After attending the lecture, I gained several valuable insights into strategic copywriting and creative planning. The creative work plan or also known as creative brief was something new for me. I learned it serves as a crucial roadmap for creative teams outlining objectives, target audience, benefits and brand character before they start developing ideas and copy. The idea of the "Big Idea" was also eye-opneing. It's interesting how a central theme can help to tie together an entire campaign, creating long-lasting impressions in the audience's mind such as Nike iconic slogan "Just Do It". Other than that, the 3Ps framework; Prospect, Product and Pugilist was something I believe is very essential to understand. It helps to craft effective creative strategies. I tried to implement all these learnings on my own creative brief for the individual assignment.

This week's lecture gave me a much clearer picture of how important advertising research is for creating successful campaigns. I learned that it's a specialized area within marketing that focuses on improving advertising by gathering and analyzing data in a systematic way. I discovered the difference between customized research which is specific to a client and syndicated research which is shared across companies. It was interesting to know that advertising research can also involve other fields like anthropology, sociology, and psychology to better understand consumer behaviour. Besides that, the different testing methods that Miss Idany discussed were intriguing. I now understand how concept testing helps find the best appeals, while copy testing looks at how effective the actual ad copy is. I also did not know about all the mock-up ad types like animatics; animated storyboards, photomatics; a series of photos and ripamatics; made from exisiting ads. These things made me realize that advertising research is very crucial and has its own steps to ensure that we can reach a satisfactory result in the end.

This week’s lecture was conducted online due to the Deepavali holiday, but I was still able to grasp some valuable insights. I learned a lot about the structure of print ads, especially how important headlines are. David Ogilvy’s idea that headlines make up "80 cents out of your dollar" really stuck with me, especially since more people read the headline than the body copy. I also found the "4 U's Formula" for writing headline; Urgent, Unique, Ultra-specific, and Useful, these was really practical. It's a simple framework that makes it easier to write effective headlines. Miss Idany also went over the eight basic types of headlines (direct, indirect, news, how-to, question, command, reason-why, and testimonials), which gave me a bunch of options to play with when crafting ads. Something I didn’t know was the difference between slogans and taglines. Slogans are for specific products or campaigns, while taglines represent the whole business. Also, it turns out "slogan" comes from a Gaelic phrase meaning "battle cry," which I thought was pretty cool. Lastly, the creative pyramid structure helped me understand how everything in a print ad works together, from the headline and visual to the logo. Each part has a clear purpose, and seeing how they all fit makes the ad more effective.

This week’s lecture really made me think about the power of the "Big Idea" in advertising. I learned that the Big Idea is essentially the core concept that connects with consumers on a deeper level and helps a brand stand out. The example of McDonald's using “togetherness” to create emotional connections with its audience really clicked for me. It made me realize how a strong idea can create that lasting bond with consumers. One key takeaway was the process behind crafting a Big Idea. It’s not just about having a great idea, t’s about starting with a clear brief, researching consumer needs, and finding a way to tie those insights back to the brand. The Big Idea needs to solve problems and tell a memorable story, which is something I hadn’t fully appreciated before. I also liked the idea that inspiration for great advertising can come from everyday life. Observing the little things around us can lead to ideas that really resonate with people. This makes me think I need to start paying more attention to the world around me. Overall, this lecture taught me that strategic thinking is key when developing ideas for ads. It’s not just about being creative but it’s also about making sure the idea speaks to the audience and connects with them in a real way.

During this independent learning week, I decided to focus on making progress with my process log. I spent a good amount of time working on the profile deck for Subway, which I’m really excited about. I needed to write a brief profile of the brand, touching on their products, unique selling proposition (USP), vision, mission, and core values. It felt like a good opportunity to dive deeper into Subway's ethos and really understand what makes the brand tick.I also took some time to get inspired for the print ads. I dug through some old magazines I had lying around the house and browsed Pinterest for creative ideas and save the good ones on my laptop folder. On top of that, I did a bit of a review from previous lectures by reading the slides. It helped me make sure I was on the right track with my work. Going over tips from past lessons gave me some fresh insights and reminded me of key strategies I can apply in my process.