# Anti-Patterns: Creative Strategy

These approaches look like smart creative strategies but consistently fail to connect.

---

## 1. The Award Bait

**The Mistake:**
```
Creative meeting:
"This could win at Cannes!"
"Let's push the boundaries!"
"Awards will raise our profile!"

Creates:
Edgy, attention-grabbing creative
That doesn't sell anything
That the target audience doesn't see
That wins awards for the agency

Result:
Trophies on shelf
Zero business impact
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Awards reward creativity, not effectiveness
- Award shows have different audiences
- Ego-driven, not business-driven
- Can damage brand if off-target

**Better Approach:**
```
EFFECTIVENESS-FIRST CREATIVE:

Before creating, ask:
1. What business outcome do we need?
2. Who needs to do what?
3. How will we measure success?

Creative should be:
- Effective first
- Memorable second
- Award-worthy as bonus

AWARD REALITY:
Some award-winning work is effective.
Much effective work isn't award-winning.
Chase effectiveness; awards may follow.

EFFECTIVENESS METRICS:
- Brand lift (awareness, consideration)
- Sales impact (conversions, revenue)
- Behavioral change (actions taken)
- Business outcomes (real results)
```

---

## 2. The Template Trap

**The Mistake:**
```
"What are competitors doing?"
"What's working in our category?"
"Let's do something like [successful campaign]"

Creates:
Same category visual language
Same messaging approach
Same formats and tactics

Result:
Blends with everything else
Not distinctive
Forgettable
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Category norms create sea of sameness
- Distinctiveness is key to memory
- Following ≠ leading
- No competitive advantage

**Better Approach:**
```
DISTINCTIVE CREATIVE:

Category audit:
What does everyone in category do?
What visual clichés exist?
What tone is standard?

Then: Do something different.

DISTINCTIVENESS RULES:
1. If category is serious, can you be playful?
2. If category is visual, can you be textual?
3. If category is loud, can you be quiet?
4. If everyone uses photography, use illustration?
5. If everyone uses blue, use orange?

NOT DIFFERENT FOR DIFFERENT'S SAKE:
Different + relevant = distinctive
Different + irrelevant = weird

DISTINCTIVE ASSETS:
Build ownable:
- Colors
- Sounds
- Characters
- Visual style
- Verbal style
That only you own.
```

---

## 3. The Focus Group Hostage

**The Mistake:**
```
Research results:
"32% preferred version A"
"Concept B tested highest on clarity"
"Respondents suggested adding..."

Creative becomes:
Frankenstein of research findings
All edges removed
Nothing to dislike
Nothing to love
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Focus groups measure preference, not prediction
- Respondents don't know what they want
- Research kills surprise
- Consensus produces mediocrity

**Better Approach:**
```
RESEARCH ROLE:
Research should INFORM, not DECIDE.

USE RESEARCH FOR:
- Understanding audience
- Testing comprehension
- Identifying confusion
- Checking for red flags

DON'T USE RESEARCH FOR:
- Making creative decisions
- Choosing between ideas
- Removing creative risk
- Justifying safe choices

RESEARCH REALITY:
People said no to:
- Red Bull ("tastes like medicine")
- Baileys ("sounds disgusting")
- iPod ("too expensive")

Research killed:
- Bold ideas
- Surprising concepts
- Category-breaking work

CREATIVE CONVICTION:
Trust informed instinct
Test for deal-breakers only
Don't design by committee
Ship with conviction
```

---

## 4. The Celebrity Crutch

**The Mistake:**
```
Creative problem:
"How do we get attention?"

Solution:
"Let's get a celebrity!"

Execution:
Celebrity holds product
Celebrity says line
Celebrity... that's it

Result:
Remember celebrity
Forget brand
Expensive licensing
No brand building
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Celebrity doesn't transfer to brand
- Expensive without brand building
- Celebrity takes the attention
- Not ownable (they do many ads)

**Better Approach:**
```
CELEBRITY USAGE RULES:

Use celebrity WHEN:
- Authentic connection to brand
- Celebrity uses/loves product
- Adds to the story (not IS the story)
- Long-term partnership (not one-off)

GOOD CELEBRITY USE:
Michael Jordan + Nike (authentic athlete)
Ryan Reynolds + Aviation Gin (owns the brand)
George Clooney + Nespresso (genuine user)

BAD CELEBRITY USE:
Random celebrity + holds product
Famous face + reads script
Expensive name + no connection

CELEBRITY QUESTIONS:
1. Would this work without the celebrity?
2. Does celebrity add or distract?
3. Is connection authentic?
4. Is it long-term or transactional?

ALTERNATIVE:
Build characters you own
Create distinctive brand assets
Develop mascots or spokespersons
Invest in brand, not rented fame
```

---

## 5. The Shock Value

**The Mistake:**
```
Creative strategy:
"Let's be provocative!"
"This will get people talking!"
"Controversy creates attention!"

Creates:
Shocking imagery
Controversial messaging
Edgy for edgy's sake

Result:
Gets attention
Creates backlash
Damages brand trust
People remember controversy, not brand
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Shock wears off
- Negative associations stick
- Trust is hard to rebuild
- Attention ≠ affinity

**Better Approach:**
```
PROVOCATIVE VS RELEVANT:

Provocative for purpose:
- Challenges status quo (relevant)
- Points out truth (valuable)
- Sparks important conversation (meaningful)

Provocative for attention:
- Shocks without substance
- Offends without purpose
- Gets attention without building brand

RULE:
Be provocative about something MEANINGFUL.
Challenge conventions that deserve challenging.
Not: shock for shock's sake.

EXAMPLES:
Good provocative:
Dove: Real beauty (challenges beauty standards)
Nike: Kaepernick (takes a stand)

Bad provocative:
Pepsi: Kendall Jenner (trivializes movements)
Various: Offensive ads (shock without purpose)

PROVOCATIVE TEST:
What are we challenging?
Why does it matter?
Does the brand have the right?
Will this build or damage trust?
```

---

## 6. The Deck-to-Creative Gap

**The Mistake:**
```
Strategy presentation:
Beautiful, 100-page deck
Incredible insights
Profound strategy
Standing ovation

Creative execution:
Generic ad
Misses the strategy
Different from deck entirely
"That's not what we sold"
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Strategy wasted
- No creative translation
- Deck theater
- Disconnect between phases

**Better Approach:**
```
STRATEGY → CREATIVE BRIDGE:

Close the gap:
1. Strategists and creatives together
   Not: Strategy throws over wall

2. Strategy in plain language
   Not: Jargon that needs translation

3. Creative territories in strategy
   Show how it could come to life
   Not: Abstract concepts only

4. Single-minded brief
   One page, clear direction
   Not: 100 pages of thinking

BRIEF ESSENTIALS:
What's the ONE thing?
Who's the audience?
What do we want them to DO?
Why would they care?

STRATEGY REVIEW:
Does creative deliver the strategy?
Does creative feel like the deck?
Would strategists recognize it?
Is the insight visible?
```

---

## 7. The Recency Bias

**The Mistake:**
```
"Did you see what [brand] just did?"
"Let's do something like that!"
"That campaign is everywhere!"

Creates:
Copy of recent successful work
Reference to trending thing
Me-too creative

Result:
Late to the trend
Not original
Already been done better
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Copying is always second
- References age quickly
- You're not that brand
- Trend already peaked

**Better Approach:**
```
INSPIRATION VS IMITATION:

Inspiration:
Learn principles from great work
Understand WHY it worked
Apply insights to your situation

Imitation:
Copy the execution
Reference the specifics
Try to recreate the magic

ORIGINAL CREATION:
Look at great work, then:
1. What's the principle?
2. How does that apply to us?
3. What's OUR version of that insight?
4. Create original expression

TREND AWARENESS:
Know what's happening
Don't just follow
Lead or sit out
Don't be fast follower

CREATIVE REFERENCES:
Old references = timeless
New references = dated fast
Best: No references, original idea
```

---

## 8. The Over-Explanation

**The Mistake:**
```
Client: "Will they understand?"
Creative adds: Explanation
Client: "But what about..."
Creative adds: More context
Client: "Make sure they get..."
Creative adds: Voiceover explaining everything

Result:
No mystery
No engagement
No thinking required
Boring
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Audience engagement requires participation
- Over-explanation insults intelligence
- Mystery creates memory
- Less is more

**Better Approach:**
```
SHOW, DON'T TELL:

Instead of:
"Our product makes mornings easier"
Show: Peaceful morning with product

Instead of:
"We care about the environment"
Show: Environmental action

Instead of:
"Our customers love us"
Show: Customer using product joyfully

CREATIVE TRUST:
Trust the audience to get it
Leave room for interpretation
Create intrigue
Reward attention

ENGAGEMENT LEVELS:
Spoon-fed: "Here's what to think"
Engaged: "Here's a clue, you figure it out"
Too cryptic: "I have no idea what this means"

TARGET: Engaged
```

---

## 9. The Executional Fixation

**The Mistake:**
```
Creative brief: Strong strategy
Initial concept: Bold idea
Review 1: "What about making it..."
Review 2: "Could we try..."
Review 3: "Let's also add..."
Review 10: Completely different

Result:
Original idea lost
Execution wandered
Committee creation
Nobody's vision
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Endless iteration kills ideas
- Execution details distract from concept
- Original insight gets lost
- Design by committee

**Better Approach:**
```
PROTECT THE IDEA:

Big idea > Execution details
Get the idea right first
Then: Execution craft

REVIEW STRUCTURE:
Round 1: Strategy and concept
Round 2: Refinement of chosen direction
Round 3: Execution craft
DONE.

Not: Infinite rounds rethinking everything

STAYING ON BRIEF:
Every review: "Does this deliver the strategy?"
Not: "What do I personally prefer?"

CREATIVE KILLS:
Sometimes idea is wrong. Kill it.
But: Kill decisively, not slowly.
Fast fail > slow death.

PROTECTION PHRASES:
"Does this note serve the strategy?"
"How does this make it more effective?"
"Is this refinement or redirection?"
```

---

## 10. The Platform Afterthought

**The Mistake:**
```
Creates: Hero video for TV
Then: "Resize for social"
Team: Crops to square
Result: Doesn't work

Creates: Magazine print ad
Then: "Make it digital"
Team: Adds animation
Result: Still feels print

Platform consideration: Zero
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Each platform is its own medium
- Resizing ≠ adapting
- Behavior differs by platform
- Native wins, forced loses

**Better Approach:**
```
PLATFORM-FIRST THINKING:

Before creating:
Where will this live?
How does audience behave there?
What does native look like?

PLATFORM CREATION:
Not: Create hero → adapt
But: Create for each platform

PLATFORM PRINCIPLES:
TikTok: Entertaining, native feel
Instagram: Beautiful, curated
YouTube: Value, subscribe
LinkedIn: Professional, insightful
TV: Story, production value

ADAPTATION PROCESS:
1. Core idea (platform agnostic)
2. Platform expression (native)
3. Create specifically for each
4. Not: Resize and force
```

---

## 11. The Music Video Fantasy

**The Mistake:**
```
Creative vision:
Cinematic opening
Slow motion beauty
Epic music swells
Gorgeous everything

Result:
Absolutely stunning
No idea what it's selling
No message communicated
Beautiful irrelevance
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Beautiful without purpose
- Form over function
- Ego project
- No brand connection

**Better Approach:**
```
PURPOSEFUL PRODUCTION:

Production value serves:
- Message clarity
- Emotional resonance
- Brand building
- Business goals

Not:
- Creative ego
- Award reel
- Director's vision
- Beauty for its own sake

PRODUCTION QUESTION:
"Does higher production value make this
more effective, or just prettier?"

EFFECTIVE BEAUTIFUL:
Apple: Beautiful AND clear
Nike: Epic AND purposeful
Airbnb: Cinematic AND story

JUST BEAUTIFUL:
[Most unsuccessful ads]
Pretty but forgettable
Aesthetic but meaningless
```

---

## 12. The One-Format Wonder

**The Mistake:**
```
Campaign:
1 video
Done.

No:
- Social adaptations
- Static versions
- Different lengths
- Different platforms
- Extended content
- Refresh plan
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Single touchpoint insufficient
- Reach requires repetition
- Different contexts need different formats
- Campaign ≠ asset

**Better Approach:**
```
CAMPAIGN ECOSYSTEM:

From one concept, create:
- Hero video (15s, 30s, 60s)
- Social cuts (platform-specific)
- Static frames (key moments)
- Carousel content (story sequence)
- Stories versions (vertical)
- Long-form (extended story)
- OOH (outdoor adaptations)
- Digital display (banners)
- Audio (radio/podcast)

PRODUCTION PLANNING:
Shoot: Capture for all formats
Edit: Create full asset library
Deliver: Complete ecosystem

CAMPAIGN DURABILITY:
Launch: Hero + launch assets
Sustain: Supporting content
Refresh: New executions, same campaign
Extend: Additional stories

SYSTEM THINKING:
Not: One video and done
But: A system of expressions
```
