What Do We Mean By A ‘Big Idea’?

You can hardly fail to have noticed that we’ve been banging on about the crucial importance of having a Big Idea in financial services a lot recently. 

So, what do we mean by a Big Idea?

And why is that so important?

Well, when we talk about a Big Idea we mean a long-running holistic communications approach, based around an organising thought, with a distinctive visual property and tone of voice.

Put more simply, a Big Idea is a communications idea that works across everything. A brochure, a banner, a press ad, commercial – everything.

In its purest form it’s based on a fundamental insight into a company’s ethos (Artemis really do think of themselves a Profit Hunters for example) translated into a unique creative idea (Profits and Profit Hunters) and a distinctive writing style. 

But what really makes Artemis a Big Idea is the fact that it’s a campaign that’s been running for over two decades now. In posters, on TV in print and digital, on Artemis’s website, in their conferences, in charity ads, even on the fuselage of a sponsored aircraft – everything.

It’s the consistency here that matters. Every piece of Artemis communication builds on the last, constantly cementing the brand in people’s minds.

So, why is that so important? 

Partly because it makes a marketing budget punch way above its weight. In research Artemis have consistently outperformed competitors that have way more famous brand names and who spend many more millions more on marketing.

Also, because consistency breeds a sense of reassurance in the eye of the beholder. The impression that everything has been thought through, is constant – permanent even. And that sense of reassurance is incredibly important in a financial services context. 

In addition, because a big idea doesn’t rely on short-term performance figures to have a reason to advertise, it means brands can continue to keep themselves front of mind even when they’ve got nothing in particular to shout about. Or run tactical ads responding to world events. 

But the most important reason for having a Big Idea in financial services is that it’s a sector that’s  comparatively low interest. It’s not trainers, beer or cars, something that ordinary people actively want to know about. It’s something they think they’re supposed to know about at best.

Hence you need to use a lot more repetition to get your message noticed at all. And a more consistent creative approach to make that message stick in people’s minds.

Yes, coming up with a Big Idea rather than a series of one-offs is harder work in the first place.

But in the long run having one will make your life much, much easier.