INTERNET: Web advertising offers creatives a whole new arena in which to shine

<p>For a bunch of people who are supposed to be the most open to </p><p>strange and unusual ideas, creatives are a funny lot. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mention Web advertising or database marketing to those who are rooted in </p><p>traditional advertising practices and a vast number of copywriters and </p><p>art directors will either stare at you blankly, or, in more extreme </p><p>cases, make an excuse to leave either the room or the company. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, in today's rapidly-changing marketing landscape, neither of </p><p>these may be an option. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>And nor should they be. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Creative people should, surely, be embracing these new </p><p>opportunities. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>After all, aren't they simply new channels in which to express ourselves </p><p>and demonstrate how creative we really are? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The way I see it, the challenge for all of us is to introduce the kind </p><p>of minds responsible for award-winning work in the traditional media to </p><p>these new channels. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>After all, a great idea should still be a great idea, no matter what </p><p>medium it's in. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For instance, what's an Internet banner ad if it's not simply an </p><p>opportunity to do a great poster for a client? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>And for any creative person who has ever complained about the insights </p><p>available in a brief, how would they like to have access to a database </p><p>that not only shows you the kind of person you're talking to, but can </p><p>also tell you what kind of house they live in, what other products they </p><p>buy and even what kind of music they listen to? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>These databases exist and are crucial to a company's </p><p>competitiveness. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>And for the very reason that there are so many new channels to carry our </p><p>messages, truly creative ideas are more vital now than ever before. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>After all, we're being constantly bombarded with so many marketing </p><p>messages through so many different channels that to stand out from the </p><p>crowd, your message must be more startling, more visible and have better </p><p>"stopping power" than ever before. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Personally, I reckon that when advertising starts appearing on the back </p><p>of the till receipt you get from the supermarket (as it's started doing </p><p>here in Singapore) things have got beyond a joke, but I am sure you see </p><p>what I mean, anyway. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Of course, as these new channels become available, the temptation is to </p><p>tailor individual messages for each of them. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But the danger is, of course, that we forget about that other vital </p><p>element of our clients' business: their brands. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, I believe that the ability of a creative team to translate a </p><p>"brand" concept into any number of different media simply proves how </p><p>good (and how big) the idea really is. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>I mean, think back to some of your favourite brand ideas of the past: </p><p>surely the strength of something like "Heineken refreshes the parts ..." </p><p>or Nike's three-word mantra is that they could translate seamlessly into </p><p>any number of different media. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>I'm convinced that the new media that is becoming available to creative </p><p>people won't kill off great TV ideas, brilliant outdoor work or press </p><p>ads that appear in the pages of every international award annual. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But my hope for the future is that the people who judge and produce </p><p>these award books will have to keep even more pages available for work </p><p>that falls outside the categories. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>