Delivering return on imagination: a framework for creativity in developing advertising message strategy

Advertising message strategy plays an important role in shaping creative execution, however, the way in which advertising message strategies are developed remains unclear and a consensus on the content of quality advertising message strategy is yet to be reached. Building on the strategy-as-practice perspective, this study looks at the strategy process (praxis) used by agency account planners (practitioners) in the development of the creative brief (practice), to propose a descriptive framework for the development of advertising message strategies. The aim of the research is to identify the sequence of events and the elements of message strategy that lead to stronger strategic creative outcomes. Specifically, the study identifies seven elements of message strategy content that may make their way into the creative brief: challenge, community, purpose, connection, promise, support and tone. These elements of message strategy content are navigated and committed by the account planner to the creative brief through five elements of strategy praxis: accumulation, association, repetition, cultivation and distillation. The study also identifies the attributes of quality insight that may be adopted by account planners as a dominant mode of strategy as: originality, suitability, usability and visionary attributes. This study responds to calls for further research in marketing using qualitative analysis to expand theory, strengthen research into marketing practitioners’ epistemic culture and improve our understanding of the development of micro strategy work. These findings provide insights for marketers who want to design message strategy content that leads to more appropriate and original creative executions.