When talking about creativity and strategy, left brain and right brain, logical and cognitive, there is another group which I would like to throw into the mix: structure and spirit. I believe there has to be a balance between these sources in order to reach a good advertising campaign. I compare this to building a house. Each and every house has to have structural components such as a good foundation and regulated specifications or coded building materials and dimensions. Once you get past the structural integrity of each home, then you add on the spirit or detailed items which make it personal. This could include special flooring, siding, trim work, landscaping, or any item which makes your house your home. It can be replicated from others who share your taste, or it can be custom to whatever your mind creates. Either way, the home still has to meet certain specifications regulated by local codes. Without structure a home will collapse. Without spirit a home will have no personality. It takes both components to really make a home. The same holds true with advertising. It takes structure and spirit to make advertising work for the company and for the consumer.
There has to be set guidelines and specifications to what the goal is for a company to advertise. These guidelines and specifications develop into the structure needed for the advertisement. This can include how much is to be spent, message or mode of presentation, what media is to be used, advertising phases, or outsourcing the advertising to an ad company. To be included in the structure are the components of an advertisement. This includes headline, subheadline, slogan, body copy, visualization, layout, and trademark (mbaknol, 2019) These components are a part of what gives advertising the structure it needs.
Once you establish the structure, you will start to develop direction for the ad; then, you can add on the spirit. The spirit is the item(s) which make it personal to the consumer. This is referred to as the advertising appeals. This includes rational appeals like performance, features, and/or problem solving. There are also sensory appeals which involve touch, feel, sight, hear, and taste. Another appeal is the social appeal or need for belonging. Another appeal is the ego appeal which goes into personality, physical appearance, beauty, status, and humor. These are only a few of the appeals advertisers use on their consumers (Middleton, 2018).
Ultimately, you are looking to combine structure and spirit to sell the right product at the right time with the right choices. It is important to keep structure and spirit balanced. Too much structure may miss the mark on connecting with your consumers. Too much spirit may catch your company unprepared for how the consumers react to your overly creative ad. The idea with advertising is to guide your consumers toward a demand for a product by finding the perfect balance of structure and spirit.