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MAR 11 - In advertising, relevance is the key to success, said Yordan Zhechev, Creative Director at the advertising agency DDB Sofia at this week’s Ghastly Bunch evening. The guest, an AUBG graduate, a former Radio AURA general manager, and a founding member of the Ghastly Bunch, spoke about the advertising industry in Bulgaria, its past, and its prospects. In the country, the current trend of focusing on “creativity for the sake of creativity” has led to overly original commercials that are unrelated to the product they advertise, Zhechev said. No commercials existed during the socialist regime, and Bulgarians were not able to develop a “threshold for advertising.” That’s why when the transition to a market economy began, every promotional material worked: everyone was suddenly fascinated with the phenomenon of advertising, Zhechev said. Talking about today’s market situation, Zhechev said that advertising companies are able to afford making ads of established, easily identifiable trademarks (like Coca Cola) as creative as possible, but Bulgaria does not have such a tradition yet. He pointed out the DDB campaign with the slogan “Because we sell medicines, we know that they are not the only things that cure” for a chain of pharmacies as an endeavor to lay the foundations of the brand through advertisements. The guest also spoke about delivering an appropriate message through an appropriate medium. As an example, he mentioned the motto “Bread and circuses,” which appeared on bread packages to promote the Bulgarian premier of the TV series Rome. Zhechev, because of his radio background, thinks radio is still the most influential medium able to “move you to new worlds in seconds.” Good advertising depends on establishing a brand with a clear and consistent philosophy. Producing an ad should start from the brand itself. The approach to each product should be to create a history for the brand and build on it, Zhechev said. “Once you have the philosophy, just go wild.” 
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