How? Or Why?

March 6, 2007

Something that keeps coming up in my life – how do you balance the “how” with the “why?”

In other words, what’s the point of winning awards if the message doesn’t help the client?

At this point, early in my advertising career, I still feel the allure of awards – of winning Addys and of qualifying for Cleos down the line. I want to make a name for myself my company and my clients. I want everyone to know that I work for the best agency in town and that I work for the most fun clients around. I want to be number one. It’s only natural. I love sports. I love competition. I was made for winning trophies.

Agency-land is filled with this. It’s good to have your work recognized, to be seen as the best advertising and marketing agency in the city. We won a good number of Addys this past year – not the most in the city, but enough to feel vindicated. It helps boost the self esteem. It shows that we can be flashy, creative, clever. We know HOW to create.

The struggle is when to leave that behind in order to create something functional – to realize the limits of what we can do. Creating a killer television spot that wins lots of awards is nice. But if it doesn’t connect the product to the audience, it’s all for naught. It’s wasted money. The How has been done to perfection – slick production, hilarious idea, clients willing to take a risk. But the Why hasn’t been researched.

At HenkinSchultz, we talk a lot about the Why. It’s the reasoning behind a message; the purpose for a design. It’s weighing the benefits of raising some awareness vs. the cost of the production. We know how a message can be created, but we focus on why that message needs to be created, and why the consumer is supposed to care. It’s the difference between clever advertising and smart marketing. The two can overlap. But one can’t survive without the other.

So I find my mind split, oftentimes – I want a project to be uber-creative, cutting edge, Addy-winning material; something I can hold up and say “Yes, I worked on this and Everybody Loves It and We RULE!” But I also want the client to come back and say “You know that postcard you created? It helped sell 80% more candy bars.”

I love creating fun products. The only thing that compares is creating functional, helpful products that work.

Many of us slip into this. We worry more about the beauty and cleverness – the How – the press and the glitz and the awards; all of them are important to raise an agency’s and a client’s esteem. But what we need to increasingly remember is, well, a shiny beer cooler may look pretty, may be collectable, may cause people to stop and stare, but if it doesn’t keep your beer cool, what good is it?

Focus on the How. But don’t forget about the Why.

By Corey

Filed Under Advertising, Marketing, The Process

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