Advertising is one of my passions and I have always had a special place for that in my heart. It is overwhelming when you witness growth in particular segment of your country, in my case it’s glorious to eyewitness the growth of advertising in Pakistan. Pakistan Advertisers Society (PAS) is one of the most prominent and focused bodies that are trying their very best to bring Pakistan’s advertising industry at the top to stand shoulder to shoulder with international standards of advertising bodies. This needs applaud.
Recently, i.e. on 26th November 2015, PAS organized an auspicious ceremony for “PAS Awards 2016 Briefing Session” and invited some prominent names from the advertising fraternity, including agencies, directors and media professionals. It was an honor to receive the invitation to an event which holds a great place in my mind and heart, both. As the event was about the briefing on PAS Awards 2016, it included some pointers and focus points which advertisers, agencies and participants should always take into consideration before sending their entries for the competition.
Mr. Waheed Bhatti, a name that needs no introduction, described in detail
- What is advertising actually?
- What’s the competition about?
- How jury comes to a decision to make an advertisement win or simply trash away?
- What successful advertisements have in common?
Mr Waheed Bhatti defining advertising as the best fun you can have with your clothes on… #PASAwards16 #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/nBm7emmhCY
— Scheff (@shafiqulhasan81) November 27, 2015
Mr. Bhatti’s detailed speech on advertising was worth listening and remembering word by word, at least I was hugely impressed with his impeccable diction and examples – like always.
Don’t Be Generic:
According to Mr. Bhatti, it’s an integral part to include “ambition” to one’s pitch. Those who say “they want to revamp the brand through advertising” so, in answer, one can always say 99% of brands do the same with their advertisements. Don’t be generic, always be specific.
KISS Approach:
There are some entries sent for the advertising competition which are described in ambiguous terms like “best of the best”, increased market share”, “amazing response” etc… These terms are relative and vague. Keep things simple and show the statistics, provided you have the numbers (extracted through a valid research) and impress your jury with facts.
Psycho and Sociographic In Advertising:
Every other person talks about demographics in marketing and advertising – it is of great importance, but by adding psycho-graphic and sociographic to the focal points of any advertising campaign it is very significant.
After Mr. Waheed Bhatti, the stage was overtaken by one of the finest in the advertising industry of Pakistan Mr. Ali Rez (the guy behind Not A Bug Splat).
Ali shared 3 basic pointers to create an impactful advertising campaign/entry for sending to the advertising competition, following are the points:
- It’s ultimately essential to Identify the Problem.
- Pitch an idea that can be relevant to the problem.
- Show the result i.e. change in behavior.
"You just don't have to be creative only but effective." Mr. ALI REZ #PASAwards16 #Pakistan #Advertising pic.twitter.com/SSaBHs5hvv
— Scheff (@shafiqulhasan81) November 27, 2015
These 3 pointers were used in “Not A Bug Splat” advertising campaign, which is one of the most prominent campaigns of 2015 and won many awards locally and internationally.
Finally, at the end of the event Q/A session was held where Khurram Koraishy (Chairman PAS), Fariha Subhani (CEO and MD, Unilever Pakistan Foods), Arshy Ahmed (CEO and Founder, Flying Hedgehogs), Ejaz Wasay (Head of Media Sciences and Fellow Marketer, IoBM), Mariam Ali Baig (Editor, AURORA), and Faraz Maqsood Hamidi (Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, D’Hamidi Partnership) answered questions raised from the attendees
It was great event organized to bring attention to what jury looks for in an award winning advertising campaign and educate advertisers and enthusiasts. I wish PAS all the very best and entire advertising fraternity in Pakistan to keep creating wonderful ads.
Pictures Source: PAS Awards Facebook Page
Keep adding your experience and practices by commenting and don’t forget to visit Shafiq Siddiqui’s website, like Facebook, join at LinkedIn and follow on Twitter.
