creative team

24. CREATIVE BRIEF INCLUDES • Project Background • Summary of brand elements • Objective of project • Target audience • Focus – ideas – options • Messaging/positioning to guide creative • Competitor positions • Desired response • Time lines and deliverables • Barriers

25. DURING DESIGN, WE ASK TO SEE • Brand strategy to compare • Current and previous designs • Audience profiles/pain • Client ideas

26. In the end the decision is not “do we like it” but will it be relevant to the audience and the project?

27. Strategy Overview #3 – Media Strategy

28. The Media Planning process directly affects the creative that you need to develop

29. PLAN COMPONENTS OptimizedContent

30. Your Social media activity must beconsistent with your creative messaging

31. BLOCKING CHART

32. Important to remember –What you are using can directly affect the creative you need.

33. STRATEGY TO CREATIVE – STEPS • Think about your brand • Be different • Understand your audience  • Match business to brand • Build your website • Don’t avoid Social Media 

34. SUMMARY • Design without strategy is art • Key elements of your design • Style • Personality • Theme • Positioning • Target relevance • Messaging levels • Focus design on what the audience wants to know • Develop design to appeal to the target audience • Design should reflect reality