Creative Critique

27/09/2017

Think you know who your customer is? Think you know what motivates them? Think you know what their behaviors are? Think again.

The biggest flaw in most marketing campaigns is NOT KNOWING your target market well enough, to be able to tailor your advertising material to appeal to their exact preferences.

Millions of dollars are wasted every year on advertising that appeals more to the management and the creative team, than the actual customers.

In many campaigns that we review, the product and price can be perfect but the way it is communicated simply doesn't appeal to a large enough percentage of the market to create a profitable conversion for the business.

And the most common reason these campaigns fail is that the business does not understand the market, they don't survey the actual audience often enough, and they don't seek customer opinions on their advertising material.

For goodness sake, if you want people to react positively to your advertising, have it tested on a cross-section of your actual market in advance and get a professional report on what works and what doesn't. Then simply align your content and creative to what they like.

It's not rocket science, it's advertising science.

Let us help you survey the market and offer real feedback to refine your campaigns and increase your ROI.

19/09/2017

THE BEST 2ND OPINION EVER

Creativity [copywriting, design, artwork, imagery, etc] has never been cheap but when done right, it is a valuable asset that should provide the necessary look & feel to get decent cut-through and a positive response.

But what if your ads, commercials, billboards and even your brochures and website aren't getting the response you'd hoped for? Do you blame the creative, the media placement, the product or service, or even your staff?

Whilst all of these could have contributed to a poor response, often the simplest reason is that you didn't bother to get a 2nd opinion to ensure that your creativity would have the desired effect on the target market.

When it comes to creativity, the best 2nd opinion you can get is someone who is totally impartial and not afraid to give you an honest assessment on 'what will work' and more importantly, 'what won't'. Someone with a solid track record in knowing what makes consumers tick a history of winning campaigns.

Smart business operators know the value of professional feedback and appreciate the professional direction that can turn average into exceptional.

When the difference between success and failure can be as little as $200, you have to ask yourself, 'what is holding you back'?

Creative Critique has a team of marketing and advertising gurus at your disposal and we are just an email or phone call away. Get the 2nd opinion you need now.

30/08/2017

TV ads drive more attention, short-term sales than Facebook and YouTube, study finds
Read more at http://www.adnews.com.au/news/tv-ads-drive-more-attention-short-term-sales-than-facebook-and-youtube-study-finds .99

New research by Dr Karen Nelson-Field found TV ads had a stronger impact on short-term sales than Facebook and YouTube because it attracts higher levels of active watching and attention.

19/05/2017

At over 3 minutes long, it's certainly not a TV commercial but it is an insanely good video. Whilst there is not a lot of brand association until the end, we found it very powerful and gave it the big thumbs up 👍 up.http://adsoftheworld.com/media/digital/samsung_the_impossible_talk

Digital advertisment created by Leo Burnett, Italy for Samsung, within the category: Electronics, Technology.

17/05/2017

Wouldn't it be good if we could make creative advertising decisions as simply as Rock, Paper, Scissors?

Your creative guru would simply give you 3 concepts and then you just use the proven logic of Rock, Paper, Scissors to choose which one you'll run with.

Whilst it sounds crazy, most business decisions of this nature are made by a maximum of 3 people using a combination of past experience and gut feeling, in the hope that it will work, without even considering the opinions of those that matter most, your potential clients.

Let's face it, advertising campaigns cost a lot of money. From research to concept to production to media - your investment is usually pretty major and you want the best return you can get.

So why are so many Australian businesses ignoring their most valuable asset [their potential customers] when making decisions on how to influence them into buying their product or service?

Consumers are more product savvy than ever, they have so many more buying options and if you want them to be YOUR customers, you have to appeal to all of their positive senses.
They have expectations and values, and if your advertising does not appeal to them, you'll be ignored completely.
I
f you want to give your advertising the best possible chance maybe, it's time to ask the market for their honest opinion though our Consumer Testing Survey. We can target up to 1,000 people at a time or reach out to exact demographic groups and give you a complete breakdown of their likes and dislikes in your advertising material. Most importantly you'll know if your material has the power to influence their purchasing decisions. That sort of feedback is invaluable.

Make your advertising count - test it first.

10/05/2017

Digital outdoor now offers super quick creative message updates. Very cool.

Adshel helps SBS serve instant news headlines to Australians in digital out-of-home campaign with newly launched automated system.

08/05/2017

Let's face it, advertising has changed a lot in the last 10 years. Mostly because our media habits have changed.

We no longer read as many newspapers & magazines and we certainly listern to less radio and even though we are actually in front of our televisions more, we are watching less commercial programming. But of course, we spend far more time on our computers and mobile devices which are now used more for social media and entertainment than general communication.

There is still a market for main stream media but as consumer habits change, advertisers need to adapt, not only to be noticed by the broader audience, but to interact with them as well.

This latest example of a social media video produced for Kraft is a good example to getting noticed. Firstly it doesn't look like a commercial, I like that. It's not 30 seconds long, it's 1.5 minutes and looks more like a humourous 'help for mums' message. The actress is quirky enough to relate to and genuinely funny. More than anything she is 'relatable' to the target market. Even if you dispise swearing, you can understand her frustration and accept it.

Whilst I am the world's stronest advocate of market testing on advertising [and that includes web videos] this is one of those blogs that I think a lot of people might have found annoying and certainly a big budget for something consumers will more than likely only ever look at once.

It is obviously the brainchild of a creative genius at Kraft's ad agency that wanted to combine shock and humour to a brand purely to make people talk. Certainly, the ad industry was talking about it but I can't imagine typical American mums being really impressed. Sure a lot of mums swear but not at their kids and certainly they wouldn't want to condone to it in public.

Will it sell anymore Mac & Cheese, I doubt it.
Let me know your thoughts.

http://www.bandt.com.au/advertising/swearing-mum-stars-fcking-funny-ad-kraft-mac-cheese?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=Swearing%20Mum%20Stars%20In%20F%23cking%20Hilarious%20Ad%20For%20Kraft%20Mac%20%26%20Cheese&utm_campaign=B%26T%20today%3A%208th%20May%20%202017

Heaps of swearing and Kraft Mac & Cheese sounds like any lunchtime at B&T. But today, it's this rather funny ad instead.

18/04/2017

What if the market you thought would love your advertising, just said it sucked big time?

In the simplest of terms - 'If people like your ads, they may respond positively' but 'If people dislike your ads, there isn't a hope in hell, they'll respond, let alone buy your product or service'.

Amazingly this happens way too often, but because business operators rarely take the time to test their ads on the market, they actually have no idea that so many people dislike them and probably just accept that the response they got, was acceptable.

But what if EVERYONE liked your ads? The response rate could increase substantially and profitability could skyrocket, simply because your campaign was more creatively aligned to the market?

It really does makes sense to test your creative.

Creative Critique can look at your ads and commercials before you spend a single dollar on media. We have over 1000 consumers who can offer fast feedback and a panel of advertising professionals to analyse the findings and make recommendations on how changes can be made to boost your chances of success.

In the big scheme of things, the cost is minimal and the possibles enormous.

If you’re serious about results, Creative Critique is the best second opinion you’ll ever get.

http://www.creativecritique.com.au/

29/03/2017

Oh my lord, you can get hammered these days for having a sense of humor.

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B&T Magazine reported that a US jeweler’s outdoor campaign has felt the wrath of none other than the Clinton family after it ran an outdoor campaign featuring a billboard covered in jewels with the tagline, “Sometimes, it’s OK to throw rocks at girls…”.

However, the attempt at humor has caught the ire of none other than Bill and Hillary’s daughter, Chelsea, plus a number of women’s activist groups.

Chelsea took to social media to tell of her disapproval, tweeting: “Talking about hitting girls is never funny. Ever.”

Offended parties have claimed the billboard trivialises violence against women, while the brand behind it, Spicer Greene Jewelers, has issued an apology saying it had not meant to cause any offence. “We intended the billboard as a play on words to encourage the loving act of gift giving and are deeply saddened that it offended anyone,” the company said in a statement on its page.

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Creative Critique's Senior Strategist Mark Skinner commented;
"The social and mainstream media exposure Ms. Clinton's complaint generated for the brand has been massive and I have no doubt there'll be plenty of couples lined up at the door for some well-appreciated rock throwing".

20/03/2017

So I recently spent 3 weeks in the USA assessing media and creative and have to say that in my opinion, Australia is maybe one step ahead when it comes to clever advertising.
Except for this mob in Florida who created floating billboards. They motor up and down the beaches and waterways in Miami promoting everything from restaurants to motor cars.
The Miami City Council passed a law to ban them only to find out that they have absolutely no jurisdiction over water craft. I am guessing they were badly advised there!

What do you think of this medium, could these work in Australia?

By the way, if are in the States I'd certainly recommend Senor Frogs, great margaritas.

05/01/2017

In my 30 years in the advertising industry, I have become very aware that there are still a lot of businesses who operate their marketing and advertising programs on a 'trial & error' basis. The end result of this method can sometimes be success but the cost and lost business to get to this point, can often be enormous.

What a strange system it is that lets you think it's OK to fail over and over again, in an attempt to achieve some level of success.

To me, it makes far more sense to aim for success the first time around. You can do this by simply spending a bit more time at the start and taking the advice of a professional advertising critique. The critique's job is to assess the design, the content, and the ex*****on to ensure the campaign you run, attracts and influences the right audience.

This is often overlooked by advertising producers, designers, and artists, whose main priority is usually to make your ads look good whilst cramming in as much content as possible. Rarely will they even consider testing an ad on the target market or finding better ways of advertising, based on the audience's likes and dislikes?

Bring your ads to us and we will assess and test them on the target market, and give you a professional report on how to do things better.

Maybe it's time to change 'trial & error' to 'test & succeed' and save yourself a fortune.

Cheers,
Mark Skinner, CEO

27/10/2016

Did you know that in 2010 the hugely successful clothing brand GAP changed their logo? The re-design lasted just two days! The brand is famous for its classic, simple style and the new logo just didn't cut it with customers. As any business knows a good logo is vital, it identifies your brand and losing touch with your audience can be a very costly mistake. Call us at Creative Critique for an honest second opinion and genuine feedback from your target audience.

27/10/2016

Nivea's 'Care from the Air' sunscreen ad didn't go down well at Cannes. Is this just a silly step too far or a fun way to remind young kids to slip slap slop?

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/see-nivea-campaign-john-hegarty-called-stupidest-thing-hes-ever-seen-172371

26/10/2016

Watch this brilliant ad, that recently won a Gold Cannes Lions Award. Such a simple yet clever approach to tackling censorship issues whilst raising breast self examination awareness. This campaign was shared over 700K times and was watched by over 40M viewers in just eight weeks! A well deserved win. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz4c9zrVZZk

Uploaded with permission from Ad Agency David for http://adsoftheworld.com

12/10/2016

Absolute genius. No media costs at all, just in-mall arrangement with shopping centres. And isn't that where you find the target market for Nivea. If you have a clever idea up your sleeve and would like us to test it on a professional or public level, just message us. Costs are minimal when you consider the rewards.

07/10/2016

It use to be too much time spent in front of the TV, now it's too much time on our gadget screens. A timely (summer is round the corner) ad campaign by fruit and juice giant Golden Circle, to encourage kids (and adults!) to get outside and enjoy the sunshine (drinking Golden Circle juice of course!) and to enjoy real life. With the added feel good bonus of a charity donation tie in. A clever move by Golden Circle, reaching out to their target audience (parents) by showing they care, are relevant in todays market and promoting a great cause and their brand.

http://www.adnews.com.au/news/golden-circle-uses-tv-to-encourage-screen-switch-off .99

In an usual move Golden Circle, the fruit and juice brand, is using a TV ad to encourage kids to turn off their screens.

25/09/2016

Within 48hrs of the Brad and Angelina bust up Norwegian Airlines had this ad in the press. You have to admire the humor and opportunism of their agency. The ad went viral on social media giving them 1,000 times more exposure than the cost of the press ad. Would be great to see what sort of response they got but certainly get's my vote for originality.