By Jessica Kinsella
At Event 360 we are all about partnering with our clients to create compelling creative campaigns that deliver results. But before clicking a mouse or painting pixels we start our creative process with identifying a few key points:
First establish a goal for the campaign. What are you looking to accomplish from your creative? Do you want to drive traffic to the site, increase following on social channels, increase sales, build your email list? The options are endless but establishing a goal up front allows you to design for this goal and measure success when the campaign is complete.
Next identify who your target audience is. Once you know what you want to accomplish you need to know who your creative should appeal to. Sports enthusiasts, young adults, college graduates, parents, etc. Identifying your audience will help you decide how your creative should look, feel, and sound to the viewer.
Now that you know your goal and your audience you need to find the best way to connect with them. Identifying the correct medium to communicate with your audience is essential to having your creative drive in the results you want. Is your audience social savvy? Do they love getting mail? Are they already part of your email list? Asking and identifying questions like this will help you find the best way to get your audience to engage with your creative.
Now that you have identified your audience and decided how you will reach them your final step before beginning your design is to create a call to action. When it comes to your call to action simple is best. Don’t over think it. A simple, clean message telling your viewer what to do next is key to a successful creative piece. Subscribe, Click Here, Sign Up, Register, Join, can be just what your creative needs to get your consumer to engage with your ad.
At this point you are finally ready to start diving into the design portion of your creative piece. We recommend you ask your client lots of questions, talk about what the piece should look and feel like and be sure to keep in mind your goal as you dive into design.
Speaking to how your creative looks, the most successful ads will prominently feature your call to action, key information your consumer needs to know (date, time, brand) and a striking visual that will quickly catch their eye in a potentially challenge environment – like a webpage.
Similar to your call to action, keep your design simple. And by simple we don’t mean boring and dull, just clean and clear so your information is easy to digest. At the first glance of your creative the viewer’s interest should be sparked and eager to learn more!
Keep in mind these key points while creating your campaign and you are on your way to a successful creative strategy that converts.
Jessica Kinsella (LinkedIn) is the Art Director at Event 360. She oversees the creative work for all Event 360’s clients including the Susan G. Komen 3-Day, MuckFest® MS, Bike MS, and the Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival. Jessica lives in Chicago with her husband, 5-month old son and adorable cocker spaniel, Buddy.
