In advertising, big ideas are our favourite currency. We hunt for them, polish them, present them to the client with great enthusiasm, and only then start adapting them for each channel. That's often where it goes wrong: what sounds brilliant in the TV spot feels forced on social media and won't fit on an OOH billboard.
01A good idea survives every channel
Why does it happen? Usually because we forget to test the idea before production starts. A good concept is elastic and survives being adapted.
If you can't tell it coherently in 30 seconds on TV, 6 seconds of bumper ad and 90 characters on social media without losing its essence, you don't have a concept. You have a jigsaw of pieces that don't fit together.
02What each channel asks for
To build coherent campaigns, the message has to stay clear and consistent whatever the channel or format. The first step is to understand each channel properly:
- TV
- Room for a broad, emotional story, in around 30 seconds.
- Bumper ads
- Videos of up to 6 seconds on YouTube: one idea, told straight away.
- Social media
- Brevity, quick visual impact and a message that grabs attention in the first few words.
- OOH
- A few seconds, for someone walking past or sitting in traffic: the message has to be clear and memorable.
The maximum bumper length comes from Google Ads documentation. Every channel has its own strengths and limits. That's exactly why the idea needs to be flexible enough to keep its identity and core message, whatever the constraints.
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03Three tests before production
- We write the key message in 10, 50 and 100 words. It shows us straight away whether the message is flexible enough to keep the brand's identity at any length and in any format.
- We build “lego copy”. We pin down the headline and the punchline, then turn them into reusable modules that we rearrange to suit each channel. That gives us flexibility without losing what the message is.
- We check with quick tests. We show the adaptations to different people on different channels and see whether they read as the same brand. One question, “Is it the same brand?”, gives us a fast, clear answer.
04In short
An effective campaign is coherent and flexible at the same time. If your idea can't get through four channels in four different tones while keeping one voice, you probably haven't found the right idea yet.
Test how far the idea stretches before you put time and money into production. You'll save resources and get stronger, more consistent results.
And remember: a strong idea comes out of adaptation better and clearer than it went in.
