Creativity Counts In Advertising

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Arjun Mohan Bhattarai

Creativity is a product of the human mind that greatly impacts consumer psychology. It is the crux of advertising. Advertising reflects a country’s economic prosperity as it is useful to consumers, advertisers, media, creative people and government. It is a crucial tool to deliver the message about products and services. With the current capability of communication, media and advertising working together will have a huge positive impact on our society.

Beneficial investment

In the context of Nepal, advertising is seen as an expense for corporations. But it is, in fact, the most beneficial investment that can be made to advertise agencies. Whether taken as an investment or expense, advertising is essential to boost consumption among people.

A customer can be viewed as divine. We must address their demand and needs unmistakably. The target audience is important for any advertiser. If we catch the eyes of the target audience, it allows the advertisement to reach its full potential audience. However, this depends on the product and service types as well. Consumable items, fast-moving consumer goods, electronics, clothes along with other products have their own features of consumption where advertisement always impacts the buying decision.

The advertiser and advertising agency both have their own ideas to promote goods and services. In advertising, there are two important phrases to keep in mind. “What to say", decided by the advertiser, and "how to say", decided by the advertising agency. Knowing what to say is essential for advertisers to be able to communicate the intended message to the consumer otherwise, the consumer may not take away the intended message. Market research enhances creativity where we can brainstorm new ideas and methods.  In most cases, market research is not a practical solution because of the high costs associated with it.

Creativity matters because it sets an advertisement apart from the pack, to attract the consumer. An advertisement lacking creativity, uniqueness, as well as simplicity will have a hard time reaching the target audience, or any audience at all. 

In advertising, there are many factors we should consider such as interest, desire, and action but most of all creativity. Have a good strategy is also important which must be communicated to by the client to the agency so that strategy can be reflected on the advertisement.

Most of the time a creative agency complains about being provided with a low budget but the counterpart advertiser questions the lacking agency while missing the real problem. Creativity requires investment. A brand is highlighted and recognised through creativity. In Nepal’s advertisement industry, there are many creative people who deserve high positions in this sector. With creative advertising, we can influence buyers or consumers who duly purchase products and services. They interact with the advertisement. If they see the advertisement, their mind is drawn to buy the product.

Typically, about 90 per cent of advertisements lack creativity, while 10 per cent are fully original. But the Nepali advertisement industry is blamed for copying foreign advertisements. However, learning from successful advertisements, such as Indian ads, is not detrimental whatsoever. We cannot classify a certain group of people as creative or not. It depends on the scenario. Brainstorming is important as different ideas are mixed and blended there to come to a single idea. 

Creative ideas can be raised from discussions with all stakeholders. This is important for creativity to have an impact on sales. Creativity comes through visits, meetings, readings, excursions, interactions, sharing and the like. It is not necessary to sit long hours in the same positions to have a formal conversation. It is necessary to remind, influence and impress the brand through creativity to a point where the consumer mind is attracted and trapped.   

The role of creativity is measured in the sense of grabbing consumer attention. It also establishes the brand and its image. There are different parties involved in being creative such as agencies’ creative directors and camera operators. However, we cannot compare their roles that come first and last. The Advertising Association of Nepal has been organising creativity awards since 2003 in Nepal where Nepali advertising creative are awarded. 

Advertising, branding, market research and creativity play vital role to establish and promote goods and services. In Nepal, there are very few brands. However, those brands are not establishing their brand image among consumers. So, foreign brands are more competitive in the market. 

Ads in new media

Advertisers are motivated towards new media and digital media. The new media seems cheap and easy. In case of producing ads and creative for digital media, it seems easy and fast. But, creative and ads production for traditional media takes a long process. Even after the introduction of the clean feed policy two years ago, there is no initiative to make new ads from multinational brand for the Nepali market.  

Likewise, the government restricts the foreign ads dubbing into Nepali language in television channel. So, MNCs brand compels to make ads focusing the Nepali market through creative agencies.  To sum up, creativity is important to enrich the brand image.  It would be relevant to recall David Ogilvy, the father of advertising, saying: “If it does not sell, it is not creative.”

 (Bhattarai is executive director of Advertising Association of Nepal).  

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