BHMC2003 Quiz #8 Chapter 8 : Creative Strategies & Process

Which of the following statements about creative strategy and its execution is true?

• A good creative strategy and execution guarantees a brand will exceed its sales objectives.

• A good creative strategy never fails in reviving a declining brand.

• Ads that are highly creative may not increase sales of a brand.

• Companies have no trouble coming up with creative advertising that differentiates their brands from the competition..

• Good creative strategy cannot help a struggling brand regain its former prominence.

Answer explanation

Many companies have solid marketing and promotional plans and spend substantial amounts of money on advertising, yet have difficulty coming up with a creative campaign that will differentiate them from their competitors. However, just because an ad or commercial is creative or popular does not mean it will increase sales or revive a declining brand. Many ads have won awards for creativity but failed to increase sales.

Blooms: Understand

Difficulty: 2 (Medium)

The people who develop ads and commercials are known as _____

• mnemonics.

• animatics.

• copy makers.

• creative types

• media planners.

Answer explanation

Creativity is probably one of the most commonly used terms in advertising. Ads are often called creative. The people who develop ads and commercials are known as creative types.

Blooms: Remember

Difficulty: 1 (Easy)

Which of the following statements supports the reason why a marketer might want to emphasize creativity in the development of an advertising campaign? 

• Creative advertisements can avoid novelty in terms of divergence.

• Creative advertising can break through the clutter and make an impression on buyers.

• Creative advertisements always favour divergence over relevance.

• Creative advertising is effective even if it is irrelevant to the target audience.

• Creative advertising helps in winning awards, which always leads to an increase in sales.

Answer explanation

What constitutes creativity in advertising is that which breaks through the clutter and makes an impression on the target audience. An ad often must be unique and entertaining. TV commercials and print ads that are well designed and executed and generate emotional responses can create positive feelings that are transferred to the product or service being advertised.

Blooms: Understand

Difficulty: 2 (Medium)

Which of the following is a major determinant of creativity that reflects the degree to which various elements of an ad are meaningful, useful, or valuable to the consumer?

• divergence

• delusion

• relevance

• illumination

• risk aversion

Answer explanation

The two major determinants of creativity are often viewed in terms of divergence and relevance. Relevance reflects the degree to which the various elements of the ad are meaningful, useful, or valuable to the consumer.

Blooms: Remember

Difficulty: 1 (Easy)

The job of the creative team is challenging because

• advertisers and clients typically opt for mundane ad formulas.

• every marketing situation is unique

• of the primacy effect in advertising.

• of the recency effect in broadcast advertising.

• advertising campaigns are generally considered expendable.

Answer explanation

The job of the creative team is challenging because every marketing situation is different and each campaign or advertisement may require a different creative approach.

Blooms: Understand

Difficulty: 2 (Medium)

The five steps in the creative process as designed by James Webb Young include

• preparation, brainstorming, growth, reality check, and verification.

• immersion, testing, illumination, creation, and verification.

• immersion, digestion, incubation, illumination, and verification.

• preparation, incubation, immersion, illumination, and reality check.

• immersion, brainstorming, incubation, creation, and reality check.

Answer explanation

Young's model of the creative process contains five steps. They are immersion, digestion, incubation, illumination, and verification.

Blooms: Remember

Difficulty: 1 (Easy)

According to the creative process outlined by Graham Wallas, which of the following stages deals with seeing the light or solution?

• verification

• incubation

• dramatization

• preparation

• Illumination

Answer explanation

With respect to the creative process outlined by Graham Wallas, the illumination stage deals with seeing the light or solution.

Blooms: Remember

Difficulty: 1 (Easy)

Leon is the creative director for an agency that has just been hired by a manufacturer of golfing equipment to create a new advertising campaign for the company's titanium clubs. Before developing any creative ideas, Leon reads some golfing magazines and spends time talking to friends and co-workers who play golf. These activities are part of the _____ step of the creative process outlined by Graham Wallas.

• preparation

• incubation

• illumination

• verification

• revision

Answer explanation

The above scenario is an example of the preparation step of the creative process outlined by Graham Wallas. The preparation step includes gathering of the background information needed to solve the problem through research and study.

Blooms: Apply

Difficulty: 3 (Hard)

A(n) ____ is a series of drawings used to present the visual plan or layout of a commercial along with a description of the audio for each scene. 

• animatic

• mnemonic

• storyboard

• heuristic

• trailer

Answer explanation

A storyboard is a series of drawings used to present the visual plan or layout of a proposed commercial. It contains a series of sketches of key frames or scenes along with the copy or audio portion for each scene.

Blooms: Remember

Difficulty: 1 (Easy)

Bubble Inc., a chewing gum manufacturer, specifically targets children in its advertisements. In its latest advertisement, the company indicates that Bubble is the only chewing gum that lets you blow "massive" bubbles that won't stick to your face. This statement represents the brand's 

• unique selling proposition.

• surrogate advertising strategy.

• unique selling language.

• intent scale translation.

•  incomplete comparison.

Answer explanation

In the given scenario, the statement represents the gum's unique selling proposition. Three characteristics of unique selling propositions are:

1) each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer,

2) it must be unique either in the brand or in the claim, and

3) the proposition must be strong enough to move the mass millions.

Blooms: Apply

Difficulty: 3 (Hard)