Another world-changing idea? How boring.
While some brands focus on novelty and clicks, All Or Nothing's Warren Davies argues that long term work that 'works' is still a key part of landing messages that enable behaviour change.
In Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle the [spoiler alert] end of the world is brought about in hilarious circumstances by Dr Felix Hoenikker. Felix is a brilliant scientific researcher at the General Forge and Foundry Company where proactive research is generously funded and thunderbolts of inspiration like the fatal Ice-nine are commonplace. Sure enough it breaks containment and we all end up like so many ice cubes as earth freezes over. Inspired madness can change a brand, business or market (or world, for Felix) but so many ideas of this kind fall short. Why is that, and when are they called for in commercial creativity?
You need to be careful with your Ice-nine, naturally. Social research of the past two decades shows there are most often two ways ideas spread, are accepted and behavior change takes place. Complex asks of people, with significant change required, take time and need more interactions over time from person to person, community to community. Think ‘sexual health programs’ or attitudes to driving for young people. These ideas require ‘broad bridges’ from one group of people to the next with lots of connections between them. Simple asks with little change required (and even a hint of madness) can spread quickly from one community to the next, but also be forgotten just as quickly. These ideas cross narrow bridges (often through ‘weak ties’ between people) and can spread quickly.
I LOVE meatballs, which pains me as an aspiring vegan in the land of meat and fish (Portugal). When I saw recently that Sydney food tech startup Vow had ‘created’ a lab-grown Wooly Mammoth meatball I smiled broadly. It speaks to their mad scientist DNA, was sure to pick up some press, and opens up some conversations. For a startup it’s cheap, quick and appeals to their vanity. It’s a good example of an idea that can spread quickly across narrow bridges, but will it influence the majority of the beef and meatball crowd to go meat-free? Probably not. Meat-free may be the future but see Vow take the lead with a more familiar marketing approach would help. Borrow from the big supermarket chains and use faces we all know, recipes the kids like and buy up media near habitual purchase moments like after-school runs, evening crossfit and the PT commute home from work.
A similar idea launched in March for Honest Eggs Co where VMLY&R slapped some trackers on chickens to collect their tiny steps and show the difference between free range and battery chook eggs. It’s fun, honest and tight to the proposition for free range eggs and ethical farming. Will it land for the millions of egg buyers from Robe to Rockhampton? With a lot of time and money behind it, perhaps… but in itself it might only raise a smile from the creative community.
It seems to often be the case in Australia that we end up making ‘either/or’ decisions about creative and media where novel concepts are pitched hard by agencies against more familiar and responsible programs. Ideally it shouldn’t be the case and we’re doing both wherever possible (ahh those USA or UK budgets!). If we’re doing the work let’s give it the best chance of success, right?
Novelty puts you in harm’s way, it crashes through, it puts WAP on every Uber car stereo when it probably shouldn’t be there (great song). While every too-long-at-it agency lifer or headstrong client will bend your ear about new ground being the only ground worth taking, it’s more an indication of how niche creative communications can be in the attempt to land anything with the masses today.
It would be refreshing to hear some more honest conversations about what a business actually needs to achieve, what it’s worth to them and see the patience to see it through with a few hard-working partners. There are many more great agencies and clients doing patient, long-term work that works, than there are David Copperfields enabled by breathless media, but novelty creates clicks (at least from us, here) if not from actual customers to the brand site.
A UK thought piece on the rise of dominant ‘average’ culture/aesthetic recently wrapped it up by saying we in the industry must lustily ‘zig when everybody else zags,’ with a nod to Sir John Hegarty. But the opposite of average is not unusual, it’s extraordinary. And that’s worth doing, and it works.
Warren Davies is owner and managing director at All Or Nothing.
How about a novel, dare I say gimmicky idea that gets attention, which refers back to a larger, long term message (brand platform/tagline). The best creative agencies when they do their job properly, and aren’t out for the short term gains, offer this.
User ID not verified.