Choosing Creative Concepts:

How to Decide Which Advertising Idea to Select. Have you ever looked at your graphic designer or advertising agency’s ideas and wondered which to choose? One may look more visually appealing than another, but what you really want to identify is the one that will present the right image for your company, communicate your message most effectively and ultimately generate most sales.

Asking the questions below will help you decide. The technique works whether it’s a new logo, a leaflet or flyer, business cards or the design for a web site.

But first, one major piece of advice that overrides all others; what you think about the item is irrelevant. You have to put yourself in the customer’s shoes – what will they think of it? You might like pretty pink flowers, but if it doesn’t present the appropriate quality image in the eyes of the audience it will fail.

Does it Meet the Brief?

The design you’re looking at can only ever be as good as the information you gave the designer. If you don’t like what you see it could be because you didn’t provide the right information.

At this stage you may realise that the design has met the brief but it’s not actually what you’re looking for. In which case you’ll have to ask the designer to redo it – it’s better to do this now rather than after you’ve produced it.

Does it Clearly Explain your Unique Selling Points (USP)?

Are your USPs clearly outlined in the piece? If you have a choice of designs select the one that most clearly demonstrates the benefits your product or service gives to customers.

Does it Say What you Want the Customer to Do and Why?

The purpose of your marketing is to create some kind of reaction. It might be a purchase, an enquiry or to seek more information. It may even be to add something to a debate or spread knowledge. These aims are all fine – just make sure the item makes clear what it is you want your reader to do. And say why they should.

If you want them to buy now, say ‘buy now and get a discount of XX%’. If you want them to visit your website say ‘visit our website and sign up for our newsletter’ and give them the web address in big, clear letters.

What was your Initial Reaction?

Whatever it was, it’s likely to provoke the same reaction in other people who see it. If you thought the colours were a bit garish, so will some of your audience. Don’t ignore this feeling as you’ll only have seconds to gain someone’s interest.

What’s your Gut Feel?

This doesn’t mean you should make the decision based purely on instinct. On the contrary, it needs time and careful analysis to produce an effective piece. But if something is nagging you – good or bad – you need to explore what it is and act accordingly.

Now you’ve answered these questions, from the potential customer’s perspective rather than your own, you’re ready to make the choice on which design to go with. There are other decisions to make, e.g. colours, fonts, actual words etc., but the steps above are the fundamental starting point.

The key aspect to making the right choice is the quality of the original brief. If this isn’t good enough, your designer’s advertising concepts and ideas will not meet your requirements