9 Tips for crafting the Big Idea for your ad campaign
Struggling to get that "eureka!" moment? I gotchu!
About 99% of your copywriting will be about the big idea.
Words + Visual = Big Idea
It’s the hardest to crack during the pitch phase.
It’s the basis for every social media post or video script.
It’s what makes or breaks your client presentation and (if you’re lucky) the campaign rollout.
The big idea in advertising refers to the central concept or message that forms the foundation of an advertising campaign. It is the core creative concept that is used to communicate the brand's message, positioning, and unique selling proposition in a memorable and impactful way.
A big idea should be relevant to the target audience and capture their attention while differentiating the brand from competitors. It should be a clear and concise message that can be easily understood and shared by consumers. A great big idea can inspire emotions, create a strong connection with the brand, and drive consumer action. -Jyoti Adnani
Crafting the big idea is tough. Even with 8 years of copywriting experience!
There are times when an insight or a brief doesn’t lend itself easily to wittiness or poetry.
There are fun ideas that could work…if the client were more open-minded.
And there are days when intrusive thoughts or an off-hand comment become the winning big idea.
Days when your partner art director comes up with a great visual and the words just fall into place.
But more often than not, you’ll be hard at work trying to chase that AHA! moment that’ll make other copywriters go “Why didn’t I think of that?” and the audience say “Oh that’s so smart!”
Today, I’ll be sharing a few of the best practices I do as a copywriter who’s had to think of hundreds of big idea suggestions. While I might not be an award-winning creative director (yet), I’m proud to say that these tips have helped me win new business, retain loyal clients, and get the ball rolling when brainstorming with teammates.
Nine tips to help copywriters brainstorm their next big idea
Review the brief, the research, and your strategy so far.
Zoom out and look at everything from the top. Maybe there’s something in the way your client talks about the product, or the way your target market discusses that kind of service. A great big idea is “obvious” in a way. You might already have the words you need, hidden in plain sight!
Example 1: If you’re working on a pet care website, one of your sentiment scans might include a pet owner saying “I wish there was a way to easily check if this is good for my dog.” That could mean words like “know” “trust” “review” “check” would resonate with your audience.
Example 2: We can see that Heinz/David the Agency/Mad Men writers used the expression “Pass the ketchup.”
Try writing a manifesto or short poem for the brand.
You could try this from the point of view of the brand, the target audience, or the target user (e.g. the dog who will eat the dog food, the kid who will play with the toy). What are the goals they want to achieve? The pain points they want to resolve? Any advantages that would make their lives easier? Think of how the brand helps them on a functional level and an emotional one, too.
Continuing with the example of the pet care website —
Does it educate and inform discerning pet owners? Is your target market a pet owner who wants to go above and beyond just feeding and sheltering their pet? How do they feel when they see their pet enjoying a new kind of treat? When their pet snuggles up to them late at night? Try to channel their emotions and mindset.
List common words or expressions related to the brand, the product/service, or your target market.
Try listing down 50 words related to the product or service you’re trying to sell. Don’t overthink it. You can even time yourself and see what comes to mind within 5 minutes. These don’t even have to be dictionary words. They can be slang terms like “boops” or “pawrents”.
You can also use resources like a thesaurus, related words website, idioms dictionary, phrases dictionary, or Pinterest.
Later on, you can review these words and see what has potential as a big idea. Just make sure your target market knows what you’re talking about! If you’re unsure, try searching the term on Twitter (X), Facebook, or Reddit just to see if it’s relevant to the niche.
Tender Care’s “Unbox” campaign used the visuals of keeping kids in a box (protectiveness due to the pandemic), and the common term “unbox” brought about by e-commerce.
Keep listing down suggestions - even “badly put” ones and “intrusive thoughts.”
Don’t second-guess or shoot yourself down just yet! That’s a job for your boss and your client.
It helps to have many big idea suggestions even before your first brainstorming session. Or if you can’t flesh out a fully-formed big idea, thought-starters might help. Some notes on this:
a) Some bosses may appreciate 100 suggestions, while others prefer that you limit yourself to 3-5. I’ve worked with both kinds of people.
b) Some bosses may appreciate there being thought-starters as well as fully-formed ideas. Some might take offense at you showing them your half-baked cookies. It pays to ask beforehand.
c) Make sure your ideas, even the badly put ones, are not offensive to polite society. Steer clear of anything that could be misinterpreted as sexual innuendoes, racism, and the like.
Keep it concise, clever, and clear.
Keep your big idea concise. You’re writing a big idea — not a caption. It has to be short enough that it captures the essence of the campaign in a snap. Think billboards: a motorist sees them for only a second. Or YouTube ads: viewers are eager to hit “Skip”.
At the same time, make sure your message is clear. What are you talking about? Ideally, it should be ownable enough so that it could only refer to your brand and not a competitor.
Lastly, it should be clever. Witty, thought-provoking, maybe even punny. Something that makes the audience go “Oo nga noh!” (“That’s right!”).
When in doubt, choose clarity over cleverness. The client has no use for witticisms or trendy expressions if they won’t raise awareness or sales.
“Kwentong Jollibee” is concise and clear — it’s about people’s Jollibee stories. And if you’ve ever eaten at a Jollibee, had some Chicken Joy delivered to your home or workplace, you can relate to these stories. Now that’s clever.
“[KFC] First Filipino Colonel” is a little longer than the previous example, but it’s clear what the campaign is about. It’s ownable — KFC = Colonel Sanders! And the visuals with the three contenders show that the campaign will showcase three contenders vying for the spot. The execution in itself is clever!
Write a brief explainer for each big idea suggestion to see if it has “legs”.
One of the first hurdles for your big idea suggestion is to see if it has “legs”.
What does this mean?
Simply put, it’s proof that the big idea will work for many types of social media posts, can be spun into different video concepts, and can even be turned into outdoor executions if need be.
It has to be BIG enough to work for a campaign and not just a caption.
To better sell each big idea suggestion, pair each one with a brief explanation. Just enough to cover why it’s strategically sound and why it can be used in different materials.
Here’s a quick sample of how I do it:
Option 1: It’s Pawrent-Approved]
-This leverages on a common term among our target market (pawrent). But no brand in our space has owned it yet. And [Brand] has the advantage, since over the past 5 years we have made authentic testimonials and vet recommendations a key highlight on our website. Making this our big idea can make [Brand] the go-to in the pet care market. Visuals can have a signature ‘stamp’ or seal of approval to reiterate this reason to believe.”
Love your ideas enough to explain them well, but be ready to “kill your darlings.”
Your passion for the brand and the project shines through and can help make your idea stand out even to the most discerning client. But rejection is all in a day’s work when you’re in a creative industry. So don’t take it personally when you have to go back square one.
Collaborate with your partner art director and be open to “visual-first” big ideas.
Sometimes, you’ll be working in a setup where the artists work on the big idea alongside copywriters (versus waiting for the words then coming up with visuals).
If that’s the case, take advantage and brainstorm together! You might even end up with two routes: one with straightforward visuals and witty copy, plus another with playful visuals and straightforward copy.
“It’s a Tide Ad” used straightforward copy with playful visuals borrowed from other ads, like Old Spice.
Offer at least two routes: one client-safe option and one creative wildcard.
Typically, legacy clients (or clients that the agency has had for a long time) may prefer “traditional” big ideas. Some may feel like iterations of their old campaigns or reworded client briefs. And it’s okay to offer this safe choice, even if it seems like a cop-out or a boring route.
Still, you can go out on a limb and suggest a more creative big idea. Your client may not warm up to it for this campaign, but at least they - and your bosses - know that you can write something fresh, exciting, and fun!
I hope this post helps you in your next brainstorming session. If it did, please consider sharing this post with a friend, subscribing to this publication for free, or leaving a tip.
Thank you!
