In order for your marketing strategy to produce an effective result, you need to make a creative strategy. It consists of two parts: creative and strategic. The first stage is the teamwork of designers, copywriters, photographers, etc. Each of these specialists has certain tools that are the basis for a marketing strategy. The second stage is strategic planning, when all ideas are collected together, forecast possible performance indicators and added to the marketing project.
Creative advertising campaigns help determine the goals of the strategy and methods of its implementation. This method of work creates content that will meet the needs and pain points of a potential client. Сreative strategy consists of the following processes:
- Study of the target audience;
- Strategy action plan development;
- Development of a marketing plan that will help to realize it.
Creative strategy in advertising may differ from the general advertising campaign. For example, one approach focuses on design, and the other one is on an interesting phrase that is associated with the brand. When there is a harmonious combination between different approaches, the strategy is more effective. That is why creative social media campaigns will differ from a campaign on the website, because this strategy depends on the goals and platform of the implementation of the idea.
Why you need a creative strategy in your Marketing Plan. A creative marketing plan is a prediction of results from content. This method helps to create a visual representation of how your product achieves specific goals during the implementation of the marketing strategy. Creative marketing strategy is about visualization, which helps to find new solutions, to analyze whether your plan is effective.
It is also a strategic approach when the company plans certain steps that will help develop and scale the business. Copywriters, art directors, designers work on creating advertising that should achieve the objectives of the strategy. Creative marketing tactics are implemented on different platforms, and they also have a different format and visual content. So planning creative strategy requires asking the following questions:
- What is the story and purpose of the product/business?
- What are the Customers’ needs/pains?
- What platforms will be used when promoting?
- How much budget are you ready to allocate for creative content marketing?
Before launching a marketing strategy, you need to determine the formats of product promotion, as well as additional tools for this. One of the types of creative strategy is videos, podcasts, webinars, etc. Another task is to create your brand identity. It’s about exclusive texts, visuals, tone of voice, etc.
Top 5 elements of creative strategy
Each strategy differs in its plan of action and goals, but there are important elements without which it is impossible to launch a promotion.
1. Brand recognition
To create a unique marketing strategy, you need to identify the company among competitors. So it is important to answer the following questions: business goals, brand history, mission and product values.
2. The purpose of the strategy
A creative strategy professional should have a goal to implement each item from the promotion plan. This includes product positioning, brand mission and vision, and goals.
3. Target audience
Creative internal communication campaigns can’t be implemented without analyzing the audience of your product. This is about age, social and financial status, interests, etc. After this analysis, you will form audience portraits that will help reflect the real needs of your customers.
4. USP
Why is your product better than the competition? This is also part of creative strategy digital. Unique Selling Proposition helps to distinguish your product in the market and offer a profitable offer to the customer.
5. TOV
Tone of Voice is how your product will communicate with the audience. Creative strategy development helps determine which phrases or words will identify your brand. This will help attract a new audience.
Creative strategy development process. This phase consists of four parts: planning, development, implementation and measurement.
Planning and development
Consult with a creative strategy consultant about the goals of your campaign. Increase the activity of the audience, attract new customers or increase sales.
Identify audience concerns.
When you will present the advantages of your product, then simultaneously use the pain points of the audience as a promotion tool. Think about what problem your business solves and how your product can make people’s lives easier. Add this knowledge about your customers to your marketing strategy.
Choose a creative strategy.
When each member of the team offers his idea, there is a chance to choose the most effective approaches for promotion. Creative objectives for advertising is a structured plan that has limited time limits.
USP for business
Identify why your product is better than others, what is unique, and why people buy from you.
Implementation and measurement
This includes the pre-test, when the new strategy is tested and the first results are analyzed. The next step is campaign evaluation, so you can see how effectively your strategy is working.
The last stage is data optimization, when you can attract new platforms, research consumer behavior and create a more successful strategy for a similar project.
