Creativity VS Effectiveness?

Creativity VS Effectiveness?
Printed at http://www.ihaveanidea.org
October 2007

By Fariha Rashed
The distinction between "effectiveness" and "creativity" is structural, reflecting different goals and needs of different departments (Ibarra, 1992).

Within the local Pakistani and global advertising industry, there seems to be an inexhaustible struggle between those who create the advertising ("creatives") and those advertising managers who are adamant that it be "effective." Advertising agencies exist, sometimes unsteadily, in unsound environments. Therefore, stability in both organization and output generally are favored whenever possible by agency management. Management's goal is to have stable output which is predictable and "effective." Effectiveness, however, has many different dimensions by which it can be measured; the key element is some reliable measurement on which agency management and clients can agree. Usually, that measurement is an aspect of persuasion or (ideally) marketplace sales.

Creatives, on the other hand, typically sneer at the criteria used by management and clients and allege they have little to do with the way advertising really works. Within a typical agency structure, the advertising product is formed by people in the "creative department." Creative people (copywriters and art directors) believe that creativity is necessary for effectiveness, that the creative factor pushes the message into viewers' minds. In fact, some even feel that creativity IS effectiveness (Kover, 1995). This belief seems general despite a few creative people who believe that creativity is merely a front for self-indulgent "artistic" attempts (Bensman and Gerver, 1958; Ordahl, 1993). Therefore, as might be expected, many agency managers mistrust creative advertising. Creativity as defined by "the creatives" can be bothersome, costly, and time-consuming. Creative advertising may win awards but may have little to do with advertising effectiveness (Gaylord, 1994). Creativity, after all, is unpredictable and can upset the appearance of stability and predictability that smoothes the lives of bureaucracies (Martin, 1994).

The fact is that the ads that are generally loved are not necessarily the ads that sell stuff. Even if consumers love them too it doesn't always follow that they'll remember what's being advertised. Or want to buy it if they can. Furthermore, the ads that shift products off shelves or build long-lasting brands are not necessarily the ones that ‘tickle the jurors at the big creative love-in awards’. Effectiveness doesn't always come with creative fireworks attached, and vice-versa.

The relationship between creativity and advertising is long, rich and textured.
Creativity is considered to be an important determinant of advertising effectiveness and advertising textbooks normally devote one or two chapters to creative strategy and tactics. Major industry awards are given to ‘creative’ advertisements and salaries to ‘creative’ personnel represent a considerable portion of ad agencies’ expenses. Furthermore, there is a strong focus on creativity in advertising trade papers [e.g. Aurora].

Despite the importance attributed to creativity, there has been very little research on this issue in marketing and advertising. Unfortunately, this lack of systematic theory development in advertising creativity has created a vacuum in the literature.

According to Webster’s dictionary to ‘create’ means: to bring into existence, to invest with a new form, to produce through imaginative skill. The Encyclopedia Britannica uses a similar definition: the ability to make or otherwise bring into existence something new, whether a new solution to a problem, a new method or device, or a new artistic object or form. These definitions highlight two primary determinants of creativity. First, there must be something new, imaginative, different, or unique – this component is generally referred to as ‘divergence’. Second, the divergent thing produced must solve a problem or have some type of ‘relevance’.

People are creative when they produce ideas, solutions, inventions, or products that are divergent and relevant. Note that divergence and relevance are determined by context or the ‘social recognition criteria’ (Getzels and Csikszentmihalyi, 1975; MacKinnon, 1962). This means that an ad that is creative to one group (e.g. senior citizens) may not be considered to be creative by another group (e.g. teenagers). Ultimately, ads are products of people, just like ideas and inventions. Accordingly, the concepts of divergence and relevance can be applied to anything people create including advertisements. This is important because three different types of creativity are related to advertising. First, there is the creative team that develops and implements the creative strategy and actually produces the ad. Second, there is the level of creativity that the ad is perceived to possess by the target market. Third, there is the level of creativity in the audience members who are exposed to the ad. While there are likely to be interactions among these three types of creativity (as hypothesized below) the defining characteristics of creativity – divergence and relevance – do not change. Instead, it is the context that changes. In an attempt to note the important differences that do exist among these contexts, the term ‘personal creativity’ will refer to the divergence/relevance of creative talent (e.g. creative directors, copywriters, etc.); ‘ad creativity’ will refer to the divergence/relevance of an ad (or campaign) as perceived by the target market; and ‘consumer creativity’ will refer to the divergence/relevance of the audience members exposed to the ad.

Various people spoken to about this subject, described Advertising Effectiveness in their own words. The majority said that effective advertising is something that impresses. Others said it is an ad that is concise and to the point and if your target market is talking about the ad, it’s Effective Advertising. It was also described as advertising methods that lead to significant product circulation both at the brand and consumer level with obvious augmentation of product sales and consumer satisfaction. Another opinion about Effective advertising was that it is more informational than promotional, it tells us when, where and how to get the product; Effective ads are ones which present a clear communications about the product / goods that you are trying to sell. Furthermore, it was thought that advertising effectiveness is a way to advertise in a way which might create an influence on a consumer’s mind about a particular product that he/she may remember for a long time. One respondent said Effective Advertising would constitute an ad that achieves popularity amongst all strata of society – a good example would be the Pakistani telecommunication company Ufone’s Prepay ad – everyone loves the ad, the images and the jingle, and it has according to her invoked customers to go for a switch. Another respondent said Advertising Effectiveness means presenting the right content in a different style which catches the attention of the customer and gives him/her all the information he/she needs to know about the product. It should have enough repetition (if via T.V or Radio) but no too much since it can bore the prospective customer. And if it is in the form of print then it should cover as much area as possible and at the right time. Another answer expressed that effective advertising is an evaluation of the extent to which a specific advertisement or advertising campaign meets the objectives specified by the client. It was also said that when an ad manages to get its message across to the audience it is considered effective. Additionally, if the audience undertakes an “action” based on the correct interpretation of the ad, it is an effective ad. Effective advertisement always respects the product it seeks to promote; marketing professionals have no business debating the caliber of a product, a practice very evident in the Pakistani advertising agency: what they don’t understand they put down. Effectively capture the essence of the product, create the mood, entice the consumer, pique their interest and trust the product to do the rest. If you do not have faith in the product, then just step away.

Most people believe that creative advertising uses images and forms not used before; originality is the keyword. An ad that is distinguishable from others, conveys the message across and creates the need for the brand/product/service is a creative one in most respondent’s minds. Some believe creativity can be seen as the “fine arts” employed in advertising, that lead to increased consumer recall about the product in relation to the advertisement, while being present in markets, thereby leading to at least a consumer curiosity about the product. Others believe creative advertising would drive the seller to be more strategic. Instead of spending too much on recurring informative ads, they’d rather develop a distinctive image in the consumers mind so that the consumer would associate the ad to the brand wherever they see it or hear about it. Hammad Azim who is Brand Activation Manager at U-Fone Pakistan says that creativity in advertising endorses the message so that the communication is retained in the minds of the consumer! An ad needs both creativity and effectiveness to be successful. However marketers / ad agencies have also proved that without creativity an ad in never successful, especially with High Involvement products such as CARS, Hand SETs, Airlines, Holidays destinations! FOR FMCG goods, the ads need to have an effective communication! These products are low involvement goods being used in our daily lives! “So I guess it’s only fair to say Creativity / Effectiveness is dependent on the product / goods / services you are trying to sell!” says Hammad with an exclamation.

Ads that force you to pay attention to the screen/billboard/newspaper and make you sigh with pleasure, are creative ads says another respondent. Creativity can vary differently depending on the product so giving one definition is not possible says a 29 year old businessman. Insiya Syed, a journalist, says that creative advertising is easy to comprehend creative ideas for the target market and not being creative for the sake of being creative. Nadeem Farooq Paracha who is in advertising and a journalist says creative advertising is an abstract idea based on a rational strategy, while Mr. M.A Niazi of ‘The Nation’ newspaper describes it as an ad that registers itself in the consumer’s mind. Sajid Ghafoor, Law Professor and a musician says that creativity is something that can put life into a lifeless product, something that enhances the characters of the product but in such way that the product and the advertisement do not lose harmony; both should compliment each other properly. It should be presented in an artistic fashion so that the viewer sees more than what he pays for. The initial pull should be captivating. What makes a product stand apart from the others is how it’s presented. Salman Khalid a fashion designer from Lahore says creativity in Advertising must inherently be used to communicate something that is interesting and of some value or worth to your potential customer. Sambreen Rashed who is a product manager at ABN Amro Bank Karachi says creative advertising is an unusual yet effective manner of advertising a product or service. Creativity encourages audiences to “connect” the meaning meant to be conveyed with the product/service. Shaheryar Khan Niazi, Creative Director of a Fashion label says Creativity in an ad campaign is directly related to its effectiveness. If it creates the required mood, piques the interest etc then you are creative. When handling marketing, your job is to be the liaison between the consumer and the product. If the projected targets are met then the marketing campaign is a success, otherwise forget about it. “The confusion I have noticed in our country is that everybody wants to prove that they are creative, usually sacrificing the task at hand. Creativity in advertisement is all about effectively creating the perfect plane of existence, which every product in the world warrants. Let the creative people create the product and let the marketing people creatively make the product effective” says Shaheryar.

The findings from the little study done above, suggest that the debate regarding Creativity vs. Effectiveness continues, especially in the corporate and media world. However, the majority of people believe that they will remember and recall an ad that is creative and effective at the same time, rather than one that simply supplies information about the product/service. This balance between creativity and effectiveness, will entice the customer to act on what he has seen, or heard and he might just go out and buy the product or pick it up when out for shopping. Effective advertising ensures that the customer is told where, how and at what price he/she can purchase the product/service. At the end of the day both effective advertising and creativity do sell and sell better together.