What Makes a Strong Creative?

Follow our 4-step process to craft Smart, Bold creative campaigns.

Note: This article also features insights from Senior Graphic Designer Margaret Diggins and Content Manager Ryan Pleggenkuhle.

We are constantly exposed to advertisements, both online and in the real world. In fact, most Americans see between 4,000 and 10,000 ads daily, according to multiple sources.

How many of those ads will resonate with you? Maybe two or three?

So, rather than blaming short attention spans for a marketing campaign’s poor performance, maybe we should be asking: Has the campaign earned the consumer’s attention?

That’s where your creativity comes in. Creative quality is a major differentiator that can make or break your campaigns.

With that in mind, here are four best practices we recommend for developing a strong campaign creative.

1. Start with a Detailed Creative Brief.

A brief sets the foundation for the creative process, guiding the entire marketing team through planning, messaging and design. It defines goals and objectives, target audiences, key messages, creative direction, deliverables and more.

At this stage, campaign deliverables and digital tactics are outlined alongside key performance indicators (KPIs). Tactics will vary by campaign objective. For example, a first-time homebuyer campaign will require a much more targeted, specific approach than one focused on general brand awareness.

A well-defined brief is essential from the get-go, ensuring all creative elements align with the campaign’s objectives.

2. Understand Your Audience to Tailor Your Imagery and Messaging. 

What are we trying to communicate? And to whom?

When starting a creative project, it’s essential to have a deep understanding of your target audience. This will help you create relatable visuals and messaging that resonate and generate engagement.

Are you marketing to entrepreneurs with dreams of business ownership? Parents looking for the best savings tool to establish their child’s financial foundation? First-time homebuyers ready to take the next step?

Always tailor visuals and messaging in a way that connects with your specific audience.

For example, let’s say you’re creating an ad to market a small business loan. In this case, you might choose imagery that depicts a business owner in their element (e.g., a person wearing business casual attire in an office setting). And when you’re marketing to parents looking for a youth savings account, you may opt for an image of a happy young family.

When selecting photography, you’ll choose between custom or stock images. There are pros and cons to both.

Custom photography offers an authentic way to connect with audiences, but it can be expensive and challenging to source a diverse range of high-quality images. Stock photography, on the other hand, provides a broad selection and allows filtering by criteria such as age, ethnicity and composition, but may come across as less genuine.

When creating the message:

• Craft copy that stands out (e.g., a punchy headline) and is easy to skim.
• Consider using bullet points when applicable.
• Experiment with differentiating text sizes and formatting (e.g., bold, italic or underlined).
• Apply clear calls-to-action (e.g., “Get Started Today” or “Take The Next Step!”).

It’s also important to consider the ad specifications and placement. Digital ads have limited space, so messages should be brief and impactful. Print ads generally offer more real estate, allowing for added detail.

3. Abide by These Rules When Crafting Branded Visuals.

A consistent visual style is critical to building a strong, recognizable brand.

Follow these 8 rules to ensure your creative’s visuals are successful:

1. Use fonts that are specified in the brand guidelines and use no more than two to three fonts at a time. Adding an accent font to your layout can be a fantastic way to highlight important callouts and CTAs.
2. Use colors that align with your brand guidelines to create a unified look and ensure the creative is instantly identifiable.
3. Use imagery with a consistent style and treatment (lifestyle or product, photo-editing techniques and image containers).
4. Artwork should be in the same illustrative style.
5. Graphics and headlines are often the first things readers notice, serving as visual focal points. To keep viewers engaged, it’s helpful to arrange the information in a clear hierarchy, highlighting what’s most important. This way, your message is both eye-catching and easy to understand.
6. The composition should draw the reader’s eye through the information.
7. Adding motion (when applicable) can level up the creative while increasing overall engagement.
8. Always include the logo for brand awareness. It should be grounded and aid in the overall design, not detract from it.

4. Establish Specific Goals and Track Your Results.

Setting KPIs aligned with specific goals is essential to planning a successful campaign.

Common KPIs include:

• Click-through rate
• Engagement
• Conversion rate

Next, create tracking URLs, known as UTMs, to measure performance across different channels. UTM parameters are tags added to the end of a URL that help track how users interact with your campaign.

Creating a unique UTM for each channel or tactic is important for identifying which marketing efforts are driving traffic to your landing page. These links can be used in QR codes on print materials like postcards, as well as in digital placements such as display ads, email campaigns and social media.

With these strategies in place, you can monitor performance metrics such as engagement rate, traffic sources, session duration and conversions in Google Analytics.

Final Takeaway: Campaign Success Isn't Accidental. 

Strong campaigns don’t happen by chance. They’re built on a solid foundation that includes a detailed brief, defined audience, clear messaging, appealing branded visuals and measurable results.

It’s easy to overlook these steps when executing a campaign, but skipping the fundamentals can impact performance. Ensuring your entire team works toward a shared goal is ultimately what drives a campaign’s success.

Ready to create your own SMART, BOLD creative campaign?