Far too often in life, we are faced with the question, “Which came first? The chicken or the egg?” The same adage holds true for the world of the advertising agency. More specifically, the same holds true for the advertising agency that is in transition – transition from traditional media to interactive/online media.
The “Chick or the Egg” dilemma that I speak of refers to the Execution Driving Creative, or visa versa - the Creative Driving Execution. Now that is not to say that this same predicament is not encountered during the development of traditional advertising, however it is becoming more pronounced with the advent of online media and the need for it’s inclusion in the media mix.
As advertising agencies push to accept and grow with interactive technologies, many of them are unsure where to fit the interactive process within the mix. Additionally, there is regularly a lack of understanding around the process, or a fear of the “technology”. Unfortunately, this confusion leads to the Execution Driving Creative situation, in which the agency chooses from a menu of online executions that it likes and then develops creative to fit.
The goal of any “creative” is to summon an emotional response. It is not the goal of a media delivery method to evoke anything other that delivering. Therefore, in an ideal world, Creative will always drive Execution.
There are countless avenues to distribute creative through the media – both online and off. The key for agencies in this transition is to solidly establish a process that is inclusive of the online experts from the beginning. Doing so will insure that the potential executions are considered. But, it will also help to insure that the executions are not driving the creative, as normally happens when online is considered as an afterthought.
In today’s world, online must be included in all marketing thoughts. Americans spend 20% of their time online, so it is becoming imperative that marketers and agencies alike recognize the importance of the medium and begin to solidly incorporate a creative process that positions the Creative Driving Execution.
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