You just might have yourself a legendary creative idea if it:
Has not been done before by anyone else. For starters using someone else’s creative idea is stealing. If your employees, competitors or customers find out your marketing was pilfered (and they will) you’ll destroy their trust.
Is impossible to ignore. No matter where your idea runs, it absolutely must get noticed. No matter how good you think it is, if people don’t see it, it’s worthless.
Is unforgettable. If people notice your idea but don’t remember it and your brand, game over.
Not only aligns with but demonstrates and supercharges your brand promise. Ever seen an ad that you loved but can’t remember who it was for? This is how you prevent that problem from happening to your brand.
Has more legs than a Rockettes’ 30-year reunion. A truly great idea will almost immediately spawn dozens of other creative executions that can run for years and years without getting old.
Can be executed and distributed within budget. If it requires more money than you have in budget for production and media it’s off-strategy. On the other hand, if you really believe in it – try to find that extra money.
Will help achieve your marketing objectives – drive more leads, increase awareness, motivate trial, inspire referrals, increase sales volume, change attitudes, etc., etc.
Does not violate any copyright laws. Unless you’re willing to pay big bucks, it shouldn’t use any imagery, music or likeness that belongs to someone else.
Can be effortlessly integrated across paid, owned and earned media. All big ideas inspire a cornucopia of exciting marketing opportunities for every medium out there.
Physically and emotionally jolts you with a thunderbolt of wonderful surprise. People are hard-wired for novelty and surprise. The most memorable and effective brand experiences are surprisingly delightful.
Is based on an undeniable brand truth – even if it’s a little stretched. If it’s not true or you can’t live up to the message, don’t do it. Nothing will kill sales faster than great advertising for a product that can’t live up to expectations.
Actually enhances every environment in which it appears. Otherwise it’s brand pollution, not marketing.
Is more entertaining, interesting, valuable or informative than anything else in the medium in which it appears. It’s a tall order but well worth the effort.
Is evergreen. Big ideas are just as powerful five years out as year one.
Will be so welcomed and appreciated by your potential customers they’ll rethink getting ad blocking software and devices.
Motivates and rewards your customers with so much social capital they’ll share it with their social networks and those social networks will share it with their social networks and so on and so on.
Clearly and powerfully differentiates you from your competitors and ultimately gives you an unassailable position in the market.
Like flies on honey, attracts journalists, reporters and bloggers who want to cover it in print, online and broadcast.
Makes you nervous. Approving big ideas is a scary proposition. Some people won’t like it. It’s going to get noticed. You’re going to get noticed. But when it succeeds, it’s going to be all you.
Makes your competitors jealous.
Makes your employees proud.
Makes your Mom proud.
Makes you more money. “You” as in your company and “you” as in you personally – see 19.
Can be tracked and quantified for effectiveness. If you can’t measure it you can’t prove it’s a success and you won’t be able to optimize it moving forward.
Can’t legitimately be done by anyone else. The “U” in USP does stand for unique.
Still feels like a big idea 24 hours later. Put it aside for 24 hours and come back to it. If it doesn’t feel right anymore discard it.
Will win creative awards. According to research on 200 case studies over an 8-year period, the IPA concluded “award-winning ads are 11 times more effective.”
Of course all the above is predicated upon you having a great brand platform. One that clearly defines:
What you do best and are most profitable doing.
That you customers truly want and need.
Which your competitors are unable or unwilling to do.
To see some legendary work we've created click here.