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Over the past fifteen years, I’ve watched countless client service people, agency planners and creative directors go through near on nervous breakdowns when developing creative briefs.

I’ve witnessed screaming, tantrums and even physical threats all because of one small box found in every single brief titled ‘proposition’.

So, why the big fuss?

Well, it’s because the creative proposition is a big deal. In fact, it’s probably the most important element within a brief. Get it right and the creative people will have a strong foundation to develop compelling ideas to promote your business.

But if the proposition is weak, then even the best art directors and copywriters will struggle to produce an advertising idea that will motivate prospects to buy from you.

So, what is a proposition?

In essence, it’s the single most persuasive thing a brand or product can say about itself; it’s the elevator pitch in one short sentence.

And it’s this that a creative team will use to develop your campaign. It would be reasonable to say that strong propositions generally lead to strong advertising ideas.

With all that in mind, it’s worth considering what makes a proposition powerful:

 1   To begin with, it ought to be focussed. Throw one ball at someone and they’ll catch it. Throw loads and they’ll probably miss them all. Propositions work much the same way. Keep yours single-minded and your audience is more likely to grasp it.

 2.   A proposition also needs to be motivating. This is why it should include a customer benefit; a reason why your prospect should even think about engaging with your brand and, hopefully, buying from you rather than a competitor. They want to know ‘what’s in it for me?’

 3.   Finally, it should be distinctive. A customer benefit is important but there’s no point offering exactly the same as everyone else. If your proposition isn’t distinctive, then your advertising probably won’t be, either.

Of course, there have been plenty of successful campaigns that would contradict everything just mentioned. So it’s worth emphasising that all of the above is a guide not a rule.

And that is precisely why propositions spark so many heated debates...

Xanthos Christodoulou, Creative Partner, Wand

You can’t bore people into buying a product. That may sound obvious but there’s plenty of dull web copy out there so what’s going on?

Why would anyone invest hundreds of hours and thousands of pounds building a website and then go and undermine it all with a few carelessly chosen words?

The problem is the words aren’t carelessly chosen at all.

They’re often picked with a great deal of thought, care and attention. That’s because, more often than not, the web copy has been written with search engine optimisation (SEO) in mind.

It goes without saying that SEO is crucial. Making sure you’re using the right mix of key words is vital when it comes to ensuring your business tops a search engine’s rankings. You know that if you get it right, customers will walk through your online door.

However, those same key words won’t persuade your customers to part with their money. To do that, you need to ensure your copy is relevant, benefit-led and engaging.

Well, here’s one approach that you may want to consider:

Rather than let key words dictate the flow, content and structure of your web copy, develop the copy as if SEO wasn’t on the radar at all.

Then, once you have copy that sings and sparkles; that really promotes your brand and brings all your product benefits to life, carefully integrate your key words ensuring the flow, tone and style are not compromised.

That way, you’re more likely to satisfy a search engine’s requirements and your customers’ desires at the same time - with fully optimised web copy.

Xanthos Christodoulou, Creative Partner, Wand.

Your baby’s first steps, the taste of your mother's freshly baked bread, the scent of newly blossomed spring flowers; these are the sort of memories that stay with us forever.

But what about yesterday’s ads? How big an impact have they made on you? Can you still remember any of them today?

Even one?

Generally speaking, most of us become immune to advertising messages and that’s no surprise when you consider that, on average, we’re exposed to around 2,500 ads every day.

They're online, on petrol pumps, in magazines, on TV, in the press, on the radio, we see them during sporting events and they’ve even appeared on the moon; they are quite literally everywhere.

And yet, we rarely recall a single one.

Why?

The simple answer is that we’re more likely to engage with and remember something when it inspires, excites and interests us. And most ads don’t.

Regardless of how timely, how well targeted or how relevant an advertising message is, if it’s delivered in an uninspiring way then, the chances are, it won’t make much of an impact.

This is why creativity is so important in advertising. How we package and deliver our message is as important as the message itself if we want to engage, persuade and create a lasting impression.

What’s more, an advertising idea that delivers that all important cut-through won’t just generate more business, it’ll save you money, too, as you won’t have to rely on a big media budget to get your message across.

So a strong creative idea is a must. But how can you be sure that an advertising idea is going to be a winner?

There are no guarantees, but there is a simple test.

Next time you’re in a creative presentation don’t make a quick decision as gut instincts can often mislead. Instead, sleep on it.

If you can still clearly remember the idea the next day, the chances are so will your customers.

Xanthos Christodoulou, Creative Partner, Wand.