The creative determines at least half of your marketing success.

Nielsen says it accounted for 47% of the sales uplift. Followed by reach 22%, brand 15%, and targeting 9%. Even if you’re not in FMCG, which this study was about in 2017, then undoubtedly this % is significant and probably higher in many other categories.

How do you still produce impactful marketing assets during Covid-19 restrictions?

Here are three tips from the legendary Creative Director @GrahamKelly.

#1 Restrictions doesn’t mean you can’t produce marketing assets.

You can, but understand the limitations. Planning the shoot needs to be even more detailed than normal. Double-check you have all the necessary permissions if it’s on location, as these have been changing frequently. And you may not get access to locations like bars and clubs for some time to come. If shooting isn’t practical, then get creative with existing assets. A good copywriter working with a skilled editor can often “magic up” what looks almost like a new piece of creative.

#2 Talent access being restricted doesn’t mean your creative will suck.

There is a lot that goes into producing excellent creative work. Now that people are restricted to travel you will need to choose locally or get footage done abroad. This will create new workflows for the team but doesn’t necessarily determine the outcome of your creative. Focus on the narrative, and the right storytelling tools/formats will naturally follow.

#3 Showing emotion doesn’t mean you need crowds.

There are limitations to the number of people allowed on a set. People also need to wear masks inbetween shoots. And crowd scenes are practically impossible now. This can substantially affect how you plan for your shoot but it doesn’t mean you can’t deliver emotion. Voiceovers and individual facial expressions can be as powerful as crowds.

Even though it is better to wait with producing some scripts that would be compromised by the restrictions, most businesses should market now.

Nielsen says “Brands that go totally dark for the rest of 2020 could be facing revenue declines of up to 11% in 2021.” And I think this is conservative. In many categories, the competition will not sleep on this.

Here is a great example using locally-sourced talent, and delivering emotion with facial expressions: