• by Lane Schermer , November 28, 2006

Ideas at a  Premium

As consumers demand more from their online experiences and software applications become more advanced, the most noteworthy trend for the future of online creative appears to be a return to the past.

"The new trend is going back to an old trend: solid ideas that make good stories," says Ryan Fey, principal of Los Angeles-based entertainment marketing firm Omelet. "Regardless of the medium, the idea has to be first, the idea has to lead the charge."

"It all comes down to basic storytelling," agrees Roger Poirier, executive director of the Los Angeles Creative Club. But as creative directors sharpen traditional idea-generating skills, he says, agencies must at the same time work to seamlessly integrate online initiatives into their entire communications strategy.

Poirier is hardly the only marketing professional to read that writing on the wall. In the past year, media and creative alignments have become almost standard practice in multinational advertising and PR firms across the country, partly because of the speed in which results can be seen on the Web. Creative messages can be updated in a moment's notice, based on feedback across geographies and demographics. But if the creative itself isn't compelling or attention-grabbing, even the most brilliantly targeted media plan won't be able to save it.

Fortunately, says Doug Schumacher, founder and creative director of Basement, a Venice, Calif.-based interactive marketing agency, the future of online creativity is only as limited as its crafter's imagination. "We haven't even begun to tap the potential for participatory and user-generated content," Schumacher says.

One example: The banner ad, once pronounced dead, is experiencing a resurgence. The once-static form now incorporates richer experiences and expandable media, such as embedded games, quizzes, animation, and video. The ads have evolved into interactive minisites, and consumers are taking notice. Marketers are already seeing click-through rates rise for this new breed of banner, Schumacher says.

"The term 'rich media' has been completely redefined from two or three years ago, when rich media meant Flash," Schumacher says. "Now everything is beyond Flash."

Advertisers, too, can take advantage of virtual worlds such as Second Life, where "the potential for branding and marketing is off the charts," Schumacher says. With creative offerings that combine the highlights of gaming, commerce, and social media, "a lot more companies are willing to take [creative] chances in a virtual world."

Perhaps the biggest top-line observation for 2007 and beyond is the power of social networking and viral communication's effect on online creative, says John Boiler, cofounder and creative director of 72andSunny, an El Segundo, Calif.-based advertising and branding agency. "The idea of controlled distribution is pretty archaic, especially for our demo, men 18 to 24," he says.

But even brands with smaller online marketing budgets are enjoying good results when "a little campaign" is dropped into an environment such as YouTube, Boiler says. That "serves as blood in the water," he explains, not only providing immediate feedback on the ad's content, but also serving to direct already interested users to a brand's Web site to learn or see more.

Ultimately, though, the future of online creative can't be left solely in the hands of users to tweak and pass around at will. While that certainly helps, Boiler says, it's up to advertisers themselves to "create great content and great ideas. The onus is on us to make people excited to check out more."