1. Welcome to the
DMA’s Creative Certification Course
Part One
Evalua&ng
Crea&ve
Wed.,
Oct.
16,
2013
—
1:00
to
4:30
pm
Presented by
Alan Rosenspan • Nancy Harhut • Carol Worthington-Levy
2. Want to reach any of us?
Alan Rosenspan: arosenspan@aol.com
Nancy Harhut:
nancy.harhut@wildeagency.com
Carol Worthington-Levy
CWL@Worthington-Levy.com
You’ll also find us in LinkedIn!
2
3. Scope of the Course
• How to Evaluate Creative
• How to Get Great Print Work
• How to Get Great Digital Work
• Questions & Answers
throughout, breaks as needed
3
4.
5. Alan Rosenspan
Creative director in three countries, for O&M and
Digitas
My teams have won over 100 Awards – including 20
DMA Echo Awards for results.
More importantly, a working creative director and
direct marketing consultant
Client list has included American Express,
Ancestry.com, Bank of America, Capital One, Embrace
Home Loans, Humana, HSBC, Life Line Screening,
Oreck, Princess Lines, Scotts Lawn Service, Viking
River Cruises, many others
5
6. Nancy Harhut
• Chief
Crea<ve
Officer,
Wilde
Agency
•
Decidedly
strategy-‐minded,
results-‐oriented
• Na<onally
recognized
for
best-‐in-‐class
crea<ve.
• She
and
her
teams
have
won
over
150
awards
for
direct
marke<ng
effec<veness.
•
More
than
20
years
of
senior
crea<ve
management
experience
honed
Digitas
• Clients
have
included
Dell,
IBM,
Novar<s,
House
of
Seagram,
Bank
of
America,
AT&T,
American
Express,
Sheraton,
GM,
and
more.
She’s
an
in-‐demand
speaker
at
DMA
and
other
marke<ng
conferences.
6
7. Carol Worthington-Levy
Wears three hats – Design/art director, writer and
creative director/consultant for hire
A stickler for responsive creative: has read it all, tested
it all, and even attended a seminar in Switzerland to
learn what will encourage response… or crush it!
Was a business partner in a multichannel marketing
agency, which she and partners sold to Merkle in 2010
Possibly one of the only 8-time individual DMA Echo
winner in 3 categories: Mail, Catalog and Online/digital
Clients: AAA
Auto
Clubs,
5.11
Tac<cal,
Adventures
Cross
Country
teen
travel,
Allstate,
Wine
of
the
Month
Club,
Jacuzzi,
Niman
Ranch
premium
meats,
Comcast,
American
Isuzu,
Intuit,
BMW,
Dish,
DHC
Cosme<cs,
Hewle[-‐Packard,
and
more
7
8. We’re in the trenches,
just like you!
We are all working creative directors and direct
marketing consultants
We are all teachers and students of direct
marketing
We all believe in great creative work
8
9.
10. Who are you?
• You want to learn more about how to develop
winning creative
• You want be a better manager and motivator of
your team or your agency
• You want to be able to better evaluate creative
before investing a lot of time and money
10
11. Introductions
• Your name and what you do
• You biggest challenge…
• What makes you unique?
“I think I am the only person in this room who…”
11
12. Before we begin…
• Judgment call
• The truth about evaluating creative…
• Backgrounds and introductions
12
19. What do you think?
• What’s your overall reaction?
• Do you think it will work?
• What do you like?
• What do you think might be improved, or
what would you do different?
19
25. The Truth about
Evaluating Creative
• You are an excellent judge of creative
• You are intuitive and thoughtful…
• …when you stop to actually think about it in a
critical way
25
26. Our goals for this creative
certificate program
Help you discover…
How to get the best creative work
What to look for; what to watch out for
Provide a Checklist for “How to Evaluate Creative”
Offer ideas for how to motivate people to do their
best work for you.
26
28. • How can you tell if it will work in
advance?
• How to give useful and welcome
feedback
• Timing & Budget Questions
28
29. First, a definition
What is the best creative work?
You’re not looking for work that
makes you laugh, or may win an
award show
You’re looking for creative work
that’s going to generate response
29
30. • Does it have to be new?
• Does it have to be different?
• What are some signs of good
creative?
30
31. Does it have to be new?
• Not for the sake of being new
• New in this category
• It must be relevant to the product
and the market
31
33. Does it have to be different?
• Not for the sake of being different
• Good creative should tell you
something you don’t know…
• …or make you think of something in
a new or different way
33
39. Nancy
presents
a
Big
Idea:
Crea<ve
Challenge:
Sell
auto
insurance
to
an
affinity
group
40. Crea<ve
Challenge:
Sell
auto
insurance
to
an
affinity
group
that
was
so
unresponsive
the
program
was
about
to
be
cancelled
41. New
Agency
Our
First
Assignment
Probably
also
our
last
42. Product:
Na<onwide
Auto
Insurance
Affinity
group
target:
Members
of
the
Human
Rights
Campaign
(HRC)
Goal:
1. Generate
quotes
2. Generate
sales
43. HRC
-‐
Human
Rights
Campaign
Largest
LGBT
equal
rights
advocacy
group
and
poli<cal
lobbying
organiza<on
in
the
U.S.
LGBT=
Lesbian,
Gay,
Bisexual,
Transgendered
44. Sales
Proposi&on
Get
HRC
discount
when
you
get
Na<onwide
auto
insurance
Plus
get
Na<onwide’s
great
service
and
prices
45. Barriers
Na<onwide
is
not
a
low-‐cost
op<on
HRC
discount
is
small
Historically
unresponsive
target
Iner<a-‐
only
switch
if
bad
claims
experience/price
hike
Compe<tors
cite
specific
savings
amounts
10¢/piece
–
and
reflect
new
“Join
the
Na<on”
branding
46. Barriers
But
wait,
there’s
more…
Could
not
acknowledge
target
was
an
HRC
member
Not
allowed
to
use
HRC
name/logo
on
OE
Other
insurers
had
much
more
trac<on
with
LGBT
community
47. The
Solu&on?
“Slide
in
under
the
radar”
package
Cast
doubt
on
other
insurer’s
commitment
to
the
cause
Prove
NW
is
a
genuine
HRC
supporter
Highlight
many
discounts
available
+
proac<ve
checkups
Signed
by
NW
exec
who’s
also
an
HRC
member
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54. Did
it
work?
56%
liq
over
the
control
Client
wrote:
“Wilde
Agency’s
crea:ve
was
able
to
break
through
to
the
point
where
we
WENT
FROM
SHUTTING
DOWN
OUR
MAIL
PROGRAM
TO
ADDING
EXTRA
MAILINGS
NOT
PREVIOUSLY
BUDGETED.”
2013
ECHO
Award
winner
58. Le[er
copy:
friendly,
“I’m
like
you”
approach
What
do
you
do
if
you
buy
wine,
and
you
don’t
like
it?
You
can’t
get
your
money
back.
We
taste
over
300
wines
to
make
sure
it’s
great.
I
never
sell
wine
I
don’t
like.
58
59.
60. 1700
V the
fi
1700
views
in
iews!
rst
couple
of
hours!
Over
3000
total
views,
and
over
700
cases
of
wine
sold
.
63. The first question to ask of any direct mail
piece, advertisement or press release
63
64. “Without a big idea,
your advertising will pass
like a ship in the night.”
-David Ogilvy
“In direct marketing,
the ship will sink.”
64
65. Why are big ideas so important?
A big idea cuts through the clutter
A big idea can multiply your success 10
times over
You only need one
It costs more to do a bad idea than to do
a big idea
65
66. What is an Idea, anyway?
An idea is a change
“I have an idea; let’s do things the way
we’ve always done them before!”
The bigger the change, the bigger the idea
66
67. Letter to Ministers in Germany
They were concerned about declining church
attendance
They wanted to “wake up” ministers – and invite
them to a discussion about the problems
They used a very simple letter – with just one
sentence!
67
80. How do you know if it’s
a big idea?
Is it a new idea? Or new in this category?
Is it relevant to the product?
Does it make you think?
Not “what are they talking about?” but
about your relationships, your job, your
life, your future…
80
81. How do you know if it’s
a big idea?
Does it make you feel?
Emotion is stronger than logic
Is it credible? Do you believe it?
Does it stand out from others in it’s category?
81
83.
People have a hard time “getting” even
one thing
It’s not because they’re dumb; they’re
just busy
Make sure your message breaks
through the clutter – by focusing on
one message
83
88. One of the great secrets...
Most companies focus on their
products...or worse, themselves
The best companies focus on their
prospects and customers
88
89. Ancestry.com
The world’s largest genealogy
company
Has access to over 3 billion records,
and will help you search
Their most successful direct mail and
e-mail
89
101. The Power of Visual Thinking
People remember less than 10% of what
they’re told (and it’s always the wrong 10%)
“Follow my directions carefully”
People remember more than 50% of what
they see
They even make it up - to fill in the gaps
101
102.
Show and tell
Show me what you’ve got
Show me what you’re made of
“Show me the money”
102
108. Imagine a Harley
Davidson Motorcycle
parked inside a great
cathedral
The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the
image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file
again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.
108
110. The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may
have to delete the image and then insert it again.
110
113. Headlines are Critical
They should have your key benefit in them
80% of people read that – and nothing else
Subject line in e-mail even more important
Johnson box serves the same purpose
113
133. “Campaignable?”
Is it just a one-shot, or can you build
a long term campaign around it?
Does it easily lend itself to other
media?
A big idea can last for years…
133
134.
Antwerp Zoo in Belgium was looking
to boost attendance
Their elephant got pregnant
Send out a birth announcement?
…or create a campaign?
134
137. Congratulations, it’s an elephant!
Multi-media campaign started right after conception
Turned all of Belgium into proud parents
Millions of people followed her 22 month
development from inception to birth – including her
first ultrasound photograph!
137
139.
Kai-‐Mook
became
the
first
elephant
born
on
the
internet
on
May
17,
2009
–
weighing
a
healthy
100
kilograms.
Zoo
a[endance
more
than
doubled
–
over
300,000
new
visitors
139
141. Absolut Best Campaign
First ad appeared in 1980; still going strong 1500+ ads later
Created by Geoff Hayes of TBWA
Ads have become collector’s items; thousands of people write in
requesting their favorite
Rolled out “In an Absolute World” in 2007
141
151.
Judge
for
yourself:
Do
these
upcoming
examples
meet
that
list
of
criteria?...
• Big
idea
• Single-‐minded
message
• Focused
on
people
• Arres<ng
visual
• Compelling
headline
• Involving
• Campaignable
151
152. Comcast
…
see
if
this
mailer
meets
the
criteria
•
•
•
•
•
•
Single-‐minded
message
Focused
on
people
Arres<ng
visual
Compelling
headline
Involving
Campaignable
152
153. Make it a double feature with Comcast High-Speed Internet.
Home
entertainment:
Comcast
All the speed you need to download film clips or tunes, watch
movie previews or music videos, even play online games.
Includes security tools from McAfee® designed to keep your
online experience safe and virtually free from viruses and
annoying pop-ups . . . a $115 value, yours free!
Why wait? Experience the speed, reliability and
security of Comcast High Speed Internet. Get it now!
Call now and save with Comcast:
1-800-381-4460
Film Festival Committee
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Permit No. 657
Sacramento, CA
PO Box 5147
San Ramon, CA 94583
You’re invited to the world’s most exclusive film festival.
V.I.P. PASS ENCLOSED
Stephen Maxwell-Levy
12345 South Steiner Street
Apt. A
Niceplace, CA 98765-4321
• VIP
invita<on
gets
a[en<on
• They
flip
it
over…
Place: Your Place
Time: Whenever
Audience: You and a few hand-picked guests
153
154. Stephen Maxwell-Levy
12345 South Steiner Street
Apt. A
Niceplace, CA 98765-4321
Home
entertainment:
Comcast
Place: Your Place
Time: Whenever
Audience: You and a few hand-picked guests
It’s the World’s Most Exclusive Film Festival
Call now to R.S.V.P. 1-800-381-4460
• Concept:
you
can
have
your
own
private
film
fes<val
in
your
home
—
how??...
154
155. Make it a double feature with Comcast High-Speed Internet.
All the speed you need to download film clips or tunes, watch
movie previews or music videos, even play online games.
Includes security tools from McAfee® designed to keep your
online experience safe and virtually free from viruses and
annoying pop-ups . . . a $115 value, yours free!
Why wait? Experience the speed, reliability and
security of Comcast High Speed Internet. Get it now!
Call now and save with Comcast:
1-800-381-4460
• Challenge:
Comcast
high
speed
internet
might
at
first
not
seem
Film Festival Committee
like
entertainment
as
much
as
for
email
and
website
access.
But
Comcast
wanted
to
posi<on
it
as
a
way
to
download
movies
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Permit No. 657
Sacramento, CA
PO Box 5147
San Ramon, CA 94583
You’re invited to the world’s most exclusive film festival.
155
156. • This
posi<ons
the
reader
as
a
VIP
when
they
get
Comcast
high
speed
internet
156
157. Did
it
fit
these
criteria?
Do
you
think
it
worked?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Single-‐minded
message
Focused
on
people
Arres<ng
visual
Compelling
headline
Involving
Campaignable
157
158. Isuzu
B2B
mailing:
does
this
meet
the
criteria
too?
• This
Isuzu
truck
is
a
huge
seller
• It’s
especially
well
sized
for
two
industries:
light
construc<on,
and
the
food
industry
• Challenges:
how
to
get
companies
with
fleets
to
consider
buying
several
instead
of
just
one
• Budget
$90,000
158
159. Isuzu
Fleet
campaign
• Targeted two
markets ONLY
• Created a
mailer for
each, that is
very specific to
that industry
• This one
is light
construction:
This truck can
carry “6000
pounds of
cement”
159
160. Isuzu
Fleet
campaign
• This truck can
carry about
6,000 lbs of
cement –
sized specifically
for typical
construction
load
• Of course it’s
absurd – the
box is 12 in.
wide
160
161. Isuzu
Fleet
campaign
• A
dimensional
package
needs
all
the
hardworking
elements
that
tradi<onal
flat
mail
does!
161
162. “500
gallons
of
Tomato
Paste
enclosed”
• This
one
is
for
the
food
service
industry
• Typical
load
for
this
industry
would
be
500
gallons
of
tomato
paste
162
163. Sent
out
3000
boxes
per
targeted
market
•
•
•
•
•
Campaign
cost
$90,000
We
sold
140
trucks
Bo[om
line
-‐
$4.2
million
in
sales
New
leads
generated
for
future
contact
Huge
ROI
163
164. Isuzu
B2B
fleet
mailing:
does
it
meet
our
criteria?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Single-‐minded
message
Focused
on
people
Arres<ng
visual
Compelling
headline
Involving
Campaignable
164
165. One
last
example:
New
Pig
site
re-‐launch
Does
it
have…
• Single-‐minded
message
• Focused
on
people
• Arres<ng
visual
• Compelling
headline
• Involving
• Campaignable
165
166. New
Pig
needed
to
launch
their
new
and
improved
website.
• New
Pig
has
goods
to
help
control
chemical
and
water
spills
—
including
the
“pig”
They
have
developed
a
kooky
persona
with
catalogs
with
pigs
on
them,
and
their
Leak
and
Spill
catalog
featuring
Sparky,
a
cartoon
pig
with
a
hardhat
• An
improved
website
gives
them
another
reason
to
contact
customers
and
get
them
to
re-‐register
in
the
updated
system
166
167. …so
launching
the
site
could
not
be
a
dull
or
pedestrian
event…
• Customer
expecta<ons
are
high
–
New
Pig
customers
expect
to
see
an
event
turn
into
a
‘PIG”
event!
• Step
1
Email…
167
168. Landing
page
pays
off
and
generates
excitement
about
the
new
site…
168
169. Catalog
wrap
is
essen<al
because
many
don’t
check
their
email
169
170. Campaign
targeted
a
hardworking
audience
who
loves
a
humorous
break
from
the
serious
subject
of
chemical
spills
and
hazardous
waste!
Mouse
pad
with
contact
info
170
171. New
Pig
re-‐launch
campaign:
does
it
meet
our
criteria?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Single-‐minded
message
Focused
on
people
Arres<ng
visual
Compelling
headline
Engaging
Campaignable
–
well,
yes,
it
IS
a
campaign…
171
172. Make
People
Do
What
You
Want
Them
To
(Nancy
Harhut
on
Insider
<ps
on
the
power
of
direct
marke<ng
crea<ve)
173. General
adver5sing
influences
a<tude
and
awareness
over
5me.
Direct
marke5ng
influences
behavior
immediately.
173
178. Online
Advantages
Quicker
to
produce
&
measure
Easier
&
cheaper
to
modify
between
rounds
Click
to
respond
OLA
=
animated,
dynamic
178
179. How
to
give
yourself
an
edge
Study
your
mailbox/inbox
for
“repeats”
See
what’s
proven
to
work
in
the
marketplace
Read
the
masters
John
Caples
“Tested
Adver<sing
Methods”
David
Ogilvy
“Ogilvy
on
Adver<sing”
H.G.
Lewis
“Effec<ve
Email
Marke<ng”
Follow
the
trades
Test,
test,
test
179
184. Overarching
Crea&ve
Guidelines
Appeal
to
human
mo&vators
Save
$$
Save
<me
Self-‐improvement
Feel
special/recognized
Look
good
to
others
Feel
smart
Make
life
easier
Discover
new
things
Feel
safe
184
185. Overarching
Crea&ve
Guidelines
Benefits
not
features
Displays
perfectly
on
any
device
–
so
you
can
easily
read
wherever
and
whenever
you
want
185
191. The Secret to Getting
Great Creative
Creative people always have choices. They can’t always
decide what they will work on; but they can always decide
how much of their effort and heart they will put into their
work.
Your goal is to make them want to go that extra step for
your projects, your product , your company – and of
course, for you.
191
193. Briefly speaking
• Successful creative starts with a well thoughtout brief or Creative Strategy Form
• It doesn’t end there – but it starts there
• The more time and effort you put into your
brief – the more likely you are to get effective
work
193
194. The Briefing Meeting
• A brief should never simply be handed-out
or e-mailed.
• It should be an interactive process; with the final
brief emerging from the meeting
• You need to encourage comments and questions –
and get the answers as soon as possible
194
195. Your Role in Briefing
Creative
To initiate the project and provide the
information necessary to complete it
To be an “expert” on your business; or to get the
answers they need before the work is completed
To be open to new ideas and solutions
To give constructive and specific feedback to
help improve the work (when necessary)
195
196. Not Your Role
To dictate the work
To withhold information or fail to provide it on a
timely basis
To not have the answers
To create false deadlines or emergencies
To abuse creatives in any way, shape or form
196
197. The Role of Creatives
To represent the consumer’s point-of-view
To be an “expert” on their business – advertising
and direct marketing
…and to become an “expert” on the clients
business
To come up with big ideas
197
198. Not the Role of Creatives
To give the client only what they asked for…
To postpone the work and do a last-minute
scramble
To give up, or do less than their best
To think that that account people, or clients,
aren’t smart or good at their jobs
198
201. The Creative Strategy Form
Every company has a different format
It is a blueprint of the job -- and a contract
It should be developed, agreed on and signed by everyone
involved in the project - particularly the most senior person
It can be used to evaluate work
It has to be simple, understandable – not just filled with
jargon
201
203. The Creative Strategy Form
1. Project Description
What are we doing? Why?
2. Objective
What are we trying to achieve?
What do we want people to do?
Be as specific and realistic as possible
3. Target Audiences
The more specific, the better
203
204. The Creative Strategy Form
4. Main message and proof
What is the single most important reason that someone
will buy our product or respond to our mailing?
Why should anyone believe you…?
204
205. The Creative Strategy Form
5. Offer
What do they get?
What do they have to do to get it?
6. Key points
What other benefits do we need to communicate?
7. Ways to Respond
Did we make it easy?
Did we give them a choice?
8. Tone and Manner
Consistent with the product?
205
206. The Creative Strategy Form
9. Mandatories
Legal, logo, etc.
10. Budget
How much do we have?
Let the value of the customer drive the budget
11. Schedule
How much time is left?!!!!
206
208. Put time on your side…
You want to give creative people time to do their
best…
..but you also want your project to stay top-ofmind
Plus you don’t want them to forget anything, or
worse, do it at the last-minute
208
209. Think in stages
Ideally, you want them to come back with rough
ideas within 5-7 days
This keeps your project fresh in their minds and
motivates them to get started right away
After this first meeting, you can give them more
time to refine, make changes, add to the mix
209
210. Two questions you must answer
12. What is the target market currently using/doing?
Understand their mindset
Are they using a competitive product? Making do
without?
Why should they switch to yours?
13. “You know you need it when…”
When does someone know they need your product?
Puts you in their shoes
Identifies points of pain
You’re looking for agreement...
210
212. Best Practices
Allow them to finish their presentation, before
you jump in
Start by acknowledging how much work has been
done, and what you like
Review the brief to make sure that everything
important has been addressed
212
213. Be constructive
See the big picture first – don’t nitpick
Never get personal. Not “I don’t like that
headline” but “Does this headline have the main
benefit?”
Go through the Checklist with them
213
214. Moving ahead
Take the time to provide thoughtful, useful
feedback
This is your first exposure to the work; they have
been at it for days
Resist the urge to change for change’s sake
214
216.
Never say “The client will never buy this…”
Don’t try to anticipate what others will say or
think; give your own opinion
Remember you are all on the same side
216
217. How do you know
if it will work
before it goes out?
217
219. Besides…
“Creative” packages don’t usually work
The “ugly” stuff almost always seems to win
Even the best work seems to produce a
disappointingly low response
219
220. How do you know…?
The only guarantee in direct marketing is a
moneyback guarantee
It can be very surprising what works and what
doesn’t
However, if you use the following checklist, you
will maximize the probability of success
220
222. 1. Is it on strategy?
2. Is it appropriate to the product
and the positioning?
3. Is there a big idea?
Does it come through?
4. Does it have a striking visual or
graphic?
222
223. 5. Do the offer and main benefits
come through quickly and clearly?
6. Does the offer stand out?
7. Is it believable? Are claims
supported with facts or
testimonials? Is there a
guarantee?
8. Does it include a strong call to action
in every element?
223
224.
9. Does it make you think or make
you feel
10. Will it stand out from others in this
category?
11. Are all the elements working as
hard as they can for you?
12. The big question:
would you respond?
224
225. These are all the ways
to evaluate creative
for regular
advertising.
But direct marketing
has to work even
harder
225
226. We have to get people to
act
Go to our website
Call a toll-free number
Send in an application or response form
Bring something into a store
226
227. 1. It must be 100% absolutely clear
• Above all, it must be clear and easyto-understand
• If people don’t “get it” – you lose
• You need to be direct in direct
marketing
227
228. 2. It must have a compelling offer
• “If you want to dramatically improve your
response, you must improve your offer” – Axel
Anderson
• They must know exactly what you want them to
do, and how
• They must have an urgent reason to act now
228
229. 3. Credibility is king
• We need to prove what we claim
• We must use numbers, specifics, facts, lists
• Testimonials are critical
• One false note can kill response
229
245. What do you think?
• What’s your overall reaction?
• Which package did you like best?
• Which do you think worked best?
• Why?
245
246. We told you that
you’re an excellent
judge of creative!
246
247. Back to The Big Idea
• Big ideas are what’s needed to give a product or
service an advantage in the marketplace
• Every good product has a USP – Unique Selling
Proposition.
• This USP is one way to find your way to your
Big Idea.
• For example…
247
251. Name some big ideas…
• Can you name some big ideas that helped
a product or service rise above the rest?
• What comes to mind?
251
252. Workshop segment:
Create your OWN big idea
• Who would want your product or service?
• What are your product’s features and benefits that
make it worth having and using?
• What is your product’s Unique Selling Proposition…
that is, what makes your product different and better
than all others?
• How could you describe or illustrate this to have
immediate meaning to your customer?
• Brainstorm with the person next to you to discuss
these questions for 10 minutes each… and then we’ll
discuss a few of your ideas.
252
253. Thank you!
Alan Rosenspan,
Nancy Harhut &
Carol Worthington-Levy
See you tomorrow at
Part 2: Creative Rules that Work for Print
Thursday Oct 17, 2012 — 8:30am - 12:00pm
253