“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

This famous quote by Plato holds a lot of truth in the marketing and advertising world. It is also one of the most challenging things to overcome. How do you make successful, or “beautiful,” creative? And, more importantly, who should you make it beautiful for?

At Incite, there are typically four to five different groups all involved in the design process: the account executive, the creative team, the client, and the client’s boss. All of these groups are working together to make something speak to the target audience. The biggest trouble is when these groups start wanting what they like, and they forget the main objective, which is to design something that will attract and engage the target audience.

The key point of the quote is that it’s “…in the eye of the BEHOLDER.”In this case, it’s the target audience, not the designer and not any of the other groups. To accomplish creative that is beautiful to your target audience, you must be strategic and do the appropriate research. It is also important to take yourself out of the equation when developing or evaluating the creative (for all groups involved) and trust the research.

Typical scenario:

• Client (48-year-old male) wants his 4 page brochure done in the company’s corporate colours of blue and black
• Designer (31-year-old female) wants to create a folder/brochure with fancy die-cuts done in the corporate colours but wants to bring in an orange
• Target audience (39-year-old female) would rather look at a website for more information instead of a brochure and dislikes blue and black

Remember, beauty is not in the eye of the designer or owner (who may not even be anywhere near the demographic of the beholder), but rather in the eye of the target audience.

Generally speaking, corporations communicate from a level that does not relate to their audience; messages are often filled with jargon or too general. Consequently, they spend considerable resources trying to figure out why their messages aren't getting through to their audiences. When we talk to people, whether it be men, women, adults, teenagers, seniors or children, if we don't reach to communicate at their level the signal is missed or, worse, misunderstood.

Recently, I attended the International Association of Business Communicators Western Regional Conference and was inspired by the information Steve Cresenzo shared in his powerful and entertaining workshop, "Taking the Corporate Out of Corporate Communications."  To hear him be so frank and honest about the corporate industry and the reality of its communications approach was refreshing and motivating.

Cresenzo's position is this:
In business, we fight many battles on a daily basis. But, when it comes to marketing and communications, the truth is…we're fighting the wrong battles:

• The battle to meet the deadline
• The battle to create something that will make it through the approval process

Cresenzo's key point is that we need to stop fighting the wrong battles, and start fighting the only battle that really matters:

• The battle to gain our audience's attention

Making our clients happy and meeting their goals is our ideal scenario. As a result, the pressure and satisfaction of meeting a deadline and earning approval can take focus. However, if we don't achieve the audience's attention and desired reaction, both the deadline and the client's approval have little benefit. Mediocre messaging may be comfortable and meet the status quo, but typically fails to really "move" a market.

When making decisions about messaging for branding, advertisements, newsletters, annual reports, or any other communications materials, we must take our personal opinion out of the equation and focus our analysis on what will compel the target audience to action. What I (or the client) likes doesn't matter; what the audience likes does.

When we make a conscious effort to take the time to understand the target market's needs and see messages from their point of view, we're moving in a direction that achieves results.

Considering these options, which sounds riskier to you?

a. missing the deadline or challenging the approval process
b. missing the mark on moving your audience

I vote b.

Thinking about connecting to your target audience is a lot like getting ready to meet that dream girl (or guy) for that first date. What do you say? What should you say?

One of most important processes in creating a marketing plan is clearly defining your target audience. Deciding what to say to a target audience is where most organizations get stuck and spin their wheels. There’s a limited window of time for marketing to make an impact, and unfortunately, this pressure causes companies to default to what they know: they end up talking about product line, service offerings, company history, and experience. But talking about these things is neither compelling nor effective. If time is scarce, why not respect your audience’s time and really connect with them? Back to our dream girl; she doesn’t want to hear all about you. And remember, she’s popular–she can date anyone she wants! There are three easy ways to make a meaningful connection with your target audience:

1. Develop messages that are relevant, specific, and valuable to the audience

The best way to do this is to determine what it is about the product or service that frustrates your audience. Determine your customers’ pains by simply asking them–and ask prospects too. It’s important to do this well – navigate past typical “good price, good quality, or good service” type responses and really dig in. Having third-party expertise to facilitate this process will help you garner more honest feedback that will inevitably be more useful.

Once you have a list of frustrations from the customer, match what makes you unique to counter those frustrations. Maybe a certain way that you conduct your business alleviates that frustration. If not, then what do your competitors do that alleviate that frustration? Can you do the same or better? Or, maybe no one in the market is working to alleviate that frustration. That’s even better because figuring out how you can do it gives you a competitive edge.

2. Develop a target audience profile and an individual as its primary representative

Developing an audience profile is a good way to capture basic demographics (age, income, etc.), but it fails to really nail down an audience’s personality. To get at this, develop an individual persona that represents the group. Be specific! Give that person a name; outline their motivations, hobbies, and feelings. This might sound superfluous, but it isn’t because it’s much easier to write messages for a marketing piece if you’re thinking of writing to one person vs. to a group. To be really successful at this, consider developing a physical representation of this person–a cardboard cut-out, a custom action figure, a poster, etc. This way the person is at the front of your mind at all times.

3. Develop a Theme or Story

The book Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath gives us a formula to help make ideas or messages stick. They need to be simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and story-like. Stories are a great way to tie in your brand and your messages in a way that resonates with your audience. When done properly, a brand theme or story should diffuse through every part of your business (your office design, your signage, your print material)–think about every single audience touch-point. To be really successful at this, try to apply those elements to your story. The great thing about stories is that it cuts through the clutter too. It’s easy for competitors to say that they do the same thing that you do, but rarely will they have the audacity to copy your brand theme or story.

Be sure to connect on that first date! Find out what your customer’s frustrations are then match them specifically to what makes you unique. Develop a very specific target audience persona and keep a physical representation of him or her nearby as a constant reminder. Lastly, work on a creative story or theme that helps you stand out, hits messages home, and is difficult to duplicate.