This business of ad creativity: What is it?<\/p>\n
By S. Vaidyanathan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The creative department in an advertising agency
\nis where all the action is. Its importance to an advertising
\nagency can be likened to that of the heart to the working of the
\nhuman body. The keen perceptions and the combined efforts of
\nthousands of copywriters and art directors give form to and
\nbreathe life into the advertising that agencies around the world
\ncreate for their clients.<\/p>\n
Somewhere in every product are the seeds of a drama which best
\nexpresses that product's inherent value to a customer. Finding
\nand staging this drama has been said to be the creative person's
\nmost important task.<\/p>\n
Creative people can be described as individuals who, while
\nbeing observant about life's little oddities, are themselves
\nalive to the glamour in a product, although they may be
\nunglamorous. These creative people have a feel for the inherent
\ndrama in a product without being overly dramatic themselves. They
\nare hungry for refreshingly daring ideas without losing sight of
\nbelievability, and are young in mind with an imaginative flair,
\nas well as being ambitious.<\/p>\n
Eleanor S. Modesto, Unit Head of Citra-Lintas, the agency
\nranked number one in terms of creativity of ads (as reported by
\nCakram in its March 1995issue) says, : \"We try to look for
\nsomebody who is very curious about life ... because advertising
\nis all about ideas, about a new way of looking at things.\"<\/p>\n
Easy definition<\/p>\n
The background profile of a creative department's personnel
\ndoes not lend itself to an easy definition. The creative
\ndepartment is a mixed bag of talent. Many of the creative staff
\nin agencies here are products of art schools or schools of
\njournalism. However, it is quite common to encounter personnel
\nwith backgrounds unconnected with creative work.<\/p>\n
For example, at Citra-Lintas there are those with an accounts
\nbackground. Some senior creative personnel directors also have
\nbackgrounds like architecture or research.<\/p>\n
At Matari, some of the people among the creative staff do not
\nhave an art background. They are put through an in-house training
\nprogram to provide this knowledge.<\/p>\n
Fortune Indonesia goes so far as to recruit staff with no
\nprevious creative experience and imparts training.<\/p>\n
A formal university education is not considered mandatory to
\nsuccess in this field. Most agencies provide in-house training
\ncovering a wide range of information, such as advertising, media,
\ncreative, marketing, leadership and the agency's unique work-
\nculture. Within the industry itself there are training courses
\noffered by the PPPI (Persatuan Perusahaan Periklanan Indonesia).<\/p>\n
Agencies with international tie-ups also have arrangements
\nwith their affiliates for training their creative personnel
\nabroad. Moreover, seminars and conferences also provide
\nopportunities as a training ground.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest problems faced by the advertising industry
\nin Indonesia is its ongoing lack of enough qualified personnel,
\nparticularly copy writers and directors. Expatriates occupy vital
\npositions in the industry. This is comparable to the situation in
\nthe Philippines some years ago, when it was common to find
\ndirectors and cinematographers from Australia and Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
Abidin reasons that training in creative skills needs to be
\nfine-tuned.<\/p>\n
What goes on<\/p>\n
The story of the planning and execution of an ad campaign for
\na product is also the story of the workings of the creative
\ndepartment in an advertising agency.<\/p>\n
Before the creative work begins the strategy is determined.
\nStrategy is essentially a statement of what the advertising is
\ntrying to do. It is to advertising what the foundation is to a
\nbuilding.<\/p>\n
Although each agency has its unique way of approaching the
\nproblem of strategy-planning, it is common practice to address
\nthe following: the advertising objectives, target, consumer
\nproposition, justification and tone. The client and the media
\nplanner of the agency are also a part of the creative team in the
\nplanning of strategy stage.<\/p>\n
Once the positioning of the product and the basic strategy is
\nagreed upon with the client, the other creative people like the
\ncommercial artist or copywriter get to work together with the art
\nor creative director designing the most eye-catching ad possible,
\nweaving the magic we see on TV with paints and brushes, words and
\nwit.<\/p>\n
Challenges<\/p>\n
Creative strategies sometimes have to be reworked because the
\nmarket for the product has become stagnant or because the
\ncurrent positioning is not bringing in the sales as expected.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, reworking is also done for other reasons, such as
\nin the case of Pepsodent, the largest selling brand of toothpaste
\nin Indonesia. Its positioning earlier was that of a family
\ntoothpaste. However ,with consumers becoming more sophisticated
\nand choosy, it was felt that the product needed to be more
\ncontemporary in order for this particular toothpaste to retain
\nits number one position. While keeping the family idea in, the
\nnew ad campaign now spoke of it as a brand that brings research
\nand technology into play in the production process. The new
\nelement in the campaign that gave this modern variant to the
\nbrand was the \"Pepsodent Van\". The van symbolizes technology,
\nchanging times, and changing consumer behavior. This creative
\nstrategy was especially adopted for Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Sometimes a globally recognized brand can have a different
\npositioning in different markets because of differences in
\nformulations. Whereas in India, a personal hygiene product such
\nas Lifebuoy is positioned as a sportsman's soap, here in
\nIndonesia it holds the position of a toilet soap.<\/p>\n
Banks as a category, began presenting a challenge to
\ncreativity when the government relaxed controls and allowed them
\nto become more competitive. Banks were suddenly put into the up-
\nscale category of clients for ad agencies. The creative concept
\nhad to take note of the banks' new image as providers of services
\nthat went beyond being merely cash dispensing or storing. Today,
\nBanks are conscious of concepts like image-advertising.<\/p>\n
Idea sources<\/p>\n
Most consumer products advertised in Indonesia make use of
\ncreative concepts from within the country. Agencies servicing
\nmultinational clients however make use of concepts from outside
\nas part of a global campaign for a global brand.<\/p>\n
Ken Sudarto of Matari states that over 90 percent of his
\ncompany's ads are created locally. However, he adds that as long
\nas concepts conform to the local customs, traditions and values,
\nad agencies are allowed to borrow from the outside.<\/p>\n
Indra Abidin of Fortune says that sometimes short-term
\nconsiderations such as ready availability of materials may
\nnecessitate taking concepts from the outside. Other reasons could
\nbe considerations of efficiency or cost. This is particularly
\ntrue of products or services having a worldwide market. He cited
\nthe example of Cathay Pacific to illustrate the point.<\/p>\n
McDonald's, on the other hand,is an example of an
\ninternationally recognized restaurant, which makes use of
\ninternationally established values of tone and mannerism and
\nadapts them to suit local tone and color. The creative concept
\nfor McDonald's Paket Hemat was the result of such an adaptation.<\/p>\n
However, Abidin adds, by regulation, there is a holiday period
\nof about a year before the foreign content must become local.<\/p>\n
Pharmaceuticals and most food products are bound by this
\nregulation. Exceptions are airlines and automotive firms.<\/p>\n
Creative departments often look for strategy ideas in the
\nculture around them, but to come up with something typically
\nIndonesian is often challenging. The creative concept for Citra
\nBeauty Lotion is an example of local culture being tapped to sell
\na beauty product.Citra means image. When an Indonesian bride
\nprepares for her wedding day, she undergoes a ritual called lulur
\nin which a herbal scrub is given for 30 days to produce a very
\nsmooth skin. The color produced is described as kuning langsat .
\nThe use of Citra lotion, while eliminating the inconveniences of
\nthe ritual, assured the same effect almost instantaneously,
\nretaining the fragrance achieved through the ritual.<\/p>\n
Ideas are also borrowed from other well known brands in a
\ndifferent product category. Cuddle in most parts of the world is
\nrecognized as a brand of fabric softener. The idea that bears are
\ncuddly was used to project softness for the product. In
\nIndonesia, the bear is associated with a range of baby-care
\nproducts. In implying an association between the cuddliness and
\nsoftness of bears and the softness of babies, a transition was
\nmade from the world of fabric softeners to baby-care products.<\/p>\n
Failed strategies<\/p>\n
Even the most painstakingly executed creative strategies can
\nsometimes fail to produce the anticipated results. The case of
\nMirabella, a brand of cosmetics in Indonesia, illustrates the
\npoint. The product's unique selling proposition was determined to
\nbe its comparative price-advantage. Market leaders in this
\ncategory at that time were priced higher. Accordingly, the
\ncampaign was launched. Five thousand billboards across the
\ncountry announced the launch. Ads were also placed in the print
\nmedia, including the most up-market magazines. This succeeded in
\narousing brand-awareness in a very short time. However, the
\nstrategy did not succeed in its second, most important objective:
\nthat of winning and retaining a large share of the market. One of
\nthe reasons was that the campaign did not identify the target
\nsegment properly. This was because, while it appealed to the
\nlower income groups through outdoor publicity and the upper
\nincome groups through the fashion magazines, exclusivity was
\nassured to neither. Today, it has finally found its own level in
\nthe overall market.<\/p>\n
To be effective, an ad should be original. This does not mean
\nthat it has to rely on deception or be different just for the
\nsake of being different. An ad should be at once refreshingly
\ndaring, while at the same time rooted in human nature. It should
\nbe fun to look at, listen to or read. It should possess a high
\ndegree of believability while remaining focused. An ad is
\nconsidered to have done its job well if it motivates high
\nconsumer awareness and boosts sales.<\/p>",
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