It seems to me that in the ultra-competitive business we are in, its easy for creatives to be able to pick out things they DON’T like. Its easy to pick on a brand, a competitor or say you could do something better. For a lot of creatives (and I’ve fallen right into this trap) its tougher to give someone some credit for doing something really well. Its tough, because it’s in our nature to be jealous – we wish we had come up with that! So this will be my spot to pick out a few of my favorite things that are going right in the spaces you might be fast forwarding through with your DVR remotes….
Right now I’m reading the book “Made to Stick” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. ( madetostick.com ) A great book on using a formula for how to make a good idea better or a great idea – “sticky.” Which to them would be the holy grail of ideas. In my small space I just wanted to focus on their first principle in the SUCCESs (Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credibility, Emotional, and Stories) formula – simple. The Heath brothers delve into several traits and the psychology of simple, but the thought that I found to be the most compelling was the equation; Simple = Core + Compact. The Core concept is your core competency and being able to communicate it exactly. Compact, is taking your core and communicating it in a succinct message. When you combine your core competency with a highly compact message, you get a memorable result – the start of a sticky idea. Obviously just from the words in the formula, you can begin to see how an idea is refined into being sticky.
My sticky idea award goes to the U.S. Postal service. Their current ad campaign promotes the use of their flat rate priority mail service and how they’ve streamlined ease of use. I have a confession to make, I am a devout eBay user and have been for probably ten years now, so they got my attention right away. I have to ship oddly sized things all of the time and then worry about how much the shipping will be when I step into the post office. But I don’t think you have to use eBay to feel that pain. As the spots point out, they can ease the shipping problems of personal or business situations. These spots are creative, funny, and to the point. But they are so because of their sticky message: “If it fits, it ships.” What more do you need to know? The US Postal Service ships things, this is their core. Then the message becomes consumer driven – what will it cost me, what do I use, and is it reliable. Well this is answered in a simple sentence. Through the spots they bring in all of the attributes of the SUCCESs formula – Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credibility, Emotional and a Story – making it a very sticky idea. I dare you to not remember that the US Postal Priority Mail service is associated with “If it fits, it ships.”
The creative team that produced the clown spot has a special place in my heart as I hate clowns. They are seemingly innocent, yet highly creepy to me. I don’t think any one in the world could have put together my thoughts about clowns into thirty seconds like they did. Take a look and decide for yourselves if these spots are “sticky.”
