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Baz’s Slides can be found here so you can click along as he goes!
The problem
The lack of creativity we see in today’s marketing efforts stems from the unhealthy obsession with ‘the pipeline’. The pipeline is this wonderful funnel that helps us marketers justify our poor results with “Yeah, but look at how many more people we’ve reached this month”. We use it as a coping mechanism to deal with the crushing weight of the KPI’s we need to hit in order to keep our jobs.
That’s not to say the pipeline is irrelevant or should be abolished. Pipelines are there to reach our customers and our customers are what make us successful, or not. The point is to focus more on the creative flow that transports the customer through the funnel, converting them from an impression to a prospect.
Think benefits instead of features
We all love our products, of course, we do. We’ve invested countless hours in making sure they’re absolutely perfect and fit for purpose. So it’s understandable that we get giddy and want to tell everyone, ALL the little details. The truth behind this though, is that nobody else cares. They just want to know how our product benefits them. They’re thinking why. Why should they choose us over our competitors? And, how can our product benefit them?
Think of it like this. Imagine you’re looking for a new CRM system for your company. You’ve not got a clue what you need. You invite two companies that both offer CRM systems in for a chat. Company 1 comes in and spends 3 hours telling you why they’re the best on the market. Company 2 comes in and instead of telling you what’s great about them, they flip it on its head. They address the issues you’re currently facing and show you how their system can resolve them.
Which of these two companies is going to leave you with the confidence of knowing that they’re the answer you’ve been looking for?
Create a smile in the mind
Baz describes it as “a mental transaction between the prospect and the brand where we all go oh yeah, I see what you did there”. It’s when a piece of marketing portrays a moment of sheer brilliance that you can’t help but appreciate.
Unfortunately, it’s a rarity nowadays as too many brands just want to play it safe and focus on KPI’s. Instead, as marketers, as creatives, we should be focusing on going against the norm. We should be thinking outside of the box, looking at what people aren’t saying and seeing how we can incorporate that into our marketing efforts.
Real-world examples of brilliant creativity
KFC – “FCK” campaign
Image source: Campaignlive
Santander – Beyond money campaign
Watch the short film (18 mins) here.
HP – The wolf campaign
Watch the short film (6 mins) here.
Let’s change the narrative of marketing
To all of you sales/marketing directors/managers out there, the next time you’re in a meeting scolding your marketing team because they only generated 10 leads this month and not the billion you asked for, remember this article.
And to all of you creative marketers out there that are tired of creating/posting the same drivel day-in-day-out, show your ‘superiors’ this article.
Together, we can create that smile in the mind.