“We want to do something that no one else has ever done!”

This is what Jeben Berg, creative director of cross-platform solutions for YouTube and Google, told me he hears several times a week from all types of companies.  Imagine being in his shoes, guiding the creative direction of one of the hottest social media platforms, tasked with coming up with the next viral video sensation…everyday.  Sounds pretty daunting.

I had the chance to have dinner with Berg last week when he was in town for a presentation to the Wichita American Marketing Association.  Listening to the challenges and triumphs of his team, my appreciation for the creative process was rekindled.  I am lucky to work with a group of very talented writers and designers.  Sometimes, I take the creative ideas for granted, and I know I shouldn’t do that.

I think it has to do with the nature of the advertising agency business.  The expectations levied upon agencies as being factories for new and innovative ways to reach audiences can lead us to think that great ideas can be manufactured like airplanes and automobiles.  The thing is, there is no great process that logically leads from one step to another and “Boom!” a winning creative idea rolls off the assembly line.

Coming up with good ideas is hard.  And the reality is that getting the idea is only half the battle.  Execution of that idea is just as critical.  Which made me think of those people who are brought an amazing idea and then asked, “How can we make this happen?”  That can be as stressful as having to come up with the idea in the first place.

I guess the point is that great advertising and creative work arrives at the mountaintop on the backs of a talented group of people each contributing their skills, either in creative conceptualizing or execution.  Many things must go right for success, but just a few wrong moves can mean disaster.  Therefore, when we see an ad that strikes us or visit a Web site that seems to get who we are, we should stop for a minute and think of everything that had to happen to bring us to that moment.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Annais.

Stacks of phone books

If your company invests heavily in yellow page advertising, or relies on it for leads, then you had better be giving your Web site some attention. According to a study from Telmetrics, 44% of the leads generated by print yellow page ads come from a consumer going to the company’s Web site after reading the ad.

So, what does this mean for your Web site? Well, for one, it should do a great job of communicating your core brand promise and why people should choose you over the competition.

Second, it should be customer focused. Your consumer, whether they found your site by reading a yellow page ad, searching with Google or some other means, arrived with a particular problem or question. Does your site answer questions and provide solutions or is it just a static brochure with your contact information?

What this research really speaks to is marketing integration. It is no longer enough to execute on a single advertising tactic really well and neglect the rest of the consumer process. Companies must consider how their marketing tactics work together and how to benefit from the synergy of multi-media strategies.

Next time you look at that yellow page contract, take time to consider your Web presence. Unless you’re okay missing out on 44% of your potential leads, that is.

Photo courtest of Flickr user frankh.

My father used to keep a sign on his desk at work that said, “Brevity is a virtue.” He was a busy man — always more of a doer than a talker, and was constantly annoyed by people who liked to spend hours talking about a problem rather than doing something about it. At age 70, he still has more energy and initiative than any three other people I know, combined.

If I didn’t look so much like him, I would swear we weren’t related. As a writer, I am prone to the obligatory pitfalls of excessive daydreaming, procrastinating and general goofing around that seem to plague the profession. But, as fathers usually are, he is right. And if you are trying to attract new customers, you should listen to him.

People are busy. They may not be getting anything done, but they are busy nonetheless. And if you want to interrupt their lives and expect them to listen to what you have to say, you had better get their attention…and you’d better be brief.

People make split-second decisions about businesses in the same way that they do with people — through first impressions. In advertising, these first impressions are the print ads, the radio and television spots, the outdoor boards, the Web banners.

When meeting someone at a party who won’t shut up about themselves, most will label them a bore and tune out. It’s the same with advertising. You want to leave them intrigued, inspired, and maybe even enthused about wanting to get to know you better. But you want customers to come to you for that information. You want them to initiate the contact.

Which leads us to the places where it is actually good form to prattle on exhaustively about the benefits of your product or service. The Web sites, the 800 numbers and the brochures work great for answering all the questions (though even these need to be well-organized and to the point.) The trick is to get people asking YOU for the answers. To do that you need to be brief, among other things.