Putting your Creative Campaign out to Pasture

Remember your favorite childhood pet, that beautiful Golden Retriever named Lucky?

What a good friend and companion.

And remember when you came home from school one afternoon and your parents told you that they took Lucky to old-man Vernon's farm. They said it was a wonderful place for a dog like Lucky. A place with wide open fields and pastures; a place where he could chase rabbits and take nice long naps under an old oak tree. They said it was for the best, and somehow it all made sense.

Well, I'm here to tell you that your ad campaign is probably ready for Old Man Vernon's farm. Just how old is your current campaign? One, almost two years running? That's nearly 47-years-old in marketing years.

I'm not talking about a reinventing your brand, your brand identity, or your company's positioning statement or tag line. If carefully crafted and executed by a professional creative team, those have a shelf life and can almost be carved in stone.

What I am talking about is a reassessment of your advertising and marketing initiatives. Examining the current marketplace – more specifically your marketplace, determining where the void is, and changing the market's conversation. The topic of conversation will be your product or service. And the void will be filled with the same.

You can skimp on your marketing budget if you'd like, leave your clients and customer base to gnaw on those old print ads like ol' Lucky chewing on a bone, but that will come with a higher price. Flat sales, flat leads, or an even flatter company "wallet." And that's a hole you don't want to dig yourself out of.

I know it can be a hard thing to do, saying goodbye to that good friend and companion, "the old ad campaign." So I'll leave you with this: Like a new puppy, a new ad campaign will generate excitement, run constantly for the first few months, be friendly to all, but most importantly – be devoted to one.

So rest in peace, Lucky. I'll always remember you, but now I know, it was for the best.

When a Good Idea Goes Bad

As I was driving home last night I looked up to see a billboard that had me wondering, did anyone truly think this was a good idea?

In order to protect the innocent, I will not give names, but in all honesty, I was shocked that this particular piece of advertising made it through both "creative" and corporate approvals to see the light of day.

Now, I could easily spend several pages describing what was wrong with this board, but there is plenty of bad advertising out there, and my ranting about it here will do little to change that. What I would like to focus on however, is the power of good advertising, and why it is important to always strive for the best.

I guess the obvious benefit of good advertising is a positive return on investment – otherwise, why do it at all? But deeper than that, a good campaign reflects on the essence of the company that it represents. It is in so many ways a direct reflection of the brand itself. Ah, that branding word again. Seems to come up a lot these days doesn't it? The problem is, I think many of the people who use it still don't have a complete understanding of what it means, or how powerful it can be when used properly.

Truth be told, the actual advertising portion of a branding campaign is one of the final pieces of the puzzle, which is why it so often ends up being the most neglected. I say neglected because it is generally the first thing businesses and agencies focus on. It's like trying to discuss global warming with a baby. Sure, it might be entertaining, but a baby is hardly prepared to speak, much less articulate thoughts on such matters. Kicking out an ad campaign without properly developing a company's brand message is pretty much the same thing.

So, until there is a brand police established to fight bad advertising, I will continue to do my part in helping those who will hear. My advice is to make sure you know yourself first, your audience second and your advertising third. Only then can you communicate the right message to the right people, with the right vehicle.

Michael Russo
Creative Director - The Russo Group

A good ad is a great performance, or at least it should be.

Creating a great ad is a thing of beauty. Even today, in the world of multi-media and the web, a well-crafted ad is something to be appreciated. Unfortunately, we are beaten down each day with some of the worst ads known to man.

So, what makes a great ad? Good question.

I could say, great copy, excellent photography and solid design, but I won’t. I won’t because it takes more than these things to create an ad with staying power.

I could also talk about the rules – but rules are made to broken, so I won’t talk about that either. What I will talk about is the performance of an ad - the ability to connect with someone before the turning of the page. A good ad does this. It comes to life, capturing the imagination of those who come in contact with it.

The performance comes from a carefully crafted ad that helps dictate user experience. It has hidden cues that tell us what to read, and how to feel. And hopefully, it leaves us thinking about it once the curtain falls, and we move on to another experience.

In all honesty, this performance is not always possible. As advertisers, our primary goal is to communicate information, sell products and deliver messages. At times, it is what it is. But that does not mean we shouldn’t try. The effort alone to reach out and connect with a consumer means more than not trying at all.

A great headline can change the world, or at the very least, change the way someone thinks. A great image can liberate the soul and a great design can save us all.

Ok, I may have over done it with the last few sentences. A great ad is simply that – a great ad. In the big picture, it seldom means more than that. But for those who depend on that ad to sell a product or deliver a message – well, when it’s successful, it’s a work of art.

Michael Russo
Creative Director
The Russo Group

Putting your Creative Campaign out to Pasture.

Remember your favorite childhood pet, that beautiful Golden Retriever named Lucky?

What a good friend and companion.

And remember when you came home from school one afternoon and your parents told you that they took Lucky to old-man Vernon's farm. They said it was a wonderful place for a dog like Lucky. A place with wide open fields and pastures; a place where he could chase rabbits and take nice long naps under an old oak tree. They said it was for the best, and somehow it all made sense.

Well, I'm here to tell you that your ad campaign is probably ready for Old Man Vernon's farm. Just how old is your current campaign? One, almost two years running? That's nearly 47-years-old in marketing years.

I'm not talking about a reinventing your brand, your brand identity, or your company's positioning statement or tag line. If carefully crafted and executed by a professional creative team, those have a shelf life and can almost be carved in stone.

What I am talking about is a reassessment of your advertising and marketing initiatives. Examining the current marketplace – more specifically your marketplace, determining where the void is, and changing the market's conversation. The topic of conversation will be your product or service. And the void will be filled with the same.

You can skimp on your marketing budget if you'd like, leave your clients and customer base to gnaw on those old print ads like ol' Lucky chewing on a bone, but that will come with a higher price. Flat sales, flat leads, or an even flatter company "wallet." And that's a hole you don't want to dig yourself out of.

I know it can be a hard thing to do, saying goodbye to that good friend and companion, "the old ad campaign." So I'll leave you with this: Like a new puppy, a new ad campaign will generate excitement, run constantly for the first few months, be friendly to all, but most importantly – be devoted to one.

So rest in peace, Lucky. I'll always remember you, but now I know, it was for the best.


Gary LoBue Jr / Art Director / The Russo Group