December 19th 2023 By Lloyd Hughes 6 minute read
It’s 2024, and with the flood of AI-driven content pouring out of the internet’s every orifice, standing out from the crowd is essential if you’re to capture the attention of your audience.
Here at Pic PR, we’re advocates of creating talkability. The art of making something worth talking about.
And one way to achieve this is through the use of creative campaigns. Looking at things from a different perspective to add an unusual or unique spin should be a key part of any marketing strategy. Creative campaigns, primarily, offer a unique and memorable way to connect with consumers. But where do you even start?
Well, you could give it a quick Google search. I’m sure you’ll find some pointers.
Or, you know, considering creative campaigns are what we do best here at Pic PR, I suppose I could give you some tips.
If you’re interested in learning how to execute* creative campaigns (and if you’re not interested then I’m wondering how you stumbled across this blog which focuses solely on creative campaigns), then have a gander below.
First things first, understanding your target audience is the first step in crafting a creative campaign that resonates. To do this, you need to either be fully on board with your brand’s audience, or you need to research it. Delve into demographic data and behavioural patterns to uncover insights into their preferences, aspirations, and pain points. This knowledge will help you spot the opportunities to add something different, and will be the key for which your campaign creativity is built, helping to ensure it strikes a chord with your audience and that you’re not just wasting your time spouting some guff.
Humans are wired to connect with stories. Here at Pic PR we love a feel-good campaign that tugs at the heartstrings. Take our Adopt a Grandparent campaign for example. Much of the narrative around this centred on lonely older people, shining a spotlight on their circumstances during the pandemic, and focusing on individuals and their personal stories – as well as the subsequent pairings that came about.
To produce something decent, you need to integrate narrative elements into your campaigns to create an emotional connection with your audience. A compelling story that aligns with your brand message and values enables consumers to relate to the campaign on a personal level. And, wherever possible, tell personal stories. The media loves people, so weaving them in at every feasible point can make a huge difference. Whether it's a heartwarming tale, an inspiring journey or even a horror story; storytelling adds depth and resonance to your creative campaigns.
Creativity thrives in a collaborative environment. Encourage open communication and idea-sharing within your team. At Pic we host weekly sessions where the teams (plural, across our services) discuss creative campaign ideas. But we don’t limit it to that, we talk to each other 24/7 (or perhaps I should say 9-5/5.30 as, yeah, we’re not chatting away at 4am – unless it’s the Christmas party) about creative ideas that could work for our clients.
It’s all about fostering a culture that values diverse perspectives (from the youngest in the team to the oldest, from cultural differences to gender) you'll unlock a wealth of creative potential as people offer different perspectives. Brainstorming sessions, cross-functional collaboration, and team-building activities can ignite innovative thinking and lead to breakthrough campaign ideas. One person sat on their tod may struggle to find the chink in the creativity armour, but with multiple heads getting together, a throwaway suggestion could be the battle-axe that smashes through the breastplate and into the vitals of a genuinely good idea. Or so to speak.
Keep an eye on industry trends and emerging technologies. The world is changing at an unbelievable rate (seriously, can you imagine being a mediaeval knight wandering into one of our brainstorming sessions with a battle-axe? They’d be like wtf is going on here), so you need to keep up with it. For instance, we recently upgraded our fax machine and got the team some new pagers. So, yeah, you need to incorporate the latest innovations into your campaigns to not only demonstrate your brand's forward-thinking approach but also give you the opportunity to captivate an audience eager for new experiences. Whether it's using AI, interactive content, or the latest social media trends (hello TikTok, we’re looking at you), staying ahead of the curve will set your creative campaigns apart and allow you to target new audiences in fresh ways.
Yeah, yeah, we know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover blah blah blah, but actually, sometimes you should. In the digital age, visuals play a vital role in capturing attention. Invest in striking visuals, compelling graphics, and engaging multimedia elements. With attention spans shorter than ever (yeah, we’re blaming you TikTok) you need to capture attention in literal seconds. So whether it's a jaw-dropping video, jazzy, eye-catching graphics, or a damned lovely design, the visual appeal of your campaign is often the first thing your audience spots. Of course, though, don’t neglect the copy. It needs to be bang on to support the visuals, otherwise it all falls apart when people are like “Yeah, this makes no sense, what have I just read” etc, etc.
Not all creative campaigns will hit the mark on the first attempt. Embrace a mindset of continuous improvement by testing your campaigns and iterating based on performance metrics. A/B testing, feedback loops, and analytics provide valuable insights that allow you to refine and optimise your creative strategies for maximum impact. Often, with PR, it can feel like a one shot moment. If it doesn’t land, your opportunity is gone. And whilst that’s true to an extent (for instance if you attach your campaign to a specific date/event), you can usually rehash/reangle to a degree, repositioning it to give you another bite at the apple. You know how the saying goes ‘If at first, you don’t succeed, try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try and try again!’. Or something like that.
And the big benefit of testing is that, next time, you’ll always have a better understanding of what’s likely to work – even if it doesn’t quite hit the mark the first time.
We’re predominantly PR-focused here, and that’s very much at the core of our thinking. But a PR idea shouldn’t just be limited to going to the media with press-centric material. Take that PR thinking and chuck it across all your channels. An idea that’s good for journalists is even better for other content as it’s proved its worth. So use that idea on your social channels, in your mailers, on your website and even across advertising (from promoted social posts to billboards). Get as much mileage out of it as you can because, as we always say at Pic: “A good idea should never be allowed to just tootle off down the road and into the distance never to be seen on your socials, mailers, ads, website or anything else again.”
So, to conclude, the art of crafting creative campaigns requires a blend of audience understanding, storytelling prowess, collaboration, trend awareness, visual acumen and probably a bit of craziness too (or out the box thinking if you prefer). Embracing all of this can see you unlock the full potential of your marketing efforts, creating campaigns that not only capture attention, but also leave an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of your audience, or, you know, make them talk about it with their mum/partner/colleague/mate in the pub.
Fancy cracking on with some creative campaigns? Then why hang about. Drop us a line via hello@picpr.com or our ever so slightly more formal contact us page, and we’ll get people talking in 2024 and beyond.
*Do them well, that is, not execute them as in behead them and display the remnants above your office drawbridge/revolving door.
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