Inspiration

What the hell inspires me? Actually, you can.

As a writer and creative person, inspiration is something I’m supposed to know a lot about. I shouldn’t need your help, because I’m inspired to write witty, interesting things all the time, right? Certainly I’ve got a direct line to the muse? Unfortunately, there’s no bat phone for writers.

There’s also no ironclad process for being creative that will produce a great idea every time. But creating a well-defined starting point for creatives before they go in search of that inspiration will help your advertising tremendously. This means a solid, coherent explanation of what you’re hoping to accomplish and an insightful description of whom we are talking to.

A recent campaign for Manheim is a great example of this process. We, the creative team, started with a clear understanding of what we were to accomplish, thanks to great input from the client and direction from our strategist.

The direction was augmented with insights about the people we are advertising to. This was further enhanced by field trips with the client to watch our target work. In this new Manheim campaign, it is clear to see how these insights are brought to life in the work.

So how can you make sure your next campaign is truly inspired? You need to set the stage to make it happen. Help your agency understand the problems you’re having as an organization. Don’t just tell them the result you want. But rather dig down deep and explore the true nature of the challenges you’re facing.

And, just as important, help your agency get to know your customer and the challenges he or she faces every day. Explain what makes them tick, inspires them, what their values are and their dreams. With this information in hand, the people creating your next campaign will drastically increase their chance of achieving greatness.

– Jimmy Gilmore, Senior Copywriter

Marketing’s Holy Grail

Target audience insight. It’s the “who” of effective marketing strategy. It inspires creative teams to greatness. It makes the difference between good communications and powerful engagement. In short, it’s the Holy Grail to many marketers. Yet the quest to find it can be worthy of an Indiana Jones sequel.

Identifying your target audience is easy. Many strategies simply label the target – Moms. Adults age 25-54. C-level executives. Better strategies dig a layer deeper, describing something about them — Moms who are frustrated because their kids won’t eat healthy foods. Adults age 25-54 who own a car. C-level executives who love golf.

These phrases do describe the target audience, but they still only crack the surface. Where’s the insight? Insight results from painting a complete picture of your target, viewing the world through their eyes.

As an experiment, I recently asked Marketing Discussion Board, How would you describe your job in language a 5-year-old could understand? The responses included:

“I make some of the commercials that you see on TV and in mommy’s magazines.”

“I do things that make people happy to buy stuff.”

“I meet people and request them to buy (my company’s product), the same as I request you to drink milk.”

Someone even said, “I’m guessing, ‘I think s*** up’ probably won’t cut it. So how about…I think up ways to tell people about the stuff companies make, so they can sell it.”

It was apparent that each respondent thought carefully about what would be understandable, important, and appropriate for a 5-year-old. This same skill should guide the development of compelling target audience insight. When you get it right, your marketing will interest, engage, and motivate your target.

Our new B2B campaign for Manheim, the world’s largest wholesale automotive auction, is designed to do exactly that – articulate the benefits of buying and selling vehicles at auction through the eyes of the various personalities that conduct business there.  Whether a Magician or Cowboy, Detective or Prospector, we hope Manheim’s target sees a bit of themselves in the campaign and is more receptive to Manheim’s message as a result.

So before you start your next campaign, dig deep, walk a mile in your target’s shoes and, find out what is really important to them. You’ll be glad you did.

– Pam Alvord, EVP, Chief Brand Strategist