Lawrence Medina

Here we begin our journey into creating something eye-catching. A piece of creative that strives to go against the test of time and bring a greater understanding between the consumer and the product.

Now I would love to say, that I am the end-all-be-all of creative know-how, but this would be the greatest lie I could ever conceive. I am an amateur in creating these eye-catching pieces, but I would like to find out one thing.

What Works in Creative?

There are a few key points to touch on when discussing what works in creating an eye-catching piece that works.

Does it work only when it’s artistic, with a fantastic flair for design? Is it solely copy that makes it work? Perhaps it’s the brand voice and the message that is being shared that actually makes it work?

These questions all fall towards the creative end, but what about the numbers that show these are actually working? How many conversions were generated? How much of the product/service was sold after the eye-catching piece was made?

Of course, there is one other question I’d like to ask after all of these aspects have been touched upon.

Let us begin, with of course:

How much Impact does Design have?

Art & Design—Capturing Eyes Around the World

Art directors everywhere might just say—yes, the design is everything. It literally adds that eye-catching element to the creative piece. The colors, the flow… A single element is all it takes for any one person’s eye to follow their perspective that the artist or designer created.

A great design certainly gets eyes on your ad… A great design can speak volumes about your message. After all the colors can convey certain subliminal messages.

The greatest element of design is one key factor that we—or maybe just I—take for granted. It makes it visible.

Yet design cannot stand on its own. It requires more… It requires the very thing you’re looking at now… Yet in this case, it’s called “Copy.”

The Key to your Message—Copy & Wording

Having a fantastic design means absolutely nothing if you don’t follow it up with information. With something that is snappy, informative and thought-provoking. If you don’t follow up your design with some copy—then you’re essentially just making art.

While art is great… It’s not what we’re trying to make. We’re trying to find something that works—something that makes people want to get into the product or message you’re trying to push forward.

Make sure that the words you use are impactful, but not for simply your product and message. Be sure you build upon a campaign—meaning a greater idea that you strive to stand for or impart on your viewers.

Yet—sadly enough—your words are not enough (painful for any writer to say)… In the end, you’ll only know if it works, when it is seen.

How much did you gain after it was posted?

Numbers that Matter—Conversions and Traffic

Honestly… This section will be brief, as my knowledge is not great when it comes to conversions. In the simplest terms, conversions are measurements of how well your ad, post, or message performed.

It is this part that helps you fine turn your message—perhaps the design and message must be tweaked after the low performance, maybe you strike gold with the message but the design doesn’t quite draw the eye or vice versa.

Conversions are ultimately important to know when something is working and when something is broken.

The Take-Away

Alone… None of these really work. Without a design, your message isn’t read. Without a message, your design is misinterpreted. Ultimately without knowledge of conversions, you won’t know if it’s working.

So… How do you make something work?

I couldn’t tell you flat out, but what I believe works best—what I believe always works for any medium in advertising—is your core message.

When it comes to design, what do you want your consumers to feel from it?

When it comes to your writing, what do you want them to understand?

Understand the answers to these questions… And you’ll understand what works best for you.

Then simply test how well it performs and make tweaks as needed. You won’t create something everlasting from one try (To you creative geniuses that do… simply know I am envious).

Endure. It’s as simple as that, don’t strive to be creative. Go for what works, but remember you won’t find what works right away.

Tell me what you think. Tell me about your endeavors. Tell me—or show me, how creative you are and how well you make it work.