Keywords: advertising creativity; Advertising positioning; Usp advertising strategy; Brand image.
In this commercial society where we live, advertisements are everywhere. Some of these advertisements are mediocre, and some are unique and innovative, thus leaving a deep impression on people. The reasons for this difference are not only design and production factors, but also uneven advertising creativity.
Creativity is based on enterprise's product positioning, advertising strategy, brand market competition and the needs of target consumers. It is not as imaginative as pure artistic creation. After advertising planning, advertising activities have entered a substantive creative stage. The key to creativity lies in the word "creation", that is, originality. Only the creativity and novel expression techniques that others have never used can attract the attention of the audience, produce extraordinary effective persuasion, leave a deep impression on people and achieve the purpose of advertising communication.
First, the interpretation of advertising creativity
(A) What is advertising creativity
In the early 1980s, the word "originality" began to appear in the advertising industry in China. However, there are different opinions about what advertising creativity is, and there are few basically consistent views. Some people think that "advertising creativity is a new combination of many old elements", others think that "advertising creativity is an ability to create accidents", and so on. All these opinions are reasonable, but as the definition of advertising creativity, they all feel that. We believe that advertising creativity is the creativity (idea) generated by advertisers in advertising activities, based on the marketing objectives of advertisers and advertising strategies, and on the premise of market research and analysis of markets, products and target consumers, in order to achieve advertising objectives. In commercial advertisements, it refers to the unique and novel ideas and ideas that can make advertisements achieve the purpose of promotion. It is often this idea and idea that determines the effect and quality of advertising, the success or failure of a brand sales, and even the rise and fall of an enterprise.
This definition of advertising creativity can be understood from the following aspects:
1, advertising creativity is essentially a kind of creative thinking.
Advertising originality, the word "originality" has become the most popular and commonly used word in China advertising industry. It means to create, create and cause. "Creativity" literally means "creating images". From this perspective, advertising creativity is an artistic conception activity between advertising planning and advertising performance production. That is, according to the advertising theme, through careful thinking and planning, using artistic means, the mastered materials are creatively combined to create an image process. In short, it is the imagery of advertising theme creativity.
2. The premise of advertising creativity is scientific market research.
Advertising creativity must conform to the overall marketing objectives of advertising products. Therefore, advertising creative personnel must fully grasp all kinds of information, such as products, market competitors, consumer psychology of target consumers, in order to find or develop creative themes that can effectively achieve marketing goals. Such as P &；; G launched "diapers" children's products, and the creative people took convenience as their appeal theme, thinking that they would be greatly favored by young mothers, but the fact was greatly unexpected. After in-depth and detailed investigation, it is found that using diapers will subconsciously produce a sense of guilt for young mothers who are too convenient to do their mother's duties, which will directly affect their purchase behavior, even if some mothers use diapers occasionally, once.
3. Advertising creativity is good at transforming abstract product concepts into concrete artistic expressions.
Advertising creativity is certainly a creative thinking activity, but it is different from general creative thinking. The biggest difference is that the creative thinking mode of advertising is not to find a solution to a problem, but to find how to explain a concept of something (product) in a vivid way. The key here lies in transformation: transforming abstract concepts into concrete images and scientific strategies into artistic expressions.
The purpose of advertising creativity is to shape the brand image.
The ultimate goal of advertising is undoubtedly to promote the sales of goods, but not every advertisement is to achieve this goal directly (such as image advertising). Even if it is a promotional advertisement, the advertisement cannot simply call on everyone to buy it. Specific to the link of advertising creativity, the purpose of creativity is only how to let the target audience know the product personality, how to make the brand image take root in the hearts of the target audience, and then urge them to take the purchase action willingly.
(B) the premise, characteristics and classification of advertising creativity
1, the premise of advertising creativity
Advertising positioning is the premise of advertising creativity. Advertising positioning precedes advertising creativity and is the expression of advertising positioning.
Advertising positioning is to solve "what to do" and advertising creativity is to solve "how to do it". Only by figuring out what to do can we do it well. Once the advertising positioning is determined, how to express the advertising content and style can be determined later. Thus, advertising positioning is the beginning of advertising creativity and the premise of advertising creative activities.
2. Advertising creativity is not only different from advertising planning, but also different from advertising production. Through the special treatment of artistic means, it shows the advertising theme incisively and vividly, thus making the corporate image and product image more vivid, friendly and credible in the eyes of consumers. Therefore, advertising creativity should have the following characteristics:
A. advertising creativity should focus on the advertiser's title.
Advertising theme is an important part of advertising positioning, that is, "what to advertise". The advertising theme is the center of advertising planning activities, and the advertising work in each stage is closely around the advertising theme, and it is not allowed to deviate or transfer the advertising theme at will.
B. advertising creativity should be based on the target audience.
Advertising audience refers to the object of advertising appeal and the target public of all advertising activities. This is the problem of "to whom to advertise" in advertising positioning. In addition to the advertiser's title as the core, advertising creativity must also be based on advertising objectives. "Who is the advertisement for?" Advertising creativity should aim at advertising objectives, and advertising themes and strategies should be prepared together with advertising objectives. Otherwise, it is difficult to receive good advertising results.
Advertising creativity should take novelty and innovation as its life.
In advertising creativity, don't stick to the rules, be brave in innovation and find another way. Original advertising creativity has the biggest psychological breakthrough effect. Unique novelty is the key to attracting attention, and its unique charm will arouse people's strong interest and leave a deep impression on the audience's mind. Being remembered for a long time, this series of psychological processes conforms to the psychological ladder goal of advertising communication.
D. advertising creativity should be simple and clear, and to the point.
Advertising creativity must be simple and clear, pure and simple, to the point, in order to make people unforgettable and impressive. Bernba, an advertising master, said: "In the expression of creativity, innovation and innovation alone are not enough. Excellent advertising is neither exaggerated nor pretentious, but you should try your best to make the advertising information pure, clear and dramatic, so as to leave a deep and indelible memory in consumers' hearts. "The best idea is often the simplest idea. Because in the contemporary society of information explosion, the audience is submerged in the ocean of information, and only those simple and vivid advertisements can attract them. Therefore, when advertising creativity, the theme should be prominent, the information should be concise, the focus of appeal should be concentrated, irrelevant should be deleted, and the theme should be highlighted. The simpler it is, the easier it will be accepted by the audience.
E. Advertising creativity is a synthesis of originality, relevance and shock.
The so-called originality refers to irreplaceable creativity, which is a new combination of old elements; Relevance refers to the internal relationship between advertising products and advertising creativity, which is both unexpected and understandable; Shocking, I think: some of the best things we see are that information is transmitted quickly and in place, without worrying about thinking or reading. Can bring us a heartfelt shock. Therefore, advertising creativity must skillfully combine originality, relevance and shock in order to become an advertising work with profound appeal.
3, the classification of advertising creativity
Advertising creativity can be divided into two forms: abstract creativity and image creativity.
A. Abstract creativity
Abstract creativity refers to the creative reorganization of abstract concepts to express the content of advertisements.
B. Image creativity
Image creativity is to express the content of advertising through the creative reorganization of specific images. This kind of advertising creativity reflects the advertising theme by displaying the image, thus attracting the public intuitively.
The application of image creativity can vividly display the specific content of advertisements, which makes people clear at a glance. However, when using image creativity, we should avoid being too simplistic or too visual, which will make the audience feel disgusted.
Second, the process and thinking method of advertising creativity
(A) the process of advertising creativity
The whole creative process, which is quite popular in China's advertising industry, is:
First, collect raw data-on the one hand, the data you need for your immediate problem, on the other hand, the general knowledge data you have accumulated from your usual savings;
Second, carefully examine these materials with your heart;
Third, it is the stage of deliberation, where you let many important things do comprehensive work outside the conscious mind;
Fourth, actually generate ideas-review and revise the generated ideas to make them more perfect;
Fifth, in the stage of creative completion, creativity is embodied in words or graphics.
The relationship between the first step and the fifth step is the foundation of creativity. Creativity is produced through sufficient early accumulation. The richer this accumulation is, the more sparks generated by the collision of thinking, and the greater the opportunities for creation. This accumulation is a long-term work for individuals to keep pace with the times. This requires: first, you should be interested in all the problems in the world; Second, browse all the information of various disciplines extensively. When a creative group faces an advertising topic, it is essential to accumulate in a short time. Once the products and their consumers are deeply and extensively studied, almost all of them can find that there are related characteristics between each product and a certain consumer. This related characteristic may lead to creativity.
(B) advertising creative thinking methods
James young, an American advertising professor, said, "Creativity is not only inspired, but also the result of thinking." Creativity comes from "the recombination of existing elements", and creativity is not the exclusive product of genius.
Advertising creative thinking methods include the following five:
1, longitudinal thinking method: thinking vertically up or down according to a certain thinking route, which is a method of self-expansion of thinking. This is always evaluated as the most ideal way of thinking. The advantage is relative safety and clear thinking direction. Its defect is that it focuses on past experiences and patterns, and only reprints or improves old consciousness.
2. Lateral thinking method. Also known as the lateral thinking method, it develops in many directions when thinking about problems. This method is conducive to the generation of new ideas, but it cannot replace the vertical thinking method and can only make up for the latter's shortcomings. The vertical method is still used to think about any idea. At the same time, the lateral thinking method can remind creative people not to stand still when thinking. The two methods cooperate with each other and are used flexibly, which can get twice the result with half the effort.
3. The business rule of gathering brains: that is, a group of people gather all the participants' ideas on special problems to solve problems by means of meetings. This is a valuable creative thinking method.
4. Skip the association method
This way of thinking is to conceive a specific relationship between two seemingly unrelated problems, so as to find amazing ideas in advertising creativity. This method produces association by jumping, and does not fix the reference point of one's own thinking.
5, transfer experience method
The transfer experience method of advertising creativity refers to the thinking method of transferring one kind of knowledge or experience to other things. When transferring experience, it can be the transfer of similar homogeneous experience or different heterogeneous experience.
Thirdly, the concept of advertising positioning strategy is of epoch-making significance to advertising creative strategy.
(A) the connotation of advertising positioning
The so-called advertising positioning is to put the focus of advertising in what position? How to publicize? How to highlight the unique personality and advantages of advertising products? These characteristics and advantages should be what the market and users need. Advertising positioning further determines the position of advertising products in the market. According to the advertising positioning, the advertising theme is naturally easy to determine.
It can be seen that advertising positioning is an extremely important concept in modern advertising theory and practice, and it is the importance that advertisers and advertising companies attach to a product attribute according to established social groups; Determine the position of your advertising products in a certain market, so as to sell them to a certain kind of target consumers at a specific time and place, so as to compete with the products of other manufacturers. It is to create and cultivate certain characteristics for enterprises and products in advertisements, establish a unique market image, meet some needs and preferences of target consumers, and serve the promotion of enterprise product sales.
(B) the specific content of advertising positioning
1, product advertising positioning
There are two main categories of product advertising positioning: entity positioning and concept positioning.
A, entity positioning: the so-called entity positioning is to highlight the new value of products in advertisements, emphasizing the difference between brands and similar products and the greater benefits that can be brought to consumers.
B. Conceptual positioning: Conceptual positioning is to highlight the new meaning and new value orientation of brand products in advertisements, induce consumers' psychological stereotypes, reshape consumers' habitual psychology, establish new values, and guide the changes or development trends of market consumption.
2, corporate image advertising positioning
Corporate image is the impression left by corporate identification system in the public mind, and it is the overall response of the elements and concepts of corporate image in society.
The foundation of modern corporate image theory is CIS theory, that is, an enterprise identification system consisting of mind identity, behavior identification and visual identification. Advertising positioning of corporate image should focus on mind identity, behavior recognition and visual recognition.
3. Positioning of enterprise visual identification system (6)
The visual identification system of an enterprise is a static identification symbol of the enterprise, a concrete and intuitive form to convey the enterprise image, and its communication power and appeal are the most direct and concrete.
Fourth, the advertising creative strategy of usp advertising
(A) usp strategic theory
USP says it is composed of the initials of English Unique Selling Proposition, which means unique sales proposition. It is a widely influential advertising theory put forward by R. Reiss (then chairman of Peters Company) in 1950s. Its basic points are as follows:
(1) Every advertisement must tell consumers a proposition, and consumers must understand what specific benefits can be obtained by buying the products in the advertisement;
(2) The emphasized proposition must be something that competitors can't do or provide, and its uniqueness must be stated, which is unique in brand and appeal;
(3) The emphasized concept must be strong and must be gathered at one point, so as to impress, move and guide consumers to buy the corresponding products.
The theory points out that once this unique statement or promise is associated with a specific brand, USP will give the product lasting benefits in the eyes of consumers. For example, Coca-Cola is red and Pepsi is blue. The former means enthusiasm, boldness and passion. The latter symbolizes the future and highlights the theme of "Pepsi-a new generation". Although other cola drinks also use red and blue as the standard color, they have these characteristics first, and other brands are hard to take away from consumers. Practical experience shows that a successful brand will not change substantially in many years.
Nowadays, the advertising environment has changed dramatically. We redefine USP as: USP reminds the essence of a brand through powerful and convincing proof of its uniqueness, making it invincible and unstoppable.
Explain three points of USP:
(1)USP is a unique embodiment, which is contained in the depths of a brand. It must be ultimate interests that other brands failed to provide to consumers. It must be able to establish the brand's position in consumers' minds and convince consumers that the ultimate interests provided by the brand is unique, unique and the best.
(2)USP must have sales power. It must have practical significance to the needs of consumers. It must be able to directly meet the needs of consumers, and it must guide consumers to make consumption actions. It must be persuasive and appealing in order to introduce new consumers to the brand or snatch consumers from competitors.
(3) Every USP must make a proposition to the target consumers, a clear and convincing commitment to brand interests, and this brand promise is unique.
USP can make a product unique in advertising, make consumers pay attention to, remember and be interested in the benefits provided, and then make a purchase decision.
V. Creativity and brand image strategy
In the mid-1960s, David Ogilvy advocated the concept of "brand image". After more than 30 years of practice, this creative strategy has been favored by more and more people in the industrial and commercial circles and advertising circles, showing strong vitality. At present, establishing and strengthening brand image is still the foothold of many advertising ideas, and this strategy also represents the future trend.
(A) the meaning of brand image
The success of brand positioning is only the first step for enterprises to build brands, and it is the direction for enterprises to choose success. For an enterprise interested in brand management, whether it can create a brand image to attract potential customers is the key to success.
People's understanding of brand image is a process from perceptual to rational. So far, there is no complete and unified definition of brand image in theoretical circles. Levy, an early marketing expert, believes that brand image is a collection of images and concepts about brand elements that exist in people's minds, mainly brand knowledge and people's main attitudes towards brands. However, the prince believes that a brand should have a personality image like a human being, which is not only determined by the substantive content of the brand product, but also includes other contents. ...
These viewpoints describe people's understanding of brand image from different levels. Here, we believe that brand image is a comprehensive concept, a psychological aggregate that brand marketers are eager to establish, and it is influenced by the subjective feelings, perception methods and perception background of the image perception subject.
People's life is limited, the brilliance of products will gradually fade away, but the charm of brands will last forever. The eternal charm of the brand comes from its charming image: noble and elegant or passionate or mysterious and charming ... These personalized images distinguish it from similar products and leave an indelible impression on consumers. No wonder the president of Coca-Cola confidently declared that even if all Coca-Cola's factories around the world were burned to ashes overnight, there would be long queues of banks waiting to lend them money the next day, because Coca-Cola's red and white design and streamlined fonts have become the symbol of Coca-Cola and are in the hearts of consumers all over the world.
(B) the principle of shaping brand image
Brand image is consumers' evaluation and impression of the brand, which can be produced by buying brand products or receiving services, and can also be formed through the dissemination of various news media. Therefore, shaping brand image should focus on letting consumers know about brand products and services. Enterprises should follow the following guidelines when shaping brand image:
1. The principle of nationalization. "Only national, is the world". With the extensive use of the Internet and the development of communication tools, the world has increasingly become a big market, and the integration between ethnic groups has become increasingly close. However, no matter how integrated, there are always some characteristics in the cultures of various ethnic groups that will be preserved and accepted and appreciated by the world. Grasping these characteristics and giving the brand a certain image can often achieve unexpected results. When the corporate image craze in the United States in the 1950s and Japan in the 1970s, it was the time for American and Japanese enterprises to expand outward. The nationalization of brand image planning is of great significance to the creation of world-famous brands.
In fact, no brand can shake off the influence of its national culture. When it comes to Mercedes-Benz, people always think of the German people's earnest and unremitting pursuit of perfectionism. The quality assurance of products made by this nation is naturally convincing. The efficacy, practicality, openness and individualism of American culture are also reflected in the American brand image everywhere: McDonald's clean, comfortable and convenient dining environment; Coca-Cola has always emphasized the joy of enjoying brand positioning every day ... The nationality is deeply rooted in people's hearts, and the brand image with national characteristics is often easier to open consumers' hearts. "
2. Characteristic principle
The characteristic principle refers to the differentiation or personalization of brand image planning. The purpose of brand image planning is to make the brand have a unique personality, so as to stand out from many similar brands and quickly grasp the minds of consumers. Therefore, the characteristic principle is an important principle of brand image building, otherwise, planning will lose its meaning. For example, the Coconut Tree Group in China is the image of successful resource characteristics. It makes use of the advantages of tropical fruits such as coconut, mango, pineapple and carambola unique to Hainan Island and the advantages of high-quality mineral water resources under Hainan crater. It produces all kinds of natural drinks, so it enjoys a high reputation in the country.
3. Integrity and compatibility principles
Brand image is an important part of corporate image, and corporate image is a whole, including various subsystems. The purpose of brand image and corporate image building is to combine the strength of the whole enterprise, create competitive advantages, finally create famous brands and realize the long-term development strategy of the enterprise. Therefore, brand image must be coordinated with other subsystems, cooperate with each other and develop together.
4. Socialization principle
An enterprise is a unit in the social system, and its production and operation activities must be coordinated with the society, obey and meet the needs of the society. Brand image is meaningful only if it is recognized and recognized by the public. Therefore, the shaping of brand image should follow the principle of socialization and conform to the trend of the times.
5. Standardization principle
There is no contradiction between the standardization principle and the differentiation principle of brand image. The former refers to the technical principles that image design should follow, that is, the visual systems such as brand name, logo, standard color and packaging adopted by enterprises must be standardized and cannot be adopted and changed at will; The latter refers to the difference between the brand image as a whole and other brand images, highlighting the brand's personality.
A Review of Classic Cases of Brand Image
Case: Princess Barbie forever young.
On March 9th, 20001year, Barbie was 42 years old, but she was still called a doll. Her figure is still stolen, her skin is still tight and her eyes are still glowing. For decades, she was the only young and beautiful woman in the world. She is a friend of millions of little girls and a dream in their hearts.
At present, Barbie dolls are sold in more than 140 countries around the world, with an average of 2 Barbie dolls sold every second. For more than 40 years, nearly 6,543.8 billion meters of cloth has been used to make clothes for Barbie and her friends, and as many as 65,438+020 kinds of new clothes are made every year. According to statistics, if Barbie dolls sold since 1959 are arranged in a row from head to toe, they can circle the earth seven times. She has 35 kinds of pets, 654.38 billion pairs of shoes and sisters and friends. Around her, a girl dream rose empire has been formed, which brings her master 2 billion dollars in income every year.
After 40 years, things have changed, but Barbie is still immortal. Its mystery lies in her changeable style and the spirit of keeping pace with the times. Trends and fashions are always changing, and so are children's preferences. The trick of Barbie is to change with it. From Parisian fashion, to the typical example of Mrs. Kennedy, to the young sportsmanship, martel has been capturing subtle fashion changes, and Barbie has been designed more than 500 times in 40 years.
Barbie in the 1950s wore the most popular black and white striped swimsuit, sunglasses and high heels, and looked like a tropical beach girl. After the 1960s, Barbie became a striking female star: wearing a luxurious evening dress and a diamond necklace, attending various parties. In the 1970s, when hippies prevailed, Barbie tended to be wild and casual, and denim T-shirts and short hair became its image representatives. In 1980s, with the awakening of women's self-worth, the feminist movement flourished and Barbie became a professional woman. At the same time, its dress began to have national characteristics, and Barbie became the dream of girls all over the world. 1997, in order to commemorate the return of Hongkong, martel Company launched China Barbie doll. Barbie was an athlete in the 1990s. She is a gymnast and has participated in many sports competitions in the United States. She likes cycling and skiing. At the end of the 20th century, Barbie took to the Internet, and children could design and educate their own Barbie dolls on the computer.
After half a century of changes, Beibei always leads the trend. She is the princess in every girl's dream and the sustenance for them to realize their dreams. Beibei has become an image, a spirit and a culture.
Finally, I want to say that the process of advertising creativity may be complicated, but we can also make it simpler, as long as we master three keys, one is to clarify the advertising goal, the other is to find the appeal point to achieve the goal, and the third is to show the appeal around the advertising appeal center. As long as you master these three principles, your advertising creativity may not be wonderful, but it will never go wrong. Broaden your mind and enrich your knowledge, and wonderful advertising ideas will be born from your hands. But remember one thing, I think it is more important. In your art world, you are the king, and your mind can relax freely. However, in the world of business design, you must forget yourself and be bound by a series of factors such as consumers, competitors and policy environment. You can't judge consumers with your own subjective consciousness. There is no absolute theory of relativity in this world. Compared with you, Van Gogh is a genius, and compared with the peasant woman who feeds pigs. Many creative people have never forgotten themselves, and often indulge in their own world to advertise for others, which is doomed to failure. Only high-quality products, correct advertising positioning, good advertising planning and unique and excellent advertising creativity can create a high-quality brand image!
Bibliography:
Yan Wang's advertising design course. Zhejiang People's Fine Arts Publishing House, September 2004.
Advertising originality, China Economic Publishing House, August 1995.
Modern advertising, edited by Wang Tao. Wuhan: Wuhan University Press, 1998.38+00.
Advertising culture in Li Jianli. Beijing: Beijing Broadcasting Institute Press, 1998.6.
Brand promotion, edited by Zhu et al. Beijing: China Economic Publishing House, 1998.438+0.
Author: Wu Shaonan