Think like an advertising agency: being memorable, inspiring and entertaining

An advert can be an effective way to communicate expertise and ideas with patients

Although few aesthetic practitioners will have the revenue to employ the type of advertising agency that is used by multinationals, there are several important lessons that can be learnt from them and applied to individual brands. In this article, I will examine how their creative process has been used with some of the best-known brands in the world, including Budweiser, Nike and Sega.

The business objective of advertising is to raise awareness of a brand to the extent that it builds an audience that ultimately purchases a product. The reality is that, to most of us, advertising has traditionally been a murky world of poor jingles and questionable claims, which can be quickly skipped or ignored by the press of a button.

Yet, there are adverts that have become part of popular culture and can even be considered as art. Being a good advertiser is about understanding that no one has the right to enter someone's home and not serve them something entertaining or containing some depth or insight. Good advertising should be provocative, memorable and even uplifting. If not, at best, it will be ignored and, at its worst, it will insult the audience and damage the brand.