There once was a time when memorable campaigns were built on the backs of big television budgets. The creative idea – big, brilliant and buzzworthy – was rooted in the television script. And even though more and more digital channels have come online over the past 10-15 years, there’s been a tendency in this industry to treat those channels as add-ons, with television still doing the bulk of the heavy lifting. The thinking in the industry has been, in other words, “Let’s first figure out what our big idea is on television and we’ll figure out the digital extensions afterward.”
The problem with this approach is twofold. First, when the main idea is thought of in the context of television, with other channels/ideas bolted on afterward, the universe of ideas/touchpoints inevitably bends to the television concept. Second, when television is the main idea, a much larger media budget is required, often resulting in an inefficient allocation of media dollars overall.
That’s why, at GSD&M, we prefer the following approach.
When the big idea is media agnostic, we can more effectively leverage all the assets we have at our disposal, making every dollar of our media budget count. Second, with a fully integrated big idea, each channel feeds the other channels seamlessly and effectively, creating deeper consumer engagement at every touchpoint.
This is the power of beginning with a big idea. This is why big ideas still matter. Because in a world where media is increasingly fragmented and budgets are getting tighter, a super-smart, fully-integrated big idea can make all the difference.
Images courtesy of GSD&M.
