As the year comes to end, the advertising industry seeks to recognize exceptional work through award shows and festivals. In these forums, creativity is celebrated. Creative talent is reinforced as a staple of the industry. This has been the norm for a long time now; however, there seems to be an undercurrent of change in the industry, as advertising evolves its techniques to stay relevant to current times.
Advertising is rewarded nowadays not only for being creative, but also for being effective. Results are expected every time an investment is made. The more people are exposed to advertising over time, the less susceptible they are to it. Mad Men creativity doesn’t cut it anymore. The scope of work of what originally started as a ‘creative’ agency is now much wider: clients expect new kinds of services and solutions that do not necessarily rely on creative talent. Not only are agencies expected to provide strategic advice on top of creative expertise, the rise of hybrid agencies offering digital in addition to experiential services is challenging the traditional ‘creative agency’ set-up.
This approach to evaluating advertising efforts reflects the evolved state of people’s relationship with brands. In an increasingly fragmented media landscape, people are putting to the test every piece of communication they receive from brands. The rise of experiential as a discipline of marketing indicates a mild shift away from traditional advertising as the focal point of communication. Creativity is no longer the only means of influencing consumers. The experience created by the brand has the ability to influence perception too. Experience is often sensorial; when and if creativity is involved in creating it, it takes a different form than the one we typically see from creative agencies.
While the potency of a truly creative idea allows it to live across channels and formats, brands are slowly migrating towards a model that allows more transparency. Brands now try to inspire a higher degree of believability through relevant content. The line between advertising and publishing is thinning as brands seek to become reliable sources of news within their category.
The use of hyperbole does not fit within this context, for advertising has always relied on exaggeration to deliver its message: creativity is necessary to manipulate perception. While it is true that we sometimes identify with a certain wit in creativity, we rely on it less and less in the informed decisions we make. As consumers expect greater value from brands, advertising is finding new ways of delivering it, and it is not always through creativity – at least not the one we’ve been used to.
It would be far-fetched to say creativity in advertising is no longer necessary, but it is perhaps closer to the truth to say it is no longer fundamental.