Alistair Robertson, head of creative strategy at visual storytelling studio Nucco Brain, explores why the more creative and compelling organisations' messages are, the more effective they are at cutting through the 'noise' and attracting audiences' attention.

At Nucco Brain, we often meet with organisations and brands that are under pressure to perform better. Organisations that must ensure every pound, dollar or euro they possess drives greater effectiveness and efficiency.

We understand that because of this pressure, some companies or institutions find it easier to create communications, internal messaging or learning based materials that are simple, familiar to the target audience, and safe.

However, at Nucco Brain, we believe in the power of creativity and telling stories. We believe there is overwhelming evidence for breaking new creative ground in often overlooked industries and entertaining audiences, no matter how complex the message.

Our belief is that creativity can not only help organisations stand out, but turn them into powerhouses of enterprise and set them far beyond their competition.

Creativity makes you memorable

We exist in a fast moving world. One in which we are constantly battered with messages asking for our attention. Recent studies believe US audiences see between 4000 and 10,000 ads a day. While UK and European populations may not be as bombarded, it is unlikely audiences in these regions are far behind.

Research company stalwart, Millward Brown identified the ten biggest reasons why ads are widely shared and the greatest one was simple -  they are creative and engaging.

So the best way to be noticed above the “noise” is to be compelling. And the most compelling messages are creative ones. Simply put, creative messages demand and maintain your audience’s attention more than less creative materials.

We used this creative rationale when helping Deloitte to communicate complex messages to their internal team. By using a conversational tone and illustrative imagery - both unusual for the consultancy firm - the videos communicated the topics in a simple, relatable way that stuck in their audiences’ mindseye.

Creativity boosts effectiveness

Communications or learning materials of any kind obviously need to be memorable. But being remembered is only of use if target audiences act upon the message. As such, it is vital that creativity proves itself to be effective.

Fortunately, many researchers over the years have proven exactly that. From the Harvard Business Review (HBR) through many other respected publications and individuals, creativity has been proven a winner in creating positive ROI.

The HBR has in fact stated: “A euro invested in a highly creative ad campaign, on average, has nearly double the sales impact of a euro spent on a non-creative campaign.” While author James Hurman, via his own research, has predicted that creative messaging provides up to 11 times the ROI versus non-creative messaging.

While many of these studies have undoubtedly focused on advertising, the argument for creativity remains whether the materials are for internal or educational purposes. Creativity entertains us, and from there educates. Ultimately, driving audience behaviour.

For us, ROI is a non-negotiable. Our work is dialed in to clients’ specific KPIs, so they’re able to see where we’ve delivered. It means they get measurable results they can take back to their stakeholders. For example, working with Innovate UK, their primary goal was to improve their YouTube performance. On the back of our rebrand mixing live action with animation, we delivered a 650% increase in YouTube subscriptions, an 850% increase in views and over 125 media placements.

Creativity builds advocacy

While memorability and effectiveness are clearly vital, it is also worth taking a  moment to consider what creativity can do for organisational reputation and developing target audience advocacy.

After all, we are all affected by the messages and experiences we consume, and from those observations we build internal perceptions of what an organisation stands for.

As such, high quality creative messaging or learning experiences can in fact create advocacy from consumers or learners who appreciate the effort you have gone to deliver something that resonates and makes them feel something.

And it was with this knowledge in mind that we designed the Lifesaver project for the UK Resuscitation Council. Lifesaver requires mobile, desktop and VR users to react to intense simulations in order to save a life. The tool provides intuitive feedback on how well the user is performing CPR, changing the film in real time depending on the performance.

The tool was hugely successful in improving teenagers’ confidence in performing CPR (an increase from 38% to 85%), but the work also went a long way to building the reputation and share of voice, for this less famous, but very valuable, charity.

Bringing it all together

So it’s clear that creativity is an essential part of businesses and institutions messaging and training needs. A creative execution - be it communications, internal messaging or educational - has the power to be more memorable, effective and create advocacy.

At Nucco Brain we work with our clients everyday to bring those benefits to life, so whether you are looking for a strategic new corporate campaign, exciting ways to engage an internal audience, or even a new technological learning experience, get in touch and we’ll help you deliver on the promise of your organisation.