In our experience, there are a few misconceptions about creative marketing methods and strategies that deter people from trying something a little different.
Those motivations for wanting to stay with the status quo are usually increased cost assumptions, the fear of conflict and the desire to stay with what is comfortable and known.
The risk of failure can be mitigated by working with professionals that know the landscape and have seen what works and what doesn’t.
There is, of course, an inherent risk with doing something new and possibly even untried. There are certainly failures, but the wins far outweigh the flops. And when you get a win, it’s glorious.
OK so let’s get down to brass tax. What should you be doing to make people really resonate with your brand? Here’s the recipe – straight from our Creative Director, Virginia-Rae…
SHOW YOUR HUMAN SIDE
Statistics show that blah blah blah… just kidding. The stats are actually super interesting, but only if you’re a numbers geek.
The truth is that even though we live in a digital age and our communication is often not face-to-face, we actually built these tools to better connect with people. When you look around a room of people on their phones and think, that’s sad – they are all in some mode of communication, entertainment, education, and connection.
It’s really kinda wonderful.
If you’ve ever been surfing youtube and have clicked on a video only to have that weird voiceover of a robot that sounds like Stephen Hawking narrating (apologies if you don’t get the reference), it’s a letdown. I immediately become annoyed and click away. It’s because it’s so impersonal and even though the medium is inherently impersonal, I still expect to connect with someone.
So, we still need and want to connect. These mediums we are using to promote ourselves and our business’ were intended to be an extension of the human condition – like the telephone was meant to connect more people. This exceptional bionic ability we’ve created to increase our communication still needs to have personality.
And I believe we’ve lost sight of that.
Don’t be afraid to be human in your communication. People gravitate to it, want to be part of it and will resonate more with your brand if you show your human side.
STOP SELLING “FLOWERS”, START SELLING “ROMANCE”
If I’m selling you flowers, do you want to know about the biology and the genus, the delivery process, the length of the stem?
Nah. You want to know that those deep red roses scream “I love you” and that any flowers are a great way to say “I’m sorry.”
Stop bombarding people with the details of your products and services. While specs may be something a consumer will need to know, the first point of contact should be about why they need it in the first place.
A bike is not just wheels and a seat – it’s about the freedom it affords you.
A house is not just a building – it’s a place to make memories and be part of a community.
So whatever you are selling, it should start with the benefit to the consumer. What needs and wants will it fulfill for them?
People want to know what your product or service can do for them. How will buying your product or service make their lives better, easier, faster…? What problem can you solve for them?
PLAN, ANALYZE AND MEASURE YOUR CREATIVITY
Imagine, you have this amazing business idea to open up say, a donut shop, for example. You find a space to lease in a great location, set up shop and start making donuts. In order to promote your grand opening, you put a buy-one-get-one-free coupon in the local paper. You hope your campaign is successful.
But stop right there. How do measure success? Is it to get 1 coupon back per day, 5, 100? Before you even publish that coupon, you need to determine what that “number of success” is for you. You need tangible, measurable goals.
I see this a lot with clients. They have high hopes and aspirations for their business but there is no way to measure their successes because they haven’t set goals. Objectives need to be clear and goals need to be measurable.
If you don’t set your objectives clearly at the beginning, there is really no way to determine if you’ve been successful.
Success is different for everyone. Setting clear, measurable objectives from the start of any project or campaign will allow you to measure your success.
TELL A GODDAMN STORY
Similar to my flowers and romance rant, people are driven by emotion. Sure the specs of a product may be important information for them, but they don’t want to hear about them ALL. OF. THE. TIME. Because guess what? That’s boring, and people don’t want to be bored.
People want to hear a story, a story that they can relate to. They want to feel a connection with the product or service you’re offering.
I’m going to get really creative here for a moment…Let’s imagine you’re a company that sells a lavender-infused baby blanket. That over-tired mom struggling to take care of her newborn baby wants to hear a story about another mom just like her who now has an extra two hours a day to herself because her baby sleeps with your blanket. She wants to imagine herself as that other mom. Whether it’s to sleep in, shower, or just take a moment to breathe, she wants those extra two hours a day.
So say you create a campaign featuring this mom using your blanket. You create some social media posts about her, maybe write a blog, publish an ad campaign, guess what you have now? Content. And in the marketing world, content is king. You’ve taken one relatable story and used it multiple ways to capture your audience’s attention.
Storytelling is a great way to show personality and connect with your audience. It’s also a great way to create content that can be repurposed for multiple platforms.
Not to shy away from tough topics, especially as it relates to the dental health of the Whistler community. Whistler Dental noticed an unusual number of patients with an oral condition not commonly seen since the second world war. The main audience was early 20 something kids who had been neglecting their oral health through excessive use of alcohol, drugs, and not eating right. We decided the campaign had to really cut through the static for these kids to take notice. We designed a campaign and messaging that was not normally used for dental clinics – shared through social media and targeted advertising. The results outperformed their expectations. Whistler Dental received quite a few booking as a direct result. As well, engagement was through the roof on social media.
We are an integrated creative marketing collective based in the resort town of Whistler, BC. Offering Creative Strategy Consultancy, Search Engine Marketing, Web Development, Social Media, Graphic Design and more. No project is too big or too small.