The next generation needs our help, so let's inspire them.

I get asked lots of questions from students about the creative industry. Most of the time people ask me about design but occasionally I'm asked about other areas. These are from the people that want to be creative but in different areas. Therefore it's very hard for these young people to know how to ask the right questions or seek the right advice about possible careers.

This morning I received just such an email from a young person called Jack. He asked about graphic design. This would be a good area for him to study.

“Potentially as a job I would like to not design graphics but be creative in my own way. I'm sorry but it is hard to explain but an example of what I would like to do is me (be) given a few pictures, a title and text from my employer for a poster and i choose how to lay it out, what colours to use, what font etc.

I was wondering if choosing graphic design in college for me is a good idea and if not what would you advise? A response would be really appreciative.”

The answer about graphics is simple - 'Yes'. But there is much more to think about. I thought by sharing this it might help other people in a similar situation.

I replied:

“Hi Jack,

You know, firstly I wanted to do graphics so I got good at understanding what good graphics look like. Then, when I set up my first business I found out that to be really successful in this this industry you need to understand much more. Much more than they will ever teach you at school or college (your school and future college will not like me for saying this but it's true). Don't get me wrong, your schooling and college teaching is absolutely required to help provide a solid grounding to begin so please work hard in this area.

The creative industry is huge. It's not just about 'being a graphic designer'. These days consumers are faced with an overload of information - adverts are everywhere; TV, mobile, tablet, laptop, high street – you name it.

Try remembering 3 adverts you saw from yesterday. Most people I ask this question with struggle and I've not asked anyone your age before so you might be different. My point is this though; most advertising, which is produced by all different types of people in the creative industry, goes to waste. These days the thing that business that wants the most is the best IDEA.

You mentioned wanting to become successful in your own way. Well one of these ways is to be the person that comes up with ideas for TV / internet adverts and printed media / websites etc. These people are called 'advertising' and 'marketing people' - they create ideas that are in tune with the dreams of the consumer. These people work with designers in addition to other types of creative people and directly with clients.

There are some really good people to listen to on a global level for when you're ready. Perhaps the best person (for me at least) is a guy called Kevin Roberts. He is the World-Wide CEO of a company called Saatchi & Saatchi and he looks after a global creative team of over 5000 people over the world. You can YouTube him and listen to some of the stuff he talks about. I think that if you look in this direction you might find the inspiration and direction you're truly looking for.

I hope this helps you Jack. Good luck and don't ever be afraid to reach for the stars.”

Some people though want to head off in their own direction; coming up with powerful ideas that they have created themselves to help market brands and then combine them with graphic design they are also creating themselves to hopefully produce great advertisements.

www.SensationCreative.com

Table stakes aren't enough.

Bigger, brighter, whiter or faster. These are all table stakes – the minimum requirements. They might let you sit in the mix for a while but playing with table stakes alone is a dangerous long term business strategy. Brands need something more to create meaningful consumer relationships.

It’s not enough to market products at people based on table stakes alone. As we know, ‘yell to sell’ doesn't work and repetition is a turn off; it’s intrusive and borderline offensive which is an insult to our brains – ‘I didn't give a shit the first time around, so why would I care the second, third, forth etcetera’ kind of thing.

I know that sounds harsh but it's just what every consumer is thinking when you start pushing the same tech / products that everyone else pushing. So what are brands to do in the battle for attraction and to win the consumer over?

The pulling power that brands once took for granted has diminished. The supermarket’s own brands have keyed in to table stakes – they do the same stuff but without the premium. Our consumer is wise to this which has led to another problem; it’s killed marketing.

The traditional marketing they teach you at college has been surpassed. Yes, you will need to understand this first to understand what comes next – a bit like a history lesson.

The hype is over.

Just in case you missed it, this happened in the 90's. People don’t believe the majority of marketing hype – it’s all been done. The role of marketing is now about connecting our consumer with a product or service. And don’t worry about having to explain much - she is very savvy and capable of making up her own mind on your idea. The important thing is that she gets it and fast. Complex, long-winded processes aren't going to simplify her life and make it any better.

With brands that struggle to maintain their premium and marketing strategies that lead to intrusive advertising that no one wants, connecting with our consumer is more difficult than ever.

For example: How many ads do you remember from yesterday? Try remembering just three. Having trouble? Of course the reality is that you have in fact been subject to hundreds. And there’s another problem; people have become immune to advertising to the point where they simply switch off.

These days we need to be much more empathetic and creative. We need to inspire movements but we can’t do anything without engaging the consumer first. How do we do this?

Become irresistible.

In a world where virtually nothing is irreplaceable the trick is to become irresistible.

What is needed now are ideas that are able to connect with consumers emotionally. This helps to create purpose inspired movements and drive brand engagement through free will and choice. Understanding consumer engagement is complex and different for each brand. However, the fact is the consumer wants to be in charge, is in charge and has the power to pick and drop at will. We need to recognise and understand this.

Respect.

For a start we need to stop treating consumers as cash machines and start respecting them as humans. Shareholders and business people who are concerned by figures only will no doubt disagree. To them often the point of business in the first place is to create shareholder value. They’ll change there ideas eventually.

It’s important to hand over power to the consumer. I know, people in business like to be in control but we need to shift focus and here’s why.

When a product really connects with a consumer it becomes more than a ‘like’. You’re more likely to hear ‘I love’ that or this.

People that 'love' a brand for example (it could be anything else such as a product, service, place, football team) means that they are more likely to go beyond logical reason in order to pursue it. This is because it reaches beyond rational thoughts digging up irrational feelings associated with love as emotional behaviour.

Kevin Roberts, World Wide CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi calls these brands ‘Lovemarks’. Lovemarks are what Roberts terms as ‘The future beyond brands’. It’s when a brand super evolves to ‘create loyalty not for a reason but loyalty beyond reason’.

Love.

For something to be loved it needs to connect with us as humans.

Only the consumer can own love for a product or service. It can’t be owned by the brand, the business that owns the brand or the person that owns the business. This is why the consumer is in charge. We need to create brands that the consumer loves and for this to happen we need to consider what really connects with them.

So as mentioned previously brands need to forget trying to be irreplaceable and concentrate on becoming irresistible. To achieve this we need to understand consumer emotion.

We need to create purpose inspired ideas that understand the consumer and taps in to her dreams. Brands need to be infused with emotions that create mystery, sensuality and intimacy – what all humans crave. Only then will the consumer want to connect and fully engage with your brand.

Ideas that connect with consumer emotions go way beyond table stakes. They inspire movements and connections. They create long term brand engagement that lead to the ultimate for any brand: Human LOVE.

A Lovemark example.

Apple is a good brand example of a this; they never have sales, people queue up over night in the cold in advance of their product launches.

This isn't the type of behaviour usually associated with humans and technology. The Apple product can't love back so this is a para-social relationship made possible only by an understanding how to connect with humans on an emotional level and this in turn creates the ultra strong consumer-brand relationship or Lovemark.

Anyone can put an idea on some paper. In truth though it takes a lot more to create and execute an idea that is capable of cutting through the overload of information to deliver a meaningful, memorable connection.

This is why ideas are the principal currency today.

In as fewer words as possible, this is what I have learned about consumer brand relationships through the work that Saatchi & Saatchi World-Wide CEO Kevin Roberts has done. It has enabled me to create and position brands very effectively in a multitude of industries.

Sensation Creative have some very interesting brands currently being worked on at the moment which I think are going to change a few rules locally, nationally and (it’s about time!) globally. Look out for these starting in November this year and heading in to what’s looking like being a massive year for Sensation Creative in 2014.

www.SensationCreative.com