When would you seek A Second Opinion?
If you're an advertiser, you may have been presented a concept or concepts by your agency and are unsure as to the genuine merits of the work.
Doubtless the agency will have sold the concept to you with great conviction and enthusiasm. Of course they'll tell you it's great. But it may not be.
A Second Opinion will examine the concepts without any pre-conceived notions, and will appraise the concept on a number of parameters. Firstly, does it answer the brief? If so, then the idea is then evaluated on a number of other aspects. Is it engaging? Is it interesting? Is it comprehensible? Is it likely to be understood by the consumer at whom it's targeted? Is it likely to motivate the consumer to respond in some way? Does it have the 'X' Factor which might be lost on consumer focus groups?
A Second Opinion is mindful of the importance of ensuring something else that focus groups are unlikely to consider - something as rudimentary as whether consumers are likely to attribute the advertising to the correct brand! What would happen if the logo at the end of the commercial were to be changed to that of one of your competitors?
How many times have you heard someone enthusiastically describing an ad they've seen on TV, only to attribute it to the wrong brand? If you're Toyota, for example, the last thing you want is to have a consumer rave about the great ad they saw for Nissan!
And vice-versa.
You may seek A Second Opinion's advice because you suspect the concept placed before you is nothing more than a shameless attempt by its creators to impress no-one other than a group of their peers sitting on an award jury in the south of France.
We'll tell you whether the idea placed before you is merely the Emperor's new advertising or a genuinely fresh and potentially powerful new vehicle for your brand.
Conversely if a piece of work seems tired, uninspiring, formulaic and unlikely to be noticed, we'll tell you that too.
But it's in the new business pitch arena you might find A Second Opinion particularly useful.
If you're a client who's receiving a number of submissions from, say five competing agencies in a new business shootout, you may well find the assortment of ideas bewildering, not to mention impossible to judge.
That's when you'll find A Second Opinion's ability to analyse, and explain the strengths and weaknesses of the different offerings invaluable.
Even a client experienced in dealing with ad agencies will, we doubt, ever have had the benefit of an alternative Creative Director's evaluation of the advertising proposed by their agency.
At last you have a respected senior creative friend on your side. One who'll tell you the truth without fear or favour.
