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Hike #3: Grasping the BIG IDEA and why it is so important to get it right

  • weverd3
  • Oct 3, 2024
  • 7 min read

Updated: Oct 20, 2024



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Many of you have heard the term big idea before, maybe even in a marketing context. But how many of you honestly know what it means and what it's supposed to capture? Let alone what the importance of the Big Idea in marketing is and how it can effectively convey a powerful message about a brand. Therefore, today's topic will be the BIG IDEA in marketing. To make this topic a bit more accessible, I will give an example of a company that has managed to convey quite a powerful message to the public by means of a Big Idea, namely industry giant Nike. Now I'm sure all of this sounds very exciting to you guys but let's first dig into what a big idea is all about, and why it is important for a brand to execute it properly.


The BIG IDEA: What, Why and How?

The reason why the BIG IDEA is so important, is because it basically constitutes the backbone of a campaign. It introduces the main theme that the campaign will talk about, it sets the tone of the campaign. The essence of the big idea is about conveying to the audience what your brand stands for and why it creates value for the customer, the highlighting of the unique selling proposition by means of a message (Lipovsky, 2023). When executed successfully it can truly make your brand stand out from the competition and make sure that your brand makes a lasting impression on consumers.


Another definition of the big idea is:

"A bold, creative idea that builds on the strategy, joins the product benefit with consumer desire in a fresh, involving way, brings the subject to life.." (Arens, Schaefer, and Weigold (2015))


This provides a bit of background for the big idea, but I can imagine that this is still relatively vague to you. Therefore, I will provide you with a concrete of example of Nike's big idea and why it is successful. Now I'm sure that you have all heard of Nike's famous "Just Do It" campaign. So what makes this campaign so incredibly successful and what big idea does it convey to the audience. In order to explain this properly, we must first dive into the brand DNA of Nike. So what exactly does Nike stand for? When looking at Nike's mission statement, they state that they want to "Bring Innovation and Inspiration to every athlete* in the world" (What Is Nike’s Mission? | Nike Help, n.d.) And below that they state "if you have a body you are an athlete" (What Is Nike’s Mission? | Nike Help, n.d.). So the message that Nike seems to convey is that they wanna be accessible for everyone. To bring athletic gear and clothes to everyone who is passionate about sports, rather than just the athletes you would see on tv. So how exactly does Nike convey this message into their "Just do It" campaign.



(tv commercials, 2017)


The video above shows the very first time the "Just Do It" campaign was run. In the video you can see a man named Walt Stack who mentions that he runs 17 miles every morning. This illustrates Nike's emphasis on accessibility for everyone, because they have chosen someone for their commercial who is part of the "common public" rather than an elite athlete, which makes it easier for people to resonate with the message and effectively targets the intended consumers. In more recent ads, Nike also uses professional athletes as well but the delivery always remains centered around inspiring individuals to pursue their dreams and push themselves to the limit. Celebrity endorsement by means of using popular athletes is also a very common advertisement method from Nike.


Now the reason this message is so powerful and so successful is mainly because the slogan "Just Do It" captures all of the brand elements and successfully communicates it to the public. First of all, "Just Do It" can be applied to anyone, it is not limited to a certain group of people or certain groups. Therefore it


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accurately signals Nike's dedication to include anyone who is passionate about sports. Another aspect that makes the message powerful is that transmits a feeling to the consumers, it inspires you. "Just Do It" very much sounds like a motivational quote and makes people want to achieve something great. This inspirational aspect also makes it a bold message, its a statement towards the consumers but also towards the competition. It indirectly tells people "This is who we are, and this is what we stand for". The fact that the message "Just Do It" is so short and concise, makes it stick in people's minds. The fact that the message behind it is very powerful also makes it hard to forget. If people remember a brand and resonate with the message they try to put out, they are more likely to have a positive attitude towards that brand. And therefore, might be more inclined to buy or support the brand. Another aspect that makes Nike's message stand out is the fact that the message is completely unique and original. None of Nike's competitors have come up with "Just Do It", therefore Nike could capitalize on it to create a successful marketing campaign.


All of these factors contributed to the very success of Nike's marketing campaign. However, not every brand manages to successfully capture the big idea in their advertisements. Reasons why some big ideas fail in advertising campaigns could be that it isn't accurately aimed at the intended consumers (targeting to many or too few people).


Other factors contributing to failure of big ideas is:

  • Overcomplicating the message, big ideas should be short and concise, preferably less than a sentence.

  • It doesn't stick in your mind, easy to forget

  • It's unoriginal, too similar to other brands big ideas



The emotional aspect and tone of voice in Nike's 'Just Do It' campaign

There are two ways in which brands try to appeal to public. The first one is by using conveying a message based upon emotions in order to motivate the audience to take a certain action. The second way is by using rational appeal, which is centered around making the project seem superior by primarily using factual information, logic, and reasoning. Rational appeal could be used for products with a lot of technological aspects, such as phones. Because, in the market for technological products it easier to compare the features of the product with other products and provide reasons why it is better than the competitors' product. When looking at Nike, it seems that they mainly use the emotional aspect. As mentioned previously, Nike does not only try to sell their product but they try to sell the message that comes with the product. Namely, it motivates people to push their own boundaries and to pursue their own goal. People feel inspired after seeing the advertisement.



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Another aspect of the campaign that really amplifies this message is the tone of voice used in the ads. The way that Nike's tone of voice can be characterized in their ads could can be described as ambitious, inspirational, motivational with a very positive undertone. All centered towards inspiring the general public into taking action to pursue their goals and dreams, while also connecting this message to the Nike brand. There are a few reasons why tone of voice is very important when it comes down to advertising.


#1 Convey brand personality

First of all, the right tone of voice creates a unique way that a company can make themselves stand out from the competition. If a brand communicates with their audience in a very characteristic way, it makes the brand recognizable in consumers' minds. This characteristic way of advertising can attribute to their brand personality, which makes it easier for consumers to recognize the brand and what it stands for (Ward, 2024).


#2 Creates consistency across your brand communications

In order to maintain the brand personality that the company put out, it is also crucial to maintain consistency with in the tone of voice. When the tone of voice used is consistent it becomes easier for the brand to be recognized without visual cues and establishes the brand personality further (Ward, 2024).


#3 Connecting with your target audience

In order to successfully connect with your target audience, you must first know who your target audience is and which tone of voice appeals to them. If the tone of voice is appropriate for the audience at hand it is more likely that the advertising will be more effective and reach the desired audience. In order to do this successfully the brand must also identify the language use that is appropriate for this particular target audience (Ward, 2024). When this is done successfully, it might make consumers more inclined to resonate with the brands' big idea and buy or endorse the brand due to effective copywriting techniques. Copywriting are persuasive marketing techniques with the goal to make consumers take an action of some sort (What Is Copywriting?, n.d.).


Bottom Line:

In order to make a big idea successful, it is absolutely key to make sure it is concise, to the point, captures the brand identity and is targeted towards the right customers. By means of achieving this it must be executed with the right tone of voice and is must be completely stand out from the competition. In this way, it will also stick in consumers minds and increases the chances of the marketing campaign of being successful.





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