…anything interesting of exciting happening in Northern Idaho. Or Eastern Idaho for that matter. Heck, interesting period would be good.
Anyone?
Feel free to drop me an email, or leave a comment here.
Howard Marguiles on the Creative Brief
Recently, I came across an entry on the Ad Age Small Agency Diary from Howard Marguiles, associate creative director/copy at Palio in Saratoga Springs, NY.
This particular piece was titled “What Are You Packing Into Your (Creative) Briefs?” and was all about — you guessed it — the value of a good creative brief.
An excerpt from Marguiles’ piece:
DiNoto has it exactly right. When writing a brief, you must fully commit to an idea:
- This is the time to fall on the sword. Commit!
- Refrain from peppering the brief with ideas; a little bit of this or that. Layering ideas in a painterly way is dishonest. Commit!
- Say one thing, and say it clearly.
- Don’t try to outshine the creatives, don’t let your cleverness show; keep the language simple and clear.
- Anything resembling a tagline should be deleted.
- Support, amplify, clarify, stay on message.
If you have doubts that you have chosen the right path, find another. The universe has an infinite supply of paths; choose one.
It is a faulty assumption to believe that a killer ad campaign was the product of an unusually imaginative creative brief. Quite the opposite is more likely to be true. It is also not inevitable that any given campaign would result from any given brief. This is a deterministic function of the zeitgeist, the talents and disposition of the creative teams, the openness and receptivity of the target audience, and the ability of an agency and client to celebrate the power of a great idea and run with it.
The Goodby, Silverstein & Partners award-winning “Got Milk?” campaign was based on a powerful, single-minded insight: People wait until they’re out of milk to realize that they need to buy more. The campaign’s scenarios were highly entertaining, but the core message was: “Milk enhances the enjoyment of many foods. Don’t wait until you’re out. Buy some today.” In Goodby’s hands, advertising history was made. At another shop, the spots might’ve sounded like infomercials for the ShamWow!
A truly motivating insight is a secret bit of knowledge that you have about your target audience that you can exploit to make them do your bidding. Don’t squander it.
Regardless of whether you’re on the account side, the creative side, somewhere in-between, or none of the above, take the time to read the entire piece.
Then go practice, practice, practice.
You (and your clients) will be glad you did.
Hey Seattle, Need a Vacation?
The folks at the Idaho Travel Council, with the help of Drake Cooper and North by Northwest, want to send a family from Seattle on vacation in Idaho.
The catch? They’re going to film the vacation as part of a reality show on Idaho travel.
Still interested? Take a look at the Adventures in Living casting call page for all the details, submission requirements and such.
From their site:
The winning family will enjoy an all-expense paid, 8-to-10-day vacation in Idaho, including stays in Boise, Sun Valley, Coeur d’Alene and more.
The adventure vacation will be captured by a film crew to create a new web reality show. In addition to the trip, the family will receive spending cash, an adventure guide and a wake up call from life as you know it.
Filming will take place approximately June 19 – 29 and we are willing to make adjustments to this schedule to accommodate the right family, including working with their employer. As a thank you for participating, the family would be welcome to stay and enjoy Northern Idaho at no cost for three additional days – without the cameras.
Deadline for entry is May 7th.
What Makes a Good Creative Director
Our friends at The Denver Egotist recently published a two-part series (and rant) on What Makes a Good Creative Director.
Some highlights from Part 1:
The creative director is the last line of defense.
That is the last line of defense. When no one else in the creative department knows where to take a job, or how to crack a brief, the CD can do it. They have the experience, the savvy and the ability to produce the work when no one else can.
The creative director is well-versed in all crafts.
Great CDs are chameleons who understand the balance between concepts & strategy, and copy & design. Which is a nice segue into the next point.
The creative director is well-read.
But by reading a wide variety of books, periodicals and websites, the CD is furnished with a mind that can think outside of the annuals, and guide work that other agencies will follow.
And a few nuggets from Part 2:
The creative director produces work
But a good CD will still want to do some of the work, usually about 25% of it. As a creative, that scares me. The idea that I could only spend one-quarter of my time doing what I love most is a chilling thought, but perhaps when the time comes I’ll be ready to slow down on the work and see a bigger picture. But the fact remains, creative directors should still have the ability to take a brief and produce some terrific work.
The creative director knows every creative brief intimately
The brief is the lifeblood of any campaign, and it should never be allowed to be anything less than perfect. I’ve worked in agencies that gave account managers ten days to write the brief and creative teams five days to solve it. This may seem out of whack to the uneducated, but when the creative brief is tight and provides solid, focused direction, the ideas flow.
The creative director can sell or present anything, and do it well
Selling and presenting is a skill; by the time you’re elevated to the dizzy heights of CD, you should be damned good at it.
Finally, the creative director improves the work
A good CD will improve the work. Period.
Now this is by no means a complete summary of the series that Felix put together. I encourage all of you to take the time to read the entire thing (yes, both parts). If you find something that interests you, or sparks a thought, take the time to leave them a comment.
Playing the Guessing Game
That’s been the activity-of-the-week in the Treasure Valley, in parts of the marketing and advertising world at least.
Why, you ask?
Because everyone wants to know who “New Boise Agency” is.
Let’s rewind just a bit.
On Monday March 2nd, a full page ad was published in the Idaho Business Review, teasing the launch of a New Boise Agency, with the question of “What happens when creativity and experience join forces?” and directed readers to the NewBoiseAgency.com website.
At the same time, the New Boise Agency Twitter profile was created, and they began following those in the marketing world in and around Boise. They also integrated their Twitter updates into the teaser website, and have been regularly updating it throughout the past week.
So, the question remains — just who is this New Boise Agency?
I have my hunches, as I’m sure you do, but I’m going to keep it to myself for the time being. The clock is ticking on this new organization, as they’ve made their intention to launch on March 10th very public.
In the mean time, I’ll be watching closely.