Ad Strategy??
Advertising Strategy or account planning, as it is most commonly called, is something that’s enveloped in mysticism as advertising's market research. This notion is erroneous and false. Strategy in Advertising is a fusion of both sectors of the brain both the logical and the creative.
Before the 1980's many of the advertisements were surely creative but lacked truth or a resonating message to the consumer. Advertisers and brands pretty much said whatever they wanted to gain the consumers attention (an unfortunate reputation that advertising still holds today). Then in the mid-1980's the new discipline of account planning arose. It was Birthed across the pond in the agencies in the UK (bloody good show mates) to finding out what message truly will resonate with the consumer, but still be creative.
Account Planners are a reflection of the consumer’s human truth. Planners are required to be avid readers, anthropologists, sociologists and must have a dash creativity.
So how does it work? Why does it work?
Because it uses everyday nuances within culture, society, and the human psyche. To understand a person means you convey a message that can be understood by not only them but those of the same mindset. A perfect example of both creative strategy and strategy is Apple's First creative commercial found here:
This commercial strategically set the narrative that Apple's whole sense of being which “technology that breaks the status quo” is. The human insight was that Windows had pretty much a monopoly on the computer operating system industry and due to this fact the computers and operating system that came out during the time were lackluster and all the same. Apple was the change in that it created a new type of system and OS that differed from the mainstream.
A good example on how Apple's model resonates with the consumer via their messaging and insight can be explained by the great speaker Simon Sinek.