By Jamie Camden

Creativity grows brands. I would be surprised if you haven’t heard this statement in some shape or form. The idea has been proven by several reputable research firms in the media landscape, yet it remains hard to implement. The primary hurdle is that growing a brand takes time and, for the most part, we’ve lost the art of balancing long-term goals with short-term objectives.

Simply put, we’ve become highly short-sighted, perhaps because it’s easier to manage and measure short-term rather than long-term goals. Layer in algorithms, and it’s easy to pinpoint audiences already engaging in sought-after behaviours. The result? We’ve developed an unhealthy codependent relationship with these algorithms that don’t always prioritize the holistic best interest of the brand. It also leads to ads being overlooked or considered annoying by everyone except those ready to buy. Brands often dim their reputation in pursuit of efficient transactions, leaving them stuck on a performance plateau. Algorithms should serve as tools, not solutions.

Reaching individuals not currently in the market requires a completely different creative approach. Since that audience is mostly uninterested in your brand, you must work harder to capture their attention and leave a lasting impression. By doing so, the little seeds you plant in their minds will have a chance to germinate, grow, and do their work when the time is right. This brings us to the most significant challenge we face as we strive to maximize the potential of these platforms to build our brands: attention is limited.

Improving creative effectiveness in digital advertising hinges on how we address the issue of attention. Achieving this requires a combination of creativity and an understanding of what works on each platform. Although it may seem simple, it is quite challenging.

Media science researcher Karen Nelson-Field found that 85% of 130,000 digital ad views failed to achieve the requisite 2.5 seconds of active attention necessary to impact brand recollections and build mental availability. Advertisements below this threshold can only drive a click, whereas those surpassing it can influence future sales. This is the difference between brand advertisements focused on brand-building and those tailored for direct response. The greater the span of active attention, the longer an advertisement can remain in memory and continue to influence brand awareness and sentiment.

Nelson-Field’s findings also revealed that each platform has a threshold for user attention to advertisements. This is determined by the platform and format, not the creative. As a result, optimizing your media plan for attention is becoming increasingly important.

While platform and format choices determine the range of attention ads can receive, strong creative ads are more likely to sit at the top of that range.

The reality is that creativity fosters brand growth. In becoming hyper-focused on rationalizing the present to predict the future, we are missing out on the magic that lies in the unknown. It’s about taking creative chances and continually learning.

Build it for the platform

To effectively advertise on different platforms, it’s important to understand the platform’s dynamics and the expectations of its audience. Each has its own content best practices; learning these rules can help you gain more attention and achieve better results. Best practices should be reviewed by format and objectives as nuances do exist and present a powerful tool for combating attention deficits.

While it might feel like an unnecessary level of detail, the proverbial “juice” is very much worth the squeeze. Research from Ipsos shows that tailored ads crafted for specific digital channels have a greater impact on brand equity. This is true across all platforms and channels. Adhering to platform-specific best practices, such as using emerging story arcs on YouTube or starting with a captivating opening on TikTok, yields better results. Fight the urge to repurpose advertisements from one platform to another in the name of efficiency.

Building stronger creative.

Producing strong creative is a fulsome discussion that we won’t delve into here but having been in numerous meetings on platform-specific best practices over the years, I’ve taken away a few key principles for strong creative:

• Aim to gain attention fast
• Make it ownable
• Tell a story
• Standout or be unconventional
• Evoke emotion

While these may not seem ground-breaking, they’re a good place to start when evaluating creativity and can serve as guideposts when navigating this dynamic industry. While best practices provide a solid foundation, we want to avoid mediocrity and similarities in our efforts, so we must be fluid in adopting and using them to their fullest.

Jamie Camden is director of strategy at Initiative.