Increasingly seeing a huge gap between what the industry is applauding as good creativity and what really translates into brand equity and consumption.
Positive market response to creative.
Have seen this quite a few times now and it is no longer a coincidence.
The chasm, at least in the social media industry circles, is definitely widening between creativity and commercial returns.
And it is worrying.
Who are we creating advertising for?
There is a new contender to deal with.
Long content films. Intense. Dramatic. Tear jerking.
It is almost becoming a format- if we don’t do it, we feel left out. We feel rejected.
Is it good work? Of course it is.
Does it create conversations? Definitely.
It is excellent work.
But this, in no way, justifies painting everything with the same brush.
I feel we are doing grave injustice to many young creative minds who work on very good, effective work that the client appreciates and the market responds to.
Who are increasingly asking for long content briefs. Open ended ones.
And feel demotivated, deprived of what is seen as the only or perhaps the best way to shine.
While good creative work raises industry benchmarks, every brand does not call for the same genre of work.
There are brands who play in the world of excitement, humour, fun and are no less creative.
That can deliver an equally compelling message in a limited duration.
Who may not be able to touch a social chord in an intense way, but can do that in its own voice, its own DNA.
Fact is, we do not fund ourselves. Our work is work paid for by marketers, who need creativity that talks to the right consumer, in the most effective way.
Even if that effective way jars our sensitised creative nerves.
I have seen this first hand on work that has been critiqued. Only to see the market respond overwhelmingly.
Maybe some of us are losing the pulse of the consumer.
Maybe we are doing fewer consumer interactions- with search engines at the push of a button and budget cuts on travel.
Maybe we are at times forgetting that we create not for ourselves, but for brands that have to sell.
And by doing this, we are ending up applauding only a certain genre of creative folks and creativity and leaving out a big lot who are working every day and creating magic on the brands they work on.
Let us celebrate creativity the way we like it to be.
But let us equally celebrate work that resonates with consumers, who have given their verdict by opening their wallets and wearing the brand on their sleeves.
Finally, it is about creating that space in the consumer’s heart and mind.
A great balance of Creativity and Commerce.
(The views expressed are the author's independent views as an ad professional and do not reflect the organisation's viewpoint.)
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