Bickley Creative

Ideas with Impact

BRAND DEVELOPMENT · COPYWRITING · TURNKEY CREATIVE · PROJECT MANAGEMENT

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A Great Graphic Designer is A Copywriter’s Best Friend

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Beer and barbecue. Love and marriage. Soup and Sandwich. Dogs and bones. Some things just go better together…like a copywriter and a graphic designer.

All you need do is watch an episode of Mad Men to see that writers and graphic designers (back then they were called art directors) have been teaming up for ages to create award-winning advertising campaigns.

 

There is just a special synergy between a someone who is good with words and someone who is good with pictures that produces true marketing magic.

I’ve said more than once: “ Every writer is at the mercy of the graphic designer.” It’s so true! Without the expert eye of a talented graphic designer to take those fabulously crafted words and showcase them in their best light…”the copy,” or content can lose its luster and get lost in a poor design.

 

Professional graphic designers feel the same way about working with professional advertising copywriters. When they have bland content that doesn’t hit the mark or copy that has no focus or strategy, the entire creative product suffers.

 

I’ve been fortunate over the years to work with some fantastic graphic designers. One such person is Janice Antley, of Mighty Mouse Productions. We’ve been collaborating for over 18 years because we believe our work is “better together.”

 

As a writer, it’s important to me that certain sections of content have more emphasis than others… in order to optimize the brand messaging and the impact of those words. I can share my thoughts with the graphic designer, and then let her/him utilize their skills in font selection, graphic elements and artful design to create a visual communication masterpiece.

Really good creative teams switch hats sometimes, too. I’ve found I can often make some pretty insightful design suggestions and that my graphic designer partner has come up with some great suggestions on the content.

Together, we tweak until we get it all just right. We make sure all the necessary elements are included: logos, taglines, disclaimers, NAP (name –address-phone) web address, etc., and make sure that it is all correct, too. We both proofread…me for content mistakes, inconsistencies and those extra spaces that seem to always pop up, and my graphic designer… to make sure that backgrounds, sizing, colors and graphic specifications are all correct

 

Bottom line: Great graphic design/copywriting teamwork results in the best possible creative product. To our mind, like the ending of that iconic Campbell’s Soup jingle from the 60’s…Soup and Sandwich…”You can’t have one without the other.”

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!  ,

http://mklnd.com/2sgvirG

 

America: One of the Greatest Ideas in Human History.

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International superstar Bono, the lead singer for U2, gave a speech in 2012 at the Global Social Enterprise Initiative at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.  The speech touched upon the mission of the initiative, which is to encourage business leaders to make responsible decisions that offer both economic and social value.  During it,  Bono coined a great description of the concept of the American Ideal:

“….it’s not a right/left issue. It’s a right/wrong issue, and America has constantly been on the side of what’s right. Because when it comes down to it, this is about keeping faith with the idea of America. Because America’s an idea, isn’t it? I mean, Ireland’s a great country, but it’s not an idea. Great Britain’s a great country, it’s not an idea. That’s how we see you around the world, as one of the greatest ideas in human history, right up there with the Renaissance, right up there with crop rotations and the Beatles’ White album.

The idea, the American idea—it’s an idea—the idea is that you and me are created equal, and will ensure that an economic recession need not become an equality recession. The idea that life is not meant to be endured but enjoyed. The idea that if we have dignity, if we have justice then leave it to us, and we’ll do the rest. This country was the first to claw its way out of darkness and put that on paper.

And God love you for it, because these aren’t just American ideas anymore. There’s no copyright on them. You brought them into the world. It’s a wide world now. I know Americans say they have a bit of the world in them, and you do, the family tree has lots of branches. But the thing is, the world has a bit of America in it, too. These truths, your truths, they’re self-evident in us.”

It’s especially interesting to me that this bit of wisdom comes from an Irishman–an outsider if you will. In marketing, when a company or individuals seek to define their unique selling points…it is difficult for them to position themselves. Stakeholders are often too close to the situation —they “can’t see the forest for the trees” analogy. As in this case, it takes someone from the outside looking in to help people focus on those key elements or strengths that separate them from the rest of the world. Thanks Bono for helping to brand the concept of the US for us Americans. We needed to hear it –and maybe, today in 2017,  more than ever.

Mark Twain “Got It” Before Copywriting Was Even a Word.

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There was an old The New Yorker cartoon I was given by a like-minded colleague back when I worked at Goudelock Advertising as the Associate Creative Director.  It showed two people talking at a dinner party, one being the casually dressed humble, writer type and the other, some all-knowing raised eyebrow guy in a suit who said and (I paraphrase):  “Oh, so you’re a writer, are you?  I wish I had time to write.”

I wish there had been a sequel with the writer replying back:  “Why you’re in luck! Here’s my computer! Have at it!”

As someone who takes my craft seriously, with a huge dash of humor thrown in, this little masterpiece of irony definitely resonated with me. It’s funny to me how some people really do think that all it takes to consider oneself a writer is to have the physical ability to hold a pencil or know how to type…and of course, having the spare time to sit down and do it –like a hobby.

Sure, the act of writing itself looks easy and painless. But in real life, being a creative copywriter is both a spontaneous and laborious process. Creative copywriting requires trusting your instincts to let the words flow…but then, being judge, jury, and executioner when it comes time to edit your work. Mark Twain got it –before copywriting was even a word. “Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.”

Every good copywriter knows from experience and from our own hard-earned creative process that it is much easier to write too much than it is to write just the right amount. In our business, fluff is not good stuff.

That’s all I’m going to say about that.

 

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.

Got A Name with Brand-abililty?

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Sometimes, a client will come to us with a concept for a business or product and no name yet. How we love these opportunities to establish creative direction from the get-go by developing a name with built-in marketing advantages, that extra something we like to call brand-ability.

In order to get the creative wheels turning, we’ll meet with you for an input session to learn all we can about your new business or product. We ask a lot of questions like: Who is your target audience? What defines your product or services in the marketplace? What is your vision? Who is your competition? What are your long term and short-term goals? What do you want people to grasp when first seeing or hearing your name?

Our ultimate goal is to develop a name that communicates key messaging or some type of benefit or essence of what you do to help set your brand apart. A name is the first experience you’ll make with a potential customer… for them to react positively by thinking , “Oh I get it” or “I’m intrigued. I want to know more.”

Names that we like with built-in brand personality:  Google  Amazon  Subway Post-It  Jell-O and two of our names,  Sparks and Riders Law Group ( see our brand development portfolio.)  These names help define the brand either by evoking the promise of a positive or memorable experience or by being descriptive in a creative way.

Brands we like despite their less-than-desirable names: Publix, Srixon (See Portfolio: Campaigns)  Aflac   Geico. These brands have either chosen to A) Ignore their names in their marketing efforts, a common choice especially when it’s a family name or founder’s name.  B) Over-compensate for their names by building campaigns that focused on making the name itself memorable and not necessarily the key selling points.

One could argue brands aren’t built on names alone. We don’t disagree at all. All we are saying is why not make the most of your marketing opportunity by starting things off with a strategically developed name with inherent brand-ability?