In my nearly 40 years in a communications career, I have had the opportunity to work with many outstanding creative directors (several with national credentials), creative writers and art directors. During that time, it has become obvious that great creative is not, itself, so obvious. On occasion, some mediocre creative rang true with the audience and got great results. At other times, great looking creative that won awards didn’t score with the audience.

With this in mind, here are a few observations from a business viewpoint that I would like to share about the creative process and that should be at the very core of that process.

•  Creative is interrupting the mundane and getting consideration of the message. It’s not just about awareness — but about changing behavior, causing someone to act on the message.

•  Creative is more about getting results and being evaluated against clients’ business objectives than about winning creative awards given by other art directors and writers.

•  Creative should always demonstrate return on the investment and effort.

•  Creative should be founded in research of what motivates the clients’ audiences.

If creative is entertaining or humorous, it should be because that was what was needed in that particular instance, not because we are entertainers. Creative should never be produced in a “creative vacuum,” but rather squarely in the purview of the clients’ business imperatives.

Look at some of the effective creative that GodwinGroup has produced for clients, and tell us what you think constitutes effective creative.

• Creative Marketing work on Godwin.com
• Effective Televsion work on Godwin's YouTube channel

What kinds of advertising do you find yourself drawn toward and why?