It’s one thing to understand that your brand messaging has to make you stand out from the competition. It’s another to come up with a creative approach that can make it happen. So this week, four ways to generate ideas for creating a campaign that will make your message stand out and stick. (And one caveat. Execution is everything. The best idea in the world can (and often is) derailed by lackluster execution.)
Humanize It.
Especially with the intangible or the very similar, ask how can you put a human face on it. There are many ways to do this. Think of Apple’s “I’m a Mac. I’m a PC.” campaign, which used actors as stand-ins for the devices to sharpen the differences between them. Think of Mayhem from the Allstate commercials, making hazards more real. “If your (fill in the blank) could talk, what would it say?” There’s no limit to how many ways this works.
Reverse It.
Instead of promoting the benefit of being your customer or client, show the opposite. What happens if you don’t choose us? Demonstrate or speculate about what happens without the benefits you provide. Or use role reversal. “No, honey…your dad and I love that you’re still living at home with us at 28.” What could you flip for fun and profit?
Objectify It.
The most memorable anti-drug commercial ever? Hand holding an egg. Voiceover: “This is your brain.” Same egg, now sizzling in a frying pan. Voiceover: “This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?” There are a million ways to use objects to show how you make things simpler, safer, healthier, faster or better.
Amplify It.
Have a point to make? Exaggerate the circumstances, and take it to a logical (or illogical) but memorable extreme. State Farm wants you to know you can talk to a representative 24/7. The solution? “Jake from State Farm,” a commercial that nearly everyone has seen — and can even recite.