Bickley Creative

Ideas with Impact

BRAND DEVELOPMENT · COPYWRITING · TURNKEY CREATIVE · PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Copywriter Greenville SC

The Big Idea Is More Important Than Ever…

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Here’s a link to a great article by Peter Minnium called The Tyranny of a Blank Sheet of Paper” posted in Marketing Land that talks about how it’s the creative that makes the difference in how success is measured in this digital age. And how not just anybody can do it.  Some excerpts –highlighted:

     Creative matters most

     “I have previously shared research in this space that shows that creative quality is the primary determinant of the success of advertising. The data shows that creative quality is four times more important than the media plan in driving sales and that creative is the single most important factor, accounting for over half (52 percent) of the changes in a brand’s sales over time.

     In addition, nearly half of the probability that an ad will be looked at depends on the creative itself (47.3 percent); this is five times more important than targeting (10.7 percent). Creative quality is a key driver of the awareness and impact of an ad; high-quality creative increases ad viewing time six times (5.8x) and nearly doubles purchase intent (+93 percent) vs. low-quality creative.

     Finally, the global creative database at Ipsos (my employer) shows that 75 percent of an ad’s impact is determined by creative quality.”

Of course, as someone who is a classically-experienced advertising agency copywriter, I agree entirely.  The right words matter. The big idea is called the big idea for a reason –it drives the campaign…and metrics and formulas for success have to be fueled by strategic brand messaging.  My favorite part of his article:

       “It is brutally difficult to develop a creative idea that will not only strongly spur the communications supply chain but also drive successful interpretations and iterations throughout the campaign’s life cycle.

       No matter the sophistication with which the final ad is delivered to an audience (e.g., HTML5, dynamic, personalized, or even Watson-driven), it always starts with a blank page with at least one pair of eyes staring at it.”

Here is the article in its entirety:  Enjoy!  ,

https://mklnd.com/2sgvirG

 

How This Copywriter Came To Be.

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I fell in love with the ad business at age 11. I was forced to attend this very boring Home Expo show with my parents and was wandering around and came upon this tent with a projector that was playing  The Best Commercials of the Year. I sat there and watched the commercial reel over and over again –easily 15 times or more.

Fast forward 7 years to college at Clemson University, as a History Major. Okay, I had always liked history and was going to become a teacher. As a Freshman, I took the required English Composition class and I made an easy A, even though the class was at 8 am. (What was I thinking?) I also exempted the final exam and found out I was the only person in my professor’s three classes to do so.

(Bells ding, ding, dinging here ): Hmm…I have a way with words.

Even though I’d been writing since I was in my early teens – secret stuff like journals, and poems to help deal with the angst of growing up – it took excelling in my college English class before I realized that I was actually quite good at creative writing.

The cosmic forces whirling in my subconscious came together and came tumbling out about half way through the second semester of my Freshman year. One day I just woke up and felt compelled to blurt out to everyone I knew:  “I want to be an advertising copywriter and write ads and TV commercials.”

Whoa! This was epic.

It would require transferring schools – I was having the time of my life at  Clemson – and most probably, attending the arch-rival University of South Carolina, which offered Advertising in it’s highly acclaimed College of Journalism. Which is exactly what happened.

At USC, feeling somewhat displaced at first, I dedicated myself to excelling in my major. During my college career, I was selected Outstanding Rising Senior in Advertising as a Junior and received the J. Rion McKissick Award as an Outstanding Senior in the College of Journalism.

Funny thing. Today, I can’t remember a single one of those commercials that had such a profound impact on my life. But I will never forget the mind-twirling fascination and visceral connection I felt sitting there at age 11, totally immersed in the sheer genius of great creative work.