By JOHN – The SCA Intake of 2017/18

 

Steve Harrison at SCA for the week

 

This week, Steve Harrison has taken over SCA with a series of masterclasses and book crits.

 

Best piece of advice you’ve received from Steve Harrison so far:

 

Meg: Keep it simple – you’re not advertising to a bunch of art directors and copywriters, you’re advertising to the public, so stop trying to be too clever.

 

Twyla: ”I’m going to be spontaneous on Thursday”

 

Becky: Clear over clever.

 

Helena: There is actually 2 big ideas to coin when creating a campaign – the marketing idea and the creative idea.

 

Holly: If the brief isn’t right, the work won’t be right.

 

Susie: If you find yourself having a laugh over your audiences expense reevaluate your executions.

 

Holly: You are a guest in somebody’s home, so you better be polite.

 

Phil: Simple is much harder than complex.

 

Elliot: Make it for the consumer, not the client or agency.

 

Jonothan: Make it human.

 

Gary: Only one benefit you will propose

 

Poppy: ‘You’ is everyone’s favourite subject, remember that when you’re advertising to them.

 

Helena: get to the core of the product, don’t make stuff up (aka wishful thinking)

 

Adeline: People are not keen for change. Unless this change solves their problem. Whether big or small.

 

Philly: advertising is about helping people.

 

Melina: Solve the customer’s problem, not the client’s.

 

Steve: Don’t poke your finger in people’s chest; try not to dictate with your copy. Let the reader know why or how what you’re suggesting to them is going to help.

 

James: Find a problem, then a solution or it’s not worth advertising.

 

Dan: The biggest sin in advertising is ‘borrowed attention’

 

Rita: Always have in mind what’s the purpose of the creative idea.

 

Darius: Objective. Pointlessness is pointless.

 

Nick: Three ways to get over headline writing block.

 

Joe: Start with the customer. I know we hear it a lot, but Steve really hammered it home. Too often advertising talks to people in advertising. We’re solving their problems. We try to be too smart.

 

Martin: Many people in the industry actually don’t understand what effective advertising is.

 

Jem: Don’t make it up… Your audience won’t trust you if you’re pulling an idea out of thin air. They’ll see right through it. Make sure what you’re saying is actually truly relevant to the brand. If it’s not, start again with something that is. Also I learned to appreciate our mentors more. I love Steve but he’s stretched very thin. I miss having a healthy level of Marc, Mike, Alex, Rob, Mem, Dusty, Vikki, Caz, Ian, Olly and Deanna to bounce off of.

 

Rachel: Remember, the most important person is the person not in the room, the consumer. Ask the people you are selling too, not the people who do the same job as you. They haven’t attended an advertising school so don’t try to be smart. And spend until thursday working the brief, spend the rest on creative.

Petra: ‘We read what interest us, and occasionally it’s an ad.’

 

Josh: we’re intelligent apes that are driven by three questions: can I eat it? Can it eat me? Can I shag it?

 

Sara: Keep it simple.

 

Ben: what are we doing if we aren’t solving problems for our audience? We’d be shouting nothingness at them. Problem solution is like how we seek insight, but pin point to the people we are selling too.