Direct Marketing & Digital Marketing Agency - Ashley Bolser Agency

Creatives are often asked to produce a number of versions for a client. If the only purpose of this is to provide you with a choice, I’d wonder whether your money was being well spent.It’s the takeaway menu version of the creative process. You’ll receive a choice of toppings for the same idea. And no matter which you choose, it’s still a cheese and tomato pizza underneath it all. The Creatives will be happy to tell you their personal preference. And they’ll probably give you a long and passionate explanation of why they think it’s the best on the menu.

But what if you’re not in the mood for pizza?

If the Creatives are asked to add value to your brief, instead of providing versions, they’ll think of different ways to satisfy your hunger. They’ll consider all the influences on the decision, including how much money you have to spend, how much time there is and how to get the most satisfaction for these. At the end of this process, there may be two very different yet equally appetising restaurant suggestions. They’ll present both ideas and talk you through how each experience differs. You can then choose the one with the menu that most tickles your tastebuds.

Ask the Creatives to give you versions and you’ll get a menu. Ask them to add value and you’ll receive the Michelin Guide. One can be picked up for free almost anywhere. The other is worth paying for.

On Have I Got News For You the other night, there was a story about a potential new variety of cloud that had been identified by The Cloud Appreciation Society. This new variety of cloud is characterised by “a turbulent, violent, chaotic form of undulation” according to Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society. And he proposes that it is named Asperatus, the latin word for ‘rough’.

He has reportedly received many photographs of this new cloud variety from members all over the world. Could it be that due to global climate change we’re witnessing a new weather phenomenon? Or is it because of the proliferation and portability of digital cameras that such moments are captured and forwarded to one and then the many.

Maybe there aren’t new things happening with clouds, just new ways of seeing the sky. So if we want to be innovating for the brands we work for, we should stop looking for something new and try looking for new ways of seeing instead.

Heard an interesting comment the other day. When looking at an advert, Dom, the Client Services Director, said “I don’t need to read this to know it’s not good copy”. And he was absolutely right.

I realised that good copy starts with a format. How the copy looks will determine whether someone acts from it or not.

If you don’t get the format right, the content won’t be read. And as unread copy can’t help us get the response we want from the audience, it must be bad copy.

So we should remember to consider what shape the copy must take before tapping away on our keyboards. If we want someone to do something simple, let’s make it look simple with minimal copy broken into a few simple steps. If we want someone to make a complicated decision, let’s help them spend time with the idea by giving them copy in a broken up, multi-column magazine style.

Think about what you want someone to do and make it easy for them:

Use an appropriate format

• Is it a quick response you want? Use bullets to communicate key messages.
• Do you want a response based on a considered decision? Use longer copy in easily digested paragraphs. Let the sub-heads outline the ’story’. The content should follow the order it’s required in during the decision-making process.

Communicate the information that’s needed and only what’s needed

• If it doesn’t directly encourage a response, we don’t need it.