There are many ingredients that make up a creative asset and each of these ingredients need to be mixed in the right quantities and checked to ensure that they are introduced at the right time. Each of these ingredients makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
So, let’s look at some of these ingredients:
Colour and imagery
Colour is essential in branding and marketing because it is where first impressions of customers are created. Colours convey emotions, feelings, and experiences. In modern psychology, Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, believed that colours and humans have a special connection, “humans have universal, bodily response to colour stimulus,” he said. He also stated that “colours are the mother tongue of the subconscious.”
“A picture paints a thousand words” – is very much a truism. It is therefore no surprise that humans have been using images to tell stories, push propaganda and to advertise. Images connect thought and feelings whilst communicating a story in a way which words on their own can sometimes lack
Words and sentiment used
Getting the words (copy) right is essential to achieving the right result. Good copy tells a captivating story. It entertains the readers, resonates with them but also encourages them to act. What words you use depend on what you are trying to achieve, and, in many instances, the right words come from trial and error, evolve from feedback received or from comprehensive A/B testing.
Position, style, and format of text
As already outlined content (words), are the backbone of effective creative assets. While the content itself is key, knowing how to place and organize content is also incredibly important. Continuing our ingredients analogy, typography is one of the most important ingredients in a multifaceted arrangement recipe. Get it wrong, and the flavour of your content can be ruined.
How we view things…
Looking at how a person interacts with a website is fascinating. Using eye-tracking software you can see how a person has viewed a website site, where their eyes have scanned the page, in what order, and what the dwell time was in specific areas of the page. Where you place your headline, how much white space there is framing the piece, where the “call to action” button is etc. are all important. You can certainly improve your website, your conversions, your business, and your product simply by paying attention to eye tracking studies. We would recommend looking at the research as it is very enlightening. If the customer has not looked at it, they are certainly not going to read it or click on it!
Is it legally and financially compliant…?
It might sound obvious, but it is essential that any legal or financial caveats or terms and conditions are correctly and clearly communicated on any creative asset. Examples of mistakes could be presenting the wrong price for the product, or incorrect performance data – for example a car’s fuel economy. Some of the implications of these sort of errors can be extremely serious for a business both in terms of damage to the brand but also in terms of fines and compensation.
Making it personal
Sounds simple doesn’t it. When you visit your hairdresser or barber, they talk to you, know a little about you and provide a personalised service. Receiving a personalised piece of content – maybe it is a marketing piece with your car registration number and name encouraging you to get a quote – can evoke interest, prompt your curiosity, and help content to stand out from the crowd. Equally, it can be seen as intrusive. So, any personalised content needs to be (i) legally compliant, (ii) in context and relevant to the transaction / process (iii) have some real or perceived value exchange. There is no doubt that personalised content has several benefits, for both businesses and consumers. It can help with improving customer experience, to increasing brand loyalty, creating consistency on all channels and of course, driving revenues and profit.
In summary…
When you are creating a new piece of creative content think about the creative ingredients that are required and how they need to interact together to produce an excellent asset that will deliver results. The world is an increasingly noisy place and your creative needs to resonant and stand out from the crowd.