A good story. Could be a tear jerker. Something that tickles every funny nerve. Or a piece of work that makes us sit up, lean forward. Makes us re-evaluate. Think.
That’s good advertising.
Emotions lie at the core of every good advertising that has been created.
Emotions lie at the core of every good advertising that has been created.
Though we have taken the liberty, between marketing and advertising, to segregate communication. Functional. Emotional. And now a new word, viral.
All being beamed out on screens, big or small, at the same consumer who also watches flicks, videos and all other entertainment.
The buck finally stops with the creative who writes out that script or idea.
Or does it?
If we look at all the work that have been Liked and Shared and viewed and raved about- there is a common thread.
Beyond the beautiful shots, the casting, the twists and turns and highs and lows, lies a message.
It is that message we connect it.
That makes us want to watch again, laugh, cry, sit up in anger, sit back with guilt.
It is the Insight.
An insight is the most common word used in briefing sessions, ideations, research.
But what we end up writing and briefing is a statement, or an observation.
One that has almost everything the team wants out of the communication.
Sometimes goes on to become a paragraph.
That we all sit back and look at, pleased.
Yes, we have covered of everything.
Have we really unpeeled?
Dug deep?
Have we been as ruthless about the insight as we are when we review creative work?
Do we recognise people in the industry who are known for seeing what the rest of us don’t?
How many sessions do we have to get to that one insight that every body resonates with?
Or do we make it a part of a briefing template?
There are obviously exceptions.
Teams who insist of this one statement that is the AHA.
That makes us sit up and feel that power. The depth.
It needs rigour.
And it needs accountability from the entire team, not just one discipline.
It means going back and digging deeper, like miners do in search of diamonds.
And not mistaking every rock as one.
It means being in constant connect with consumers.
Having 2000 plus friends on social media is not being in connect with consumers.
Googling about trends and consumer behaviour is not even half the job.
It is an ongoing way of life for the team, not an exercise.
Definitely not a templated process before a project.
Joining those dots.
Connecting passion, pain, ambition, reality, what they say and feel.
Living their Lives.
Read, watch, eat, drink, play, laugh,suffer.
Casual conversations: media, the retailer, the priest, doctor, neighbours, teacher.
And even if we have uncovered the insight, where most of the plots are lost is in the articulation.
Unless an insight is evocative, crisp, it does not inspire.
Writing an insight is an art and we have to treat it as such.
Some insights that have inspired me personally.
There’s only one person in this world prouder than an Olympic gold medalist. The gold medalist’s mom.
People don't want quarter-inch drills. They want quarter-inch holes.
I feel that people see my pimple before they see me.
Sometimes it takes a stranger to open your eyes to your own beauty.
Children love what they instinctively discover for themselves.
Insights that begin with “I feel very cool and confident…..” are unfortunately, not insights.
Truly, the story begins with the insight.
That’s where the emotion lies.
(The views expressed are the author's independent views as an ad professional and do not reflect the organisation's viewpoint.)
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