What makes great advertising?

Rachael Micallef
By Rachael Micallef | 8 October 2014
 

Everyone can name “great” advertising, but what qualities define it? Global research outfit Hall & Partners, part of the Omnicom Group, is undertaking a global study to find out what the industry thinks makes great advertising.

The research is an update on an original study done 10 years ago by Hall & Partners, which was collated into the book Shared Beliefs. With the industry impacted by increasing technology and a focus on social media, Hall & Partners Open Mind managing director Nicola Hepenstall told AdNews the time is right to take another look.

“This gives us an opportunity to step back and think about some really fundamental things about advertising and how it works, so we can actually say 'these are the principles that distinguish good advertising',” Hepenstall said.

The original study came away with 20 'shared beliefs' on what makes great advertising which will act as a point of comparison for the new update. Hall & Partners are partnering with UK professional body The Institute of Practitioners in Advertsing (IPA) and the US trade association the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As) as part of the research process. For the Australian arm of the study, Hepenstall said Hall & Partners was tapping into its networks of agencies and brands but a full list of those participating was not yet avaliable.

Hepenstall added that the enchanced scope of the new study will be increasingly valuable to not just the Australian market, but to the industry as a whole.

“Last time it was very much about what was happening in the UK market. It's now going to be a much more global perspective and I think that's going to be a really interesting thing to see how it might differ bymarkets. But what we're really trying to uncover is what are those sort of shared, fundamental beliefs people have,” Hepenstall added.

Original shared beliefs:

Start with an end in mind
Ultimately the aim is for somebody to do something
A brand isn’t a brand without advertising
It’s not what you spend but what you get that counts
Creative thinking is the lifeblood of advertising
It ain’t (just) what you say but the way that you say it
The more people get into your advertising the more they get out of it
Identify a target response not just a target audience
Media should be at the centre not at the end
Find a truth and make it matter
The best advertising has a single-minded idea
Be different
You don’t have to be in the centre break of Coronation Street
Consistency is a key to success
Keep your finger on the pulse
Don’t patronise your audience
Branding comes from the whole of the idea not just the logo
“It’s on brief” and “I like it” doesn’t mean you’ve got good advertising
The idea is only the start of the execution
All great advertising has a great client

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