Details worth paying for.
I was watching a docuseries on Netflix called Fear City: New York vs The Mafia, when I noticed something small.
It was one of those scenes where they cut back and forth between footage of a modern-day interview and a re-enactment. But instead of creating two distinct timelines and settings, the director blurred the lines. The former FBI agent being interviewed in present day was sitting in the exact same '70s Mercedes as the actor in the re-enactment footage.
Clever detail.
The director certainly didn’t need that specific car for the interview, but just because it’s subtle doesn’t mean that creative choice isn’t valuable or doing its job. Just because most viewers wouldn't consciously notice this choice doesn't mean they don't subconsciously experience it as a storytelling device.
That got me thinking about how we make ads in general.
We (advertisers, marketers, business owners, clients) focus most of our energy into making surface-level creative decisions that will be easy for people to notice right away. We perceive details as superfluous things or “nice-to-haves” that we’ll get to if we can. At face value, this makes sense. Details take extra thought, which takes more time, which requires a bigger budget. We wonder, "Is this detail really worth paying for if no one notices?"
But maybe "Will anyone notice this?" is not the question we should be asking. A better question would be: "What does this detail do?"
Does it make someone smile? Does it move the story forward? Does it make you do a double take?
Does kerning this type make it easier to read? Does animating this icon improve UX? Does sourcing this specific Mercedes help the audience picture what the world was like in a middle class New York City neighborhood in the 70s?
If the detail in question does something for the viewer or user or potential customer, it's probably worth paying for. And by "does something" I don't mean conversion or sales; I mean the part before that. The part where people are moved emotionally or practically or intellectually—whether they know it or not. Those are the things we should be making. Those are the details worth paying for.
When was the last time you added a detail worth paying for?
Influential marketing leader bringing together ideas, technology, and people to deliver impactful results. Innately curious, passionately driven.
4 年I whole-hardheartedly agree Hannah! I recall an instance with our booth vendor (back in February) where the front canvas wasn't stretched properly causing the grid lines to be slightly misaligned. Or, the instance where the footer text in our printed brochure was slightly misaligned. Subtle. Sure. But, I insisted on a fix. The art of evoking emotion is indeed in the details.