Creating Desire: The Use of Magic and Logic to Create Enduring Advertising

國際事務室暨GMBA辦公室

撰文者／GMBA 辦公室

Prof. Shweta Pandey invited Mr. Kiran Ramamurthy, the Chief Operating Officer of MediaMonks, India, to share his insights and experiences during the Advertising & Marketing Communications class held on April 23, 2023. He is an accomplished industry expert with over 25 years of experience creating campaigns for multinational companies like Lenovo, Amazon, IBM, Toyota, and Unilever.

Kiran started the session with a though provoking point, “Nobody reads advertisements”, so how do companies formulate advertising and marketing communications to “Create desire” among consumers? He elaborated the need for creating a mix of logic and magic to create enduring advertising. Although there are four main stages – namely, the brief, storytelling, outreach, and outcome – he focused mainly on the first two processes.

The brief entails “How to say,” i.e., inform the consumers about the critical value that the firm is offering. Kiran pointed out that creating a brief requires a clear business objective, a clear target persona, and a single value proposition supported by reasons for belief. He went further to explain how developing an accurate brief was important by citing an example involving Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel painting project, where providing detailed requirements would have helped him create relevant artwork. Finally, Kiran stressed the significance of knowing your customers when drafting business proposals by sharing some convincing illustrations relating to each element covered during his presentation, making it very easy for us all present to comprehend his thoughts effortlessly.

While “the brief” is all about logic, the magic is created through “storytelling.” Kiran believes that relying solely on rational thinking can lead customers toward skepticism. However, through “storytelling,” consumers can let go of their disbelief and dive into the “willing suspension of disbelief.” By incorporating emotions into advertising campaigns, marketers can create a stronger connection with their audience. Examples like “Baby shoes, never worn” showcase how powerful emotions can be used as a basis for compelling stories that stick with people long after they’ve been told. Similarly, he provided us insights via examples into how emotion-centric campaigns can serve as catalysts for powerful narratives. The session gave us a better understanding of how marketers create advertisements that resonate well with consumers.