Planning a campaign? Here’s how to get the most out of your creative idea sessions
At Leopard Co, we’re pros at producing award-winning campaigns and, with the festive season in full swing, we’re hard at work spreading the joy with our annual Christmas campaign in collaboration with Birmingham Dogs Home. Following the success of last year’s Inequality Street campaign with SIFA Fireside, this year we were keen to support another fantastic cause – and are helping our local dog shelter host its first ever ‘Festive Feast’.
But how do we come up with innovative ideas and creative concepts that generate real-world impact? We’ve pulled together our top tips for generating the best campaign ideas.
Set your foundations
When you get a juicy brief, it’s easy to let the excitement carry you away – but before you call everyone into a creative idea session, you need to make sure you’ve got your basics nailed down. These include a deep understanding of the following:
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What you’re trying to achieve – i.e. what is the campaign objective
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Your target audience
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The key message/s you're trying to land
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Timings
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Budget
At Leopard Co, we also have our own unique BxROAR methodology – a strategic framework which we use to help us devise the best client marketing communications solutions. At the cornerstone, of BxROAR is a unique understanding of Behaviour science, identifying the ‘nudges’ that will be most effective to engage with the client’s target audience. Based on this insight, we combine with market Research, to then develop the strategic Opportunity from which marketing Activation to deliver Results.
The campaign idea you develop will rely heavily on the goal you’re trying to achieve. For example, a campaign to raise awareness – such as these we ran with Snug Underfloor Heating, which were designed to attract and engage installers and resulted in a seven times increase in Facebook followers in just two months and surpassed average social media engagement rates by over 5,000% on Facebook and 300% on Instagram – will differ from one aimed at driving engagement or changing behaviour – such as this one we did for the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, which aimed to promote the Trust’s new smokefree policy and resulted in us winning Gold in the CIPR Midlands PRide Awards for best STEM Campaign thanks to our impressive results.
It’s vital to keep your target audience in mind too. Your team might be brimming with ideas, but if they don’t align with who the campaign needs to talk to, it won’t achieve the impact you need. Make sure you understand the key motivators and cultural touchpoints for the demographic you’re targeting, as this will have a huge impact on the channels, tone and direction you take.
If the audience only remembers one thing from your campaign, what do you want it to be? This will be largely driven by the objectives and the client’s goals and is central to the success of the campaign.
No idea is a bad idea
There’s a common saying in marketing that no idea is a new idea – but we’re not sure that’s true. At Leopard Co, we’re big believers in thinking outside of the box, imagining big, bold ideas and new, wacky concepts.
‘Blue sky thinking’ is a great approach to take and one we adopt in our creative idea sessions. This means that we don’t set limitations, we don’t judge any ideas, and we don’t shut suggestions down in the early stages. When we’re in the initial stages of exploring a creative idea, all concepts stay on the table because, sometimes, it’s those that seem the most unbelievable at the beginning that end up achieving the best results – and the awards – further down the line.
Don’t lose your strategy
We’ve just said no idea is a bad idea, and that’s true – at the beginning. But as you start to refine your ideas, it’s vital to make sure you remember your strategy and those all-important foundations we set out at the beginning. It’s a fine line to balance strategy and creativity, but it’s vital to bear this in mind: you can have the most creative campaign ever, but if it doesn’t address your goals or resonate with your target audience, you won’t see the results.
Once you’ve narrowed down your favourite ideas, make sure you consider the following points:
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Is your campaign relevant to the audience you’re targeting?
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Does it fit their preferences and speak to their needs?
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Does the idea align to your client’s values and tone? It needs to feel authentic for the brand.
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How shareable is the idea? The campaigns which get the best results are generally those that people want to share, and which get people talking. If a campaign works for multiple channels – owned, earned and paid – you’re likely to be on to a winner.
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Is this actionable? It’s great to think big but remember to factor in budgets and timescales before committing to a plan.
Lean into everyone
You might have a small core team working on a brief, but sometimes it’s a good idea to bring in more voices for the initial creative idea session.
Having people from different departments and backgrounds throwing suggestions into the mix can help provide a diverse range of perspectives, sparking creative ideas that really talk to the audience you’re trying to reach.
Plus, sometimes it’s helpful to hear from people who aren’t very close to the project – it's easy to get weighed down by the nitty-gritty, but having a fresh outlook can bring new ideas.
Think of the bigger picture
While you want your campaign to address key challenges, it’s never a bad idea to think how you could elevate the idea further down the line. Proposals which have the potential to be built upon for future activity are ideal in creating a recognisable brand campaign that has longevity.
Follow our socials to stay up to date with our latest Christmas campaign – and be among the first to see the pictures of the super cute pups at Birmingham Dogs Home!
Feeling inspired to launch a campaign? Get in touch to find out how we can help you!
'Tis the season
This project was about showcasing the power of creativity with purpose, and amplifying voices that too often go unheard. To see it recognised like this, and to know it’s reached and resonated with so many people, means the world to us.
Our Christmas campaign this year is in collaboration with Birmingham Dogs Home, where we’ll be hosting a magical Christmas feast for the shelter’s resident dogs – a ‘Festive Feast.’ We’re asking people to get involved in any way they can, find out how you can help here.
Want to stay updated with our Christmas campaign? Make sure your follow us on socials to keep updated...