The Creative Director's Top Tips for getting an idea across

1. Does it have impact?
2. Is it original?
3. Is it relevant?

1. Keep it succinct (if it takes more that 100 words to describe it, it may be too complicated.)
2. Explain why this great idea helps sell the product. This includes your identification of the key problem and interpretation of the situation. (This helps the client see where you're coming from)

1. Set the scene
2. Describe the location, time of day, weather, etc.
3. Describe the cast
4. Explain the style of photography - colour, b/w, slo-mo, etc.
5. Music, if appropriate
6. Attach whatever stimulus will help achieve the above.

10 Top Tips for Digital

1. First, and most important, digital is the same as any other brief you'll tackle.
   You need a great idea to start with. Ideas should always be the master of technology, not the other way round
2. Don't forget, just like any other brief, you are selling things to people. The medium may be radical and new, but the emotions of the people you're selling them to have remained the same for 1000's of years.
   All your work still needs to have that 'I notice it, I get it, I buy into it' result.
3. Look everywhere but the internet for your online ideas, you're not the only one to be sent 'that funny video', or see 'that shocking site'.
   The more your ads look like other online ads the more likely people are to ignore them.
4. So the level of your ideas for digital are the same as above the line or integrated work; it's just the media that's different. You have to think how to interact with the user – get people to rollover a banner, click a button, play with something on the screen using their mouse, keyboard or something else.
5. 'User generated content' or UGC is a pompous title for getting people to make their own videos, songs, images using their cameras, phones or online tools. The payoff is other user's comments and ratings (youtube.com is a great example of this in action.) Remember that it's got to be easy for people to do – not demand too much of the audience unless the reward can match it.
6. On the subject, Don't ask too much of the user unless you can balance it with what they're going to get out of it. So put yourself in the user's shoes and ask, "why would I bother to do that?" with every idea.
7. And of course,things can be updated instantly online so ads can be made that react to football scores and real events that are happening all the time.
8. You can get away with a lot more in your advertising than other media just because everyone and anyone has a voice online. And because at the moment, the censorship rules are different to the ones which apply to terrestrial advertising. That means when it comes to being creative you're not competing with conservative companies, you're up against people who aren't afraid to say it how it is, or go to the extreme.
9. 'Viral' doesn't mean shocking videos. Besides, they're a bit over-done as after 'Volkswagen Suicide Bomber' 'Decapitated cat' and Rotten. com, everyone's been de-sensitized to it all. 'Viral' means something that is passed on from one person to the next. Although every good idea should be 'viral' so the word is a bit obsolete.
10. What's so great about the digital space is that its still virgin territory. It's fast, it's growing every minute and it represents a real opportunity for you to experiment with exciting, fresh ideas that no-one has yet claimed as their own. Think of great ideas for new UGC, and the technology will catch up with you.

• Avoid cliches (because they are so over used).
• This means
• No page peel effects (as if the page is paper).
• No page turn effects (like pages of an online book).
• No post-it notes.

• Its work for Omnicom-aligned Mercedes used the letters of the alphabet; the campaign highlights the attention to the cars features with interactive messages.
  http://a-to-s.co.uk/home.php
• Radio 1 originally approached Agency Republic looking for a standard online ad campaign to boost their online listening figures by expressing the eclectic mix of music played on the station. Republic responded with Musicubes - a digital first. Musicubes tap into the current popularity of self-publishing sites such as myspace.com amongst Radio 1's target audience of young music fans. This self-publishing application allows users to represent their musical taste on their webspace whilst encouraging trial of Radio 1 online. A campaign of online ads also led users to trial the station via the Radio 1 Player.
  Music cube website
  Online advertising

• We were asked to bring Virgin Money's new proposition 'life gets more exciting when you say yes' to life online. Our strategy was to make a break from dull financial advertising convention and focus on the Virgin Money brand overall, not the product and to do it in a way that emphasised the unique (and very unconventional) personality of the Virgin brand. 'Things get more exciting when you say yes' was rich and fertile territory from which to create a fabulous online advertising campaign. Through interaction stemming from simple questions like 'Light the fuse?', 'Want to see something fun?', 'Plant the seed?', or 'Swim here?' we were able to create online ads that evoked a beautiful, magical and in many cases fantastical world. And these ads stayed true to their purpose: 1/2 of the ads we produced had no mention of rate at all! View virgin money – say yes ads at - http://www.gluelondon.com/casestudy.php?id=09
• Adidas have a shoe range called a3 aimed at the youth market. The a3 shoe's USP is its technology - 'unstoppable cushioning'. Its secret is a full-length a3 cushioning unit designed to store energy for a bigger take-off on every step.
  Glue were asked to create digital advertising for the latest a3 shoe - Microride. The ads needed to appeal to the fashion conscious 17 year old who are inspired by musicians and athletes. We had to make the shoe look cool and demonstrate the awesome bounce you can get from it.
  So to show these kids of today that this is the shoe that will get them running faster, jumping higher and flying further - some great flash creative along with audio got them doing just that. View adidas - a3 Microride ads at - http://www.gluelondon.com/casestudy.php?id=08