Executing the Campaign

To build a brand, you first must have a great product with good distribution. The quickest death for a bad product is good advertising, because people try it and never come back to it. It takes having a great product, then developing the trust and belief of brand managers or senior-level clients who allow you to create the communication and advertising that can make a difference in the marketplace. You need advertising that can take the product out of the commodity decision cycle and make it a very real, personal choice with tangible benefits for the consumer.

To break through, your communication must be relevant. It has to be memorable in some way, and that doesn’t mean crazy or loud, but it should hit a specific part of the consumer’s psyche. Consumers should say, “Wow, I didn’t know that about that brand,” or “Wow, that brand really does something for me or says something about me,” or “That brand is something we need.”

Having one consistent message through all forms of media is a good mantra to follow. Consumers are very smart, and if you confuse them, or try to fool them, they’re going to make a different choice about your brand. The consumer must always be handled with a healthy dose of respect. The idea of integration of message and brand essence is very important. Whether it all has to come from one agency is disputable, but from a brand or client perspective everything they produce should have the brand’s essence and positioning within it. Even if it’s just a sale with an extra 10 percent off on Saturday, it must still say something solid about the store or the product.

A product’s sustainability can bring an advertising campaign to life. There have been lots of executions that people thought were different, or cute, or really caught your attention right away through fresh, original concepts, but over time a campaign, a brand, has to be sustainable. You want to be able to nurture and massage that communication stream over time. Without that, you have too many tactical executions that may have little blips of sales, but are very difficult to sustain preference.

We’re a very visual audience. The world is changing in so many ways. Television shows and movies are quickly clipped, with constant talking and constant cuts. There are no more long, drifting scenes. You must understand that this is how people consume information. You must work to bring them in, but then your campaign must nurture them along and be there for a long time.

There are some major pitfalls to avoid in any advertising campaign. First, always refrain from using the word “I,” because a team gets you there. Never be reluctant to embrace a person who can help you get to the end result.

Next, never show arrogance or disrespect in your campaign, because it will turn too many consumers away from the brand. Another pitfall is failing to listen and adjust. You must stop and see the reality of the world around you.

Finally, have a high degree of well-placed confidence. Rejection will happen, whether from the client or the consumer.

Ultimately, a successful advertising campaign solves the problem the brand is facing in the marketplace. The product or brand moves in the marketplace, and the advertising effort has either helped it to grow or stopped the erosion of sales. If the brand is declining, how do you stop that from happening, and how do you help move the brand? Things like that are very important in determining whether an advertising campaign is a success or failure.