One of the most recognizable logos in the world is the “McDonald’s” golden arches. The burger chain is valued at more than $23 billion and is considered a global leader in business. But did you know that McDonald’s is one of the most creative companies when it comes to advertising? Their first TV commercial, which launched in 1963, used animation to introduce their product and featured comedian Charley Brown.
The company’s groundbreaking TV commercial, “The Charley Brown Show” focused on a character named Charley Brown, who would shout out different products while demonstrating how they could be bought at McDonald’s. So while McDonald’s has used traditional advertising methods to reach consumers, they’ve also pioneered new forms of marketing, including TV commercials and social media.
Why Should You Be Creative?
Marketing and advertising are considered “creative” fields because they involve coming up with new ways to get your point across to people. Traditional advertising methods, such as billboards, radio ads, and magazine spreads, are still considered “creative” because of the unique ways in which they are used to reach audiences.
Billboards can be seen from the road, radio ads can play in the car, and magazine spreads can be appreciated by the entire family, in theory, anyway.
Oddly enough, the more traditional forms of marketing and advertising have not changed much in the last 50 years. For the most part, radio ads and magazine spreads still use the same design elements that they did in the 1960s: jingling coins, a cardboard backdrop with a red button, and an image of a pretty young girl or boy.
Why should you be creative? Well, you should be creative because it’s fun. Coming up with unique content that will draw in your audience is a lot of fun. It’s also a great opportunity to try something new. As previously stated, traditional advertising and marketing methods have not changed a whole lot since the ‘60s, so it’s easy for you to take the reins and come up with something new. You’re not bound by any rules, which makes it even more fun.
Creative Writing Tips For Marketers
If you’re looking to develop a creative marketing strategy, consider these tips from experts:
1. Keep It Short
With limited space in a TV commercial or web banner, companies have to be concise. Keep your copy concise and to the point to ensure that your message gets across in the shortest possible amount of time. Concision is also important for readers of online articles because they often have other tabs open in their browser, so they want to get to the meat of the article without having to sift through a lot of unnecessary filler text.
2. Customize For Different Platforms
As previously stated, traditional advertising and marketing methods have not changed a whole lot since the ‘60s. But that does not mean that they work the same way today as they did back then. For example, radio ads and billboards are still effective in reaching audiences because people listen to or look at them while driving or traveling, respectively.
However, these platforms are not as effective when used for digital marketing and ad campaigns. This is because people today have a shorter attention span when it comes to advertising media, so companies have to create shorter and more snappy adverts if they want their message to be remembered.
As a marketer, you may want to consider creating ads or marketing content for different platforms, depending on the target audience and what is working best for your company. For example, a radio ad may play well for your product, but may not be the best option for your brand. So you should consider whether or not to use radio ads for digital marketing.
3. Make It Interactive
When was the last time you read a non-interactive website? In today’s world, everything is designed to be interactive. From blogs and social media to forums and search engines, everything is striving to become “click-friendly” so that people can easily find what they’re looking for and engage with the content as desired.
To make sure your visitors can find what they’re looking for and engage with your content, consider making the design of your site user-friendly and “click-friendly”. This means taking the time to plan out how everything on the site works, including the website’s layout and the content itself, in order to ensure that each piece leads to another, which in turn, provides the reader/viewer/user with an endless stream of valuable content.
4. Use The Right Metaphors
An easy way to make your content more interesting and memorable is to use the right metaphors. When choosing your brand’s unique selling point (USP), or the aspect of your product that makes it different from your competitors’, you must keep in mind that people have very different perceptions of the world. For instance, when comparing your brand to a chocolate bar, you might choose “gluten-free” as your USP because many people who are avoiding gluten-containing foodstuffs find that your product does not contain it.
When used correctly, metaphors can make your content much more interesting and easier to understand. However, it is crucial to note that not all metaphors are created equal. You must ensure that the metaphor you use is apt enough to the content you are trying to communicate and that it is also fitting within the context of your brand. You should avoid using overly complex metaphors that may confuse your audience.
5. Test Out Different Metaphors
To ensure that your metaphors are effective, it is crucial to do some A/B testing. This means that you will launch a new version of the same content with a different (and arguably, superior) metaphor and see which one fares better with your target audience. You can take this approach with any of the above marketing methods; billboards, radio ads, or magazine spreads, for example.
Odds are, you will find that some versions of your content perform better than others, depending on the target audience and the platform used for distribution. For instance, take a look at McDonald’s infamous 1959 apple pie commercial, where a girl walks down the aisles of a supermarket, picking out individual desserts, and exclaims “this one’s got a piece of apple pie in it!” The piece begins: “If you like apples, then you’ll love this apple pie.” The audience immediately associates the delicious food with the girl, and the ad becomes one of the most memorable of all time.
This type of creativity can only be fostered through experience, so take the time to try out different forms of marketing and advertising, using the techniques you have learned. As you gain more knowledge and evolve along with the marketing world, the opportunities for growth will emerge. To get inspired, take a look at the work of creative professionals, such as the McDonald’s team of creative minds mentioned above, who came up with unique ways to get their point across to consumers.