BRANDING, MUSIC AND AVOIDING THE PERILS OF PURPOSE – CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS UNPACKED

20. 6. 2023 The craft and conditions to drive greater creative effectiveness were explored by experts at an event hosted by TV marketing body Thinkbox.

MARKETERS NEED TO GET BETTER AT LINKING CREATIVITY TO BUSINESS METRICS

19. 6. 2023 Ninety-two percent of marketers can find it difficult to tie creativity to commercial return – a shocking statistic which puts the industry at a major disadvantage when it comes to making the case to the board for continued investment in difficult economic times.

GET RID OF THE 11 THINGS HOLDING YOUR CREATIVITY BACK NOW

12. 6. 2023 At the end of last week, Thinkbox unveiled the results of an investigation by Laurence Green, one of the UK's most respected advertising strategists and creative leaders. He conducted a total of 34 in-depth interviews with agency and client executives. The interviews took place in April and May this year and involved companies such as adam&eveDDB, AMV BBDO, Boots, Channel 4, Creature, Havas Creative, ITV, Leo Burnett, Lloyds Banking Group, McDonald's, Mother, Publicis Groupe, Saatchi&Saatchi, Sainsburys, VCCP and others. Respondents included Sir John Hegarty, co-founder and creative director of The Garage, and Tim Lindsay, chairman of D&AD.

MILAN ŠTEINDLER, THE ICON OF CZECH PROVOCATIVE ADVERTISING

6. 6. 2023 The Czech humorist was born in Prague in 1957. He is a well-known comedian who firstly became famous mainly for his acting roles. You may know him for example from the films Kopytem sem, kopytem tam, Vrát se do hrobu, Díky za každé nové ráno or from the series Česká soda. He is also a co-founder of the Sklep Theatre. However, he is also no stranger to the world of advertising - he works as a screenwriter and director. He studied directing at FAMU in Prague. However, during his studies he already worked at the Barrandov Film Studios as an assistant director. He has many successful TV commercials to his credit. For example, he is behind the spots for Fidorka or the campaigns for the CLEVER brand, where he presents effective scientific experiments. He is also the author of the children series Z deníku žáka 3.B aneb Edudant a Francimor. His work is characterized by a humorous touch and tends towards recession and light provocation. FIDORKA AND MISCHIEF Milan Šteindler has directed several spots for the Fidorka brand. Despite the fact that, as usual, they were mainly based on exaggeration and humour, these were not among the most provocative and were accepted by the Czech audience - both laymen and professional - without protest, unlike other films from Šteindler's workshop. This series of spots was created in cooperation with the Havas Prague agency and appeared on television in 2008.

MOOD MATTERS: REACHING TV VIEWERS AT THE RIGHT MOMENT

30. 5. 2023 Reaching people in positive moods can boost the likelihood that people notice, like and believe our ads. So why do so many marketers ignore its power? Joanna Stanley looks at the behavioural science behind mood, and offers ideas to optimise your next campaign.

IVAN ZACHARIÁŠ, THE CZECH WHO CONQUERED THE WORLD WITH HIS ADVERTISING

25. 5. 2023 Ivan Zachariáš is one of the most successful Czechs in the world of advertising. He has created ads for major world-renowned companies including Stella Artois, Land Rover and Adidas. He is also the director for jingles for the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary. He has also worked on feature films, including the drama Pustina (Wasteland), the series Bez vědomí (The Sleepers) and the feature film Konec světa (The End of the World). A good commercial can be done for any product Ivan Zachariáš has been inclined to filming and directing since his student days. He graduated from the Department of Documentary Filmmaking at FAMU in Prague and some of his short films have achieved considerable success. For example, Mulit, a 2003 parody of Bollywood films, is part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE IS NOT A STRAITJACKET FOR CREATIVES AND PLANNERS

23. 5. 2023 Richard Shotton is an expert in the practical application of behavioural science. He talks to Contagious about why friction should come first, why agencies should apply biases laterally rather than literally, and more.

LES BINET’S FIVE KEYS TO MAXIMISING PROFIT IN TOUGH TIMES

15. 5. 2023 Despite the threat of recession, marketers are not powerless to drive growth, as a new video series from the renowned effectiveness expert explains.

THE LEGENDARY MASCOT AND THE FEAR OF EXCESS CONSUMER GOODS OR TV ADVERTISING IN SOCIALIST CZECHOSLOVAKIA

12. 5. 2023 Czech TV broadcasting celebrated its 70th anniversary in early May. In the days when television was still “czechoslovak”, its role was very specific - at all times, it had to balance between national political interests and its important role as a follower and promoter of modern trends - at least to the extent allowed by the then political establishment. For advertising, this balancing was absolutely crucial. Without this constant conflict and contradictory results, it might never have succeeded in establishing itself in Czechoslovakia. And if that had not happened, there would have been nothing to build on after the Velvet revolution. How did this complicated situation affect advertising? And how does “mr. Egg”, the most famous egg-shaped ad character of the socialist era, fit into the whole mosaic? Forcibly halted advertising boom The roots of real television advertising in Czechoslovakia can be seen in the tradition of so-called advertising films. These began to appear especially in the cinema at the end of the 1930s, during the First Republic. The dawn of advertising films was preceded by the establishment of the Prague Advertising Club, REKLUB, in 1927, which gradually elevated the whole discipline of advertising marketing to a modern business standard. Thus, an expert community began to form, within which other platforms and projects were gradually created. One of them was the magazine for successful businesses called TYP, which had become an essential item for all manufacturers, tradesmen and entrepreneurs. As such, the breeding ground for the emergence of audiovisual advertising formats was sufficiently nourished.

WHAT THE EFFECTIVE 100 CAN TELL US ABOUT COMMERCIAL SUCCESS

26. 4. 2023 Commitment to brand purpose, tech innovation and breaking category norms lead to commercial success, a new report from WARC Creative finds.

SUCCESSFUL USE OF MUSIC IN ADS

26. 4. 2023 From the latest chart-topping hits from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé to classic rock songs of the 1980s and 90s to jazzy Frank Sinatra tunes and soothing Beatles melodies, there are many songs that make a lasting mark on us. In many ways, music influences culture and vice versa. So it’s no surprise that advertisers tap into music when building campaigns – the right song can take a good ad to an exceptional level and better support profit and market share gain.

TV ADS PRODUCE GREATER EFFECTS ON ADDRESSABLE AUDIENCES

25. 4. 2023 TV ads elicit more positive reactions and greater short- and long-term business impact among addressable audiences, new research claims.

ADVERTISING AS A DREAM FACTORY: CLAUDE C. HOPKINS, FOUNDER OF MODERN ADVERTISING

9. 4. 2023 Claude C. Hopkins is known as the man who laid the foundations of modern advertising. And quite literally - the book with the same title is probably his most important work. He worked as an advertising creator and copywriter in the first half of the 20th century, when television was still in its infancy. The boom in TV spots came in the 1950s and the 1960s, after the death of Hopkins, who lived from 1866 to 1932. So he did not experience the world of television advertising, but his ideas and techniques, based on scientific methods, testing and measurement of effectiveness, gave advertising a completely new direction and generally provided the theoretical basis for successful advertising. He is also regarded as one of the professionals who have made the greatest contribution to the field of copywriting. "ADVERTISING MUST BE DONE SCIENTIFICALLY" Claude C. Hopkins, during his time in advertising, applied advanced methods such as tracking the effectiveness of advertising campaigns and testing. In this article, we'll introduce the key methods and techniques described in his books, and show specific examples of campaigns he created - so what was the strategy behind the most successful campaigns for Schlitz Beer, for example, and others? We will reveal the ways in which he has enriched the rules of successful copywriting. In the conclusion of the article, we will also summarize what important takes we can apply to current advertising and marketing practice and how to use his ideas effectively for successful sales. HE COULD HAVE BEEN A LAWYER, BUT HIS PASSION WAS THE BUSINESS WORLD Claude C. Hopkins was a prominent American advertising creative, marketer and copywriter who was born in 1866 in Hillsdale, Michigan. After studying law, he decided to pursue advertising and entered the world of agencies. He worked his way up to a senior position at Lord & Thomas advertising and his talents helped the company to considerable success. During his career, Hopkins has created successful advertising campaigns for many companies including Bissell Carpet Sweeper, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, and Pepsodent Toothpaste. He is considered one of the pioneers in modern advertising, who sought to combine creative elements with scientific methods and data to create effective advertising campaigns. His approach to advertising has become the basis for many of today's marketing techniques and strategies. HOW TO MAKE A GOOD COPY? TEST AND CALL TO ACTION! Hopkins is rightly considered one of the most influential copywriters in history. His writing is the subject of his work My Life in Advertising. Many of the copywriting techniques described here are timeless and effective to this day. One of his key methods was the use of facts and evidence. Hopkins believed that if you provide customers with enough persuasive arguments, relevant facts and statistics, they are more likely to eventually make a buying decision. Let's look at some specific examples of practices that have influenced the way marketing strategies are shaped today:

THE FATHER OF ADVERTISING DAVID OGILVY

30. 3. 2023 There’s probably no one in the advertising world who hasn’t heard of David Ogilvy. How did he make commercial communications history? And what is his contribution to the world of advertising?

WHY TV ADVERTISING NEEDS TO INSPIRE IF IT’S TO RESONATE

27. 3. 2023 If brands want to cut through the noise of an ever-busier media landscape, their content needs to make an emotional connection with the audience Why TV advertising needs to inspire if it’s to resonate “Emotion in ads is more important than it's ever been,” said Vicky Handley, brand and communications lead at Lloyd Banking Group. Handley was taking part in a fireside chat at Campaign’s recent TV advertising summit discussing whether creativity in TV ads has taken a hit in recent years and whether the pursuit of inspiration in ads needs to increase.

STUDY USA: WHICH BEER BRANDS WON WITH MUSIC IN 2022?

12. 3. 2023 Songtradr’s new Music of Beer report pours out plenty of insights around the most effective music choices for beer ads, Super Bowl success and which brands picked right in 2022. The data shows Heineken was the most strategic in its sonic decision-making, while Guinness… may be unfit to drive (at least when it comes to picking tunes for its TV ads).

THE KING OF CONTROVERSY OLIVIERO TOSCANI

9. 3. 2023 The series of advertising creators, which we are presenting to mark the sixth anniversary of AKTV, presents important authors in the advertising sphere. Today, you will read about an inspiring creative who was not afraid to break boundaries and enriched the advertising field with many non-advertising topics. It’s Oliviero Toscani.

SHOCK THERAPY ADVERTISING. WHEN DID IT WORK AND WHEN DID THE CREATIVES GO TOO FAR?

2. 3. 2023 Capturing the attention of the TV viewer is still one of the goals of marketers around the world. This field is becoming more and more complex as the market is filling up with all kinds of campaigns, so the consumer will appreciate those that are original, innovative and imaginative. But there is an old recipe that is still guaranteed to work - shock therapy. However, ad writers who manage to shock might still not pat themselves on the back after all. Marketing history is full of examples where not only did the desired effect not occur, but the response was strictly negative. Shock marketing is a category that, by its very nature, teeters on the edge. But we know of a number of campaigns that are universally considered good practice.