Hasta La Creative!

Call me a weirdo, but for some reason I’m quite interested in financial advertising. I don’t know if it stems from having been an admin monkey in so many financial institutions in the past, the fact that Edinburgh is a hub for the industry or because I might have a slight mental imbalance. I know it’s not all this recession guff, because even back in the boom days I was still looking at financial ads with an unhealthy fascination.

I figured out a while ago that the reason I’m so interested in financial advertising is threefold:

1. Financial campaigns are usually boring or clichéd or ugly or irrelevant. Or all of the above.

2. Financial advertising has reams and reams of regulations and rules that it must abide by in order to be cleared and run.

3. Financial clients have rods up their arses when it comes to being creative.

So, when I see a financial ad that manages to overcome all three hurdles, it’s like celebrating a lottery win. Albeit it’s the three numbers in a line lottery win, not the jackpot scenario. But still.

The currently running Aviva campaign, of which I’ve seen several full-page press executions and a TV spot, resonates with me:

Of course, I don’t believe for a second that Aviva actually considers me an individual. Hell, I don’t consider people individuals and I’m just some lowly ad minion going about my daily business, so how a global corporation does is beyond me.

Even so, I like the sentiment of the campaign and the idea behind it even if it is all just a big load of twaddle. At least Aviva are trying to come across as personable, and that rings a bell with me. It’s like that colleague at work who obviously doesn’t like you, but still makes the effort to be decent and civil rather than rude and condescending. And that’s a start at least.

Claire Connachan is a copywriter based in Scotland. She does have a kilt, she does have freckles, she does eat haggis and she does love creative advertising. Read her Scottish ad blog to get a ginger, caber tossing perspective on the industry.

We all know that one of the best mediums of advertising comes from the boob tube. But bear in mind, just because you get to advertise on television, it means that you will hit your niche market.

There is a matter of healthy competition in TV ads and this involves appeal. You cannot discount the fact that your competitors will be doing the same thing in helping out their marketing strategies and it is in these cases that you have to pull out your creativity jacket so that you can make the most out of your advertising investment.

There are rules in advertising to which we must follow. Do remember, you gain exposure but if you don’t abide by the standards set forth by advertising boards, you may just find yourself investing in a losing cause.

Every business must first identify exactly who their ideal client is before they do any advertising. Next, they must identify where this client is searching for the product or service you have and how they make their decision to buy. Only when these items are understood should you decide on marketing or advertising your business.

(Source) Success

Technorati Tags: advertising, television, tv advertising, mediums, marketing, strategies