Creative vs. Research – Can’t we all just get along? By Christopher Bian January 14, 2010
Posted by Mark Blei in : Staff posts , trackback
In the realm of the online advertising world, as with any other advertising discipline, how the creatives look and feel is perhaps the largest contributor to the success of a campaign. As you’re probably aware, the creative process for any advertising campaign can be a delicate one. Often, research can throw a proverbial wrench in the machinery of the creative discipline by “telling” the creative minds to “do it this way.” But I firmly believe this does not need to be the case; research is simply the compass that allows the creative mind to focus its energy towards achieving a specific goal. The key is to understand how to interpret and use the wealth of knowledge that the industry has amassed, as well as thinking forward to define the next set of valuable metrics as the technological capabilities of digital marketing evolve.
When thinking of analytics that can provide guidance for a creative team to work with and help maximize the impact of the campaign, there is more than one method. Copy testing is commonly used to test performance of multiple creative concepts against a panel of chosen consumers. Real-time diagnostic tools are available, such as Adometer, which allows marketers to evaluate chosen metrics or demographics and make tweaks to optimize the creative or media mid-flight. Normative data, which I’ll be focusing on here, has been aggregated over an extended period of time and allows marketers to delve into trends that may help shed light on the current climate. But remember, this type of research tells us what has or has not worked in the past, not necessarily what will work. When it comes down to it, a holistic approach is necessary to properly plan. There are multiple factors one must consider: nuances of the media plan, the type of product or category, goals of the campaign, as well as the metrics necessary in order to define branding success (lead generation, conversion, social action, ad interaction), just to name a few. In order to give a simplified example of how a marketer could use normative data to help guide the creative process, let’s look at interactive ads in the online space.
Here, we’ll explore the differences in impact of interactive creatives and what it’s implications on the execution of your creatives might be. For the purpose of the examples, some or all of the following aspects may be used:
- ability to interact with the ad
- display unit size of 300×250
- types of site the ad will be placed on
- campaign goals of new vs. established products
MarketNorms [Last 3 Years, N=2,377, n=3,697,267] shows that a 300×250 interactive unit has an overall larger impact on ad awareness (4.2% vs. 2.9%)* than a 300×250 ad that was not interactive. Both were featured on portals, which generally reaches a wide audience.
In this instance, the interactivity seems to have played a role in affecting ad awareness, which opens up a greater opportunity for your creative team to introduce an engaging experience with the brand and product.
While the interactive units impacted awareness metrics, there was no statistically significant impact on persuasion metrics. This does not mean that interactive units can’t help your brand drive intent or consideration, but rather, understanding the audiences you are attempting to reach is but one key to developing a successful creative concept. Take for example, the data amongst 300×250 interactive units that were advertised on niche site categories (compared to a typical portal such as MSN) in food/beverage, health/beauty, lifestyle, parenting and shopping.
^ Niche Sites defined as sites within the food, beverage, health, beauty, lifestyle, hobbies, parenting, family and shopping categories
The data showed a statistically significant increase on intent to purchase of 1.2% after exposure. All units advertised were interactive, yet, respondents exposed on niche sites claimed an increase in favorability and intent to purchase. Compared to those exposed on a typical portal, awareness metrics were impacted. We know that portals such as MSN or Yahoo! receive a wide range of visitors, reaching a general audience. Meanwhile, the visitor of niche sites like WebMD.com or Epicurious.com has come for information regarding something specific, and therefore, a higher incidence of relevance to a properly targeted product or service is more likely to occur. The question remains: how can we convert this information into creative output?
This example of data comparison serves as a supportive normative insight; if interactive ads are to be used, tailor the interactive elements to better align with consumers who are at different points of the purchase funnel, indicated by types of sites the consumer is to be exposed on. For example, the interactive elements for portal ad units could touch on the overarching features and benefits of the product in a simple, concise way in order to introduce the brand to those who are not familiar with the product. For established brands on niche site categories, your creative team will have the challenge of providing a more involved experience to those who are already aware of the brand and closer to any actual purchase behavior. Perhaps a store locator or promotional deal can be included within the ad unit to guide these consumers along the search/purchase process. Furthermore, a combination of both can be used for product extensions or medium awareness brands.
Through the normative data, it’s clear that targeting of media channels that properly align with your brand’s goals is necessary, precluded by the need to understand your brand’s audience on each channel in order to provide more value to the consumer at the creative level. While this may be one and albeit somewhat simplified example, it demonstrates that data can provide a healthy framework on which creative decisions can be implemented, without severely impeding on the creative process.
Every campaign is bound to be different due to the varying aspects that come into play: product category, high end vs. low end products, existing awareness of the brand or parent brand, budget, campaign goals, etc. But research is what can help tie it all together to give your campaign the best shot at success. After all, great creative can live in harmony with strong research trends and principles!
*Difference is statistically significant at 95% confidence, MarketNorms – Q3/2009
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