Developing advertising can be messy, frustrating and confusing. Different teams have their own approaches, and the terminology is varied and ill-defined. People often talk at cross purposes. The illustration here is one way of thinking about what’s involved in creative development. It is designed help advertisers to think about whether their current advertising is a one-off, or part of a series that will build strong, long-lasting brand memories that will influence sales for years to come.
 
INSIGHT
An insight, or 'human truth’, is an observation about life that resonates with consumers. Some brands have identified an insight that they use to inspire the development of all brand-created encounters.
 
BRAND IDEA
This stems from the insight but is a specific way of expressing it, involving the brand and reflected in all brand communications. It is also referred to as the brand’s "Big Idea’.
 
CREATIVE IDEA
This is one of the ideas the creatives have come up for bringing the brand idea to life in a compelling way. The phrases 'creative platform’ and 'campaign idea’ are sometimes used to mean something similar, although a creative idea can be the same across multiple campaigns.
 
EXECUTIONS
These are ways of executing the creative idea, destined to become ads in a specific channel and country.
 
TAGLINE
A phrase that encapsulates the brand idea. Also known as a brand line, strap-line, slogan, catchphrase, or motto.

For further information about how communications work, check out 'The Smart Advertising Book'.