PART 4 : THE BIG IDEA
The following article is part of an ongoing series from J.Schmid with the critical elements and insights you need to strategize, execute and launch successful omnichannel campaigns. Watch your email and follow #CampaignBuildingBlocks on social media to keep up with the full story.
Why are marketing campaigns so effective? What is the secret behind the good ones that people remember and talk about (REI’s “Opt Outside”)? Quite simply, a BIG IDEA. The best marketing and advertising over the decades have always been driven by a singular great idea (“Got Milk?”). A core idea that ties everything together. An idea that resonates with the audience and makes them think about your product or service in a different way. Remove that big idea and all you’re doing is selling products, just like the other brands. Blah. But when you build your marketing efforts around a campaign, and use that “big idea” consistently across all touch points, it’s more likely to get noticed, more likely to be remembered, and more likely to engage people on a human level. In other words, campaigns work.
When you remove the big idea behind a campaign—you’re left with just a collection of products.
It’s no secret that I’m a huge Beatles fan, so once again, I will use them as a way of illustrating my point.
When Paul McCartney was thinking about a different way to go about recording a new album in 1966, he came up with a big idea that would drive the entire creative process. What if the four lads took on a different persona, actually changing the name of the band? What if they reinvented their identity just this one time? What if the album had a distinctive visual approach that was instantly recognizable, with colorful costumes and artwork? And what if all the songs on the album had a consistent theme? Thus, the concept for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was born. And as they say, the rest is history and arguably one of the best—and most memorable—albums of all time.
Let’s learn from the genius of the Beatles, shall we?
What’s my point? What if they had just gone into the studio without that “big idea” that drove everything (from their writing, to their marketing, to merchandise, to videos) and just wrote and recorded a variety of songs, slapped a cover on the album, and then released it as the latest Beatles effort? The songs would surely still be good, but beyond that, there would have been nothing special about it. It wouldn’t stand out as one of the most creative undertakings in music history—not to mention the marketing of the album would be far less interesting and memorable. Remove the concept (the Big Idea), and the colorful costumes and the catchy name and what you’re left with is just a collection of songs. Just like when you remove the big idea behind a campaign—you’re left with just a collection of products.
Let’s learn from the genius of The Beatles, shall we?
Make sure the concept magnifies something that is special or unique about your brand.
• Create a visually dynamic treatment that makes it stand out from all other messages
• Develop a catchy hook that is simple and impactful (the Big Idea)
• Make sure the concept magnifies something that is special or unique about your brand
• And then use it consistently in all your marketing efforts for an extended period of time
It comes down to this choice: you can either continue selling products on your website, in your emails, in your stores and in your catalogs with nothing that ties all of those efforts together. Or, you can create a campaign centered on a clever idea that becomes the glue for every message you put out—making all channels work together—that people will start to recognize and react to.
Pretty clear choice, if you ask me.
Now, go forth and create your own Sgt. Pepper’s. Mustaches optional.
If you need help creating the Big Idea that will drive a campaign, let me know. It’s what we’re built to do. I’d also be happy to debate the greatest Beatles album ever.
Tags: #campaignbuildingblocks, #campaigncontent, campaigns, contentMarketing