In the Advertising world, the creative process look like this: Strategy > Concept/Idea > Campaign & Tagline > Executions. You can see, the Strategy is in the most beginning of an entire idea and it is an appproach, based on market research and insights, as to how a product or service will be positioned/repositioned. After reading The Advertising Concept Book by Pete Barry, we have an overall look at 17 different strategy for killer ads
1. Before and After Strategy
This common strategy is basically :”show life without he product, show life with the product.” The subsequent idea and execution that comes from this strategy is usually a negative visual (without the product) followed by a positive one (with the product).
2. Before Only Strategy
The “After” is simply the product name/logo and tagline. The idea is to let the customer figure out the “after” stage themselves, without have to see it.
3. After Only Strategy
There are many advertising ideas belong to this category, this is the easiest method to demonstrate the benefit of the products, or in other words, “life with the product.”
4. Advice / Knowledge Strategy
The advice strategy creates a positive image in the mind of the consumer. This is a lateral, “we can help you” approach, usually expressed through the benefit. And also demonstrate how a quality product of service is.
5. Empathy Strategy
This approach demonstrates how empathetic the client is toward the consumer. It demonstrates to the targe audience “We understand and care about tou and/or your relationship with the product.”
6. Demonstration Strategy
A new, clever way to demonstrate the product benefit can actually be the most engaging, direct form of communication. It is the purest form of strategy focuses solely on ways to show the product benefit explicitly via a “demonstration”.
7. Testimonial Strategy
Testimonial advertising can exist as early on a the strategy stage, or it can be deduced later, during the concept stage. This approach uses a famous or non-famous consumer to report their positive experiences with the product or services. It is very common in the fashion ad and traditional product ad.
8. Heritage Strategy
This is an effective strategy because no 2 company histories or backgrounds are the same: each story is so unique.
9. Owner or Staff Strategy
Using the client or owner in the advertising can be hit or miss. The benefit is its down0to-earth integrity, since he or she is the heart and soul of the product.
10. Product Positioning Strategy
In a sense, this is the broadest, most basic type of strategy — simply to position a new or established product in a different way from its competition. One could argue that all good advertising should adopt this strategy, with or without an additional, more specific strategy.
11. Product Repositioning Strategy
If a current product is losing money despite a healthy advertising spend, the product may need to reposition itself —- switch from the original positioning due to a sudden or prolonged shift in the market.
12. Competitive or Comparison Strategy
All clients compare themselves to their competition to a greater or lesser degree. This strategic approach can make either an overt or subtle reference to any differences between products in the actual advertising, rather than merely keeping it within the strategy statement.
13. Challenge Strategy
This is the “have you got what it takes?” strategy. Some brands need to persuade people to do something, rather than buy somthing. One possible strategic approach is to challenge the consumber, to see if he or she is right for the “product” or service.
14. Negative to Positive Strategy
This strategy turns a boring or negative perception about a product/brand/market into a positive one, usually by adding an extra thought or clever argument.
15. Logic Strategy
This strategy express in the form of logical thinking,
16. Price Strategy
This strategy turn the boring price into a positive strategy.
17. Honesty Strategy
The honesty strategy is one that runs through the strategy, idea, executions, and tone of voice. It means self-honesty 9about the product) rather than honesty about another related or unrelated subject. If doing it well, the honesty approach is refreshing, disarming down to earth, and often humorous.
Source:
Excellent samples, great work, actually.
What else can I say?
Keep doing things like these.
excellent list! one bit made me lose some cred, though…
you have to get rid of that awful photoshopped image with the pepsi truck
I’ve stumbled lists like this before, no-one had previously taken the time to categorise or examine the work, so well done, I salute you!
Punnie, euro shit all of it. Killer ads my arse! Your taste sucks
While this list has some good examples of different tactics, by combining lists from different sources it mixes communication strategies with executional concepts in a way that’s pretty confusing. #1, for example, is an executional concept (you could do before/after with/without concepts that all have different messages about the brands), whereas #5 is a communications strategy (you could have different execution types that all communicate empathy with the consumer).
I would suggest making a list of various communications strategies, and then a list of executional concepts (and maybe label that list “Been done. Do something new”).
I am an Art Director (Creative) in Advertising and I can wholeheartedly say that there is little formula and a lot of gut in making ads. You either have it, or you don’t. The kind of person who attempts to quantify or categories what we do for a living is a person who just plain hasn’t got it. It is obvious this person has NEVER come up with a campaign. My ads are not paint by numbers, they are bespoke to the brief. Please disregard formulas for creatives, it’s just not reality. Academia?: yes. What we do?: No.
Thanks,
Marcus.
I was a “suit”. I sold art director’s “Creations” as they like to call them. (i have a less generous term for what they often do).
Art directors get all juicy about their ideas.
Clients have to justify their expenditure to Boards of Directors/ ministers of Govt, Etc and ultimately shareholders.
lists like this help Suits like me sell FRINGE creative to uncertain clients who have to take the risk and INVEST REAL MONEY in the campaign.
Sadly ALL the above creative is bull to me….. These days I place and pay for advertisements for my own business. If they are BRANDING ads like all of these I won’t touch them. if they don’t put dollars in my till i won’t touch them.
The BEST way to build the brand is to have people use the product and to talk about it. Word of mouth is the MOST POWERFUL FORM of advertising. So advertising that stimulates direct action, a direct response, a buy now, or bring this in to get…
or buy one get one free, or get this and this and this and this but only if you hurry!…. that’s where my dollars go. that’s where my dollars come from so that I have dollars to keep the advertising industry going!
Thanks for a nice list.
Please do the same for Direct Response advertising, and Web Tactics, and Political Advertising, and …. need I go on???
[...] blogu The Familiar Strangers można znaleźć ciekawy post przedstawiający kilkanaście strategii, umożliwiających stworzenie ciekawej reklamy prasowej, plakatu czy billboardu. Koncepcje wsparte [...]
“I am an Art Director (Creative) in Advertising and I can wholeheartedly say that there is little formula and a lot of gut in making ads. You either have it, or you don’t. ”
Such nonsense. There’s plenty of templates that help you out.
i love the list !
it is simple and …simple
obviously Marcus is one of those genius’s that has several thousand awards for God like genius, making so much money he has time to do nothing else but ditch someone else’s insight to a pretty simple list of ideas on how to approach a thought !
he sounds like a guy that has several meaning full ideas a second ..i am trying to find Marcus advertising up there with the top in the world ..probably not because he charges to much for his self indulgent crap !!
keep up the good work
i like your list
jurgen
Great list, a lot of creative stuff many thanks now I need to get to work
[...] the explanations and view samples of the 17 Strategies to Killer Ads at the FAMILIARSTRANGERS [...]
[...] way to find cool websites like Extraordinary Uses for Vinegar and the theories behind top-notch Advertisements. Also, though, the tool can be of immense use to organizations or websites attempting to get more [...]
Great list. Thanks for taking the time to do this.
[...] I stumbled across a great blog today that attempted to categorise advertising strategies. Based on an analysis of The Advertising Concept Book by Pete Barry, it’s a really useful list of advertising approaches that underscores that it’s the quality of the original idea and the associated strategic thinking that really make great campaigns. Check it out here. [...]
it was awesome to read he different categories and sad to read all the typos!
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Cool, awesome selections. And whats up with Marcus, creativity is different with everyone but without the basics it won’t have much impact. It’s like getting all the most expensive and classy materials to build a house but than you don’t even put a foundation…It will fall with a slight change in the wind.
Beautiful post thanks
Very Interesting! I like the one about Clorets
I like your post. I had been looking for some information like this for myself. But, I think it’s funny how many of the ads leave me wondering what they are supposed to be about and what they are trying to sell. Also, at least a couple are pretty offensive, to me. I guess that is negative strategy.
Ads are harmful, what happened to manuals?
How did we get here, world? Blind folded?
Most of them are funniest than functional. I mean, I wouldn’t go to Dr. Miller, for example. Looks aggressive.
In general, good ideas… not so functional, but good.