Insights

Insights, Human Truths, Pain Points, Big Idea
Insight
on a Creative Brief

The following terms are often seen as interchangeable.

Human Truth

A human truth is a fundamental and relatable insight about human behavior, emotions, or desires that resonates universally with a wide range of people. It captures a deep understanding of human nature, revealing what motivates and drives individuals on a fundamental level.

I highlighted a couple of key phrases, and note they included both the phrases resonate and relevant.

Yes, it needs to focus on:

  1. Emotional Connection: Human truths tap into universal emotions and experiences that people can easily relate to.
  2. Relevance: A human truth ensures that the advertising message is relevant to the audience’s lives. It reflects their real needs, desires, and challenges, making the advertisement more relatable and compelling.
  3. Authenticity: When advertising campaigns are built on human truths, they come across as authentic and genuine.
  4. Memorability: Human truths often evoke strong emotions, making the advertising message more memorable. People are more likely to remember and share ads that resonate with their own experiences and feelings, leading to increased word-of-mouth promotion.
  5. Differentiation: While human truths are universal, how they are expressed and integrated into an advertising campaign can be unique to each brand. By using a human truth as a foundation, advertisers can differentiate their brand from competitors by presenting their product, service or cause in a way that resonates uniquely with their target audience.
  6. Understanding Audience Needs: A human truth helps advertisers gain a deeper understanding of their target audience. By identifying what drives and motivates consumers, brands can tailor their messaging and offerings to better meet their needs.
  7. Long-Term Appeal: Human truths are not tied to fleeting trends or short-lived fads. They are timeless and enduring insights into human behavior, ensuring that the advertising message remains relevant and effective over time.

Pain Point

A pain point is a specific problem or challenge that the target audience faces. It is used as a basis for deriving a brand insight in a creative brief. A brand insight is a deep understanding (relevance) of the audience’s motivations, desires, and emotions related to the pain point. It helps guide the creative team in developing an effective advertising campaign that resonates with the audience and addresses their needs. A pain point is something your brand has to overcome as part of the insight process.

  • Pain Points can be fairly universal, but most of the time they may be more unique to a specific segment or persona.
  • It could be a complete lack of awareness of what you do or the type of person who uses you. But again, this is somewhat overused.
  • Lack of time could be one, but it’s also often overused. Everyone is busy. But sometimes this can be unique to your segment.
  • FOMO is another possible pain point.
  • Feeling unsure about making the right choice often keeps people from even giving something a try.
  • Your audience might be somewhat aware of you, but they don’t really understand why they should be considering you. And this is often a lack of understanding from a primary category perspective. They see an item, such as a cooking kit from Blue Apron or Hello Fresh as a luxury. To overcome this, you could use this pain point to showcase that using a kit like this is (a) less money than eating out, and more importantly (b) it’s the perfect thing to do when you invite friends over as a way to cook and eat food from a different part of the world. Thus, it could be the focal point of a night-time event with friends.
Taken together,
Human Truths and Pain Points
lead to challenges and insight sections on a creative brief

Watch the following video.

He talks about a fairly common problem – Identifying the difference between an insight and just an observation.

It seems like most briefs I see students do are merely observations. Without being able to turn it into an insight, the student writes down the observation and it gets ignored during the creative strategy.

Understand these takeaways:

  • What he terms the “3 W’s”
  • The Heart of the Value Proposition (insight) – Fresh, True, Targeted
  • His 3 tips for writing a better insight.
  • Please note, not everyone stresses the “first person” aspect as he does. But, I definitely understand what he’s saying. Too often we write an insight that does reflect the strength of our brand, but that doesn’t mean our audience believes it’s important. Writing in the first person forces you to ask “what do they think now, and would this be important to motivate them later?”
InsightExamples
These ones are a bit BIGGER than some of the specific ones above or below
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More Examples of Insights
Take a quick peek at these five. They are a bit more universal compared to how others talk about these.
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• Hover on the boxes on a desktop or laptop.
• Tap if you're on a tablet or smartphone.
Insights apply more to the target, than the product or service.
Example:National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign “Above the Influence”
Insight: Teens are sensitive to influence, positive and negative from peers and the media.
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Solution: Position influence itself rather than drugs as the enemy that gets in the way of what you want to do.
Insights are more about the category, than the brand.
Example:Jenny Craig
Insight: Dieters truly want to believe that there is a diet that will succeed this time. They are hopeful and willing to believe if a plan has worked for others, it will work for them.
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Solution: Speak to the category driver, ‘optimism’. There are few brands quite as optimistic as Jenny Craig. The strategy was brought to life brilliantly as dieters everywhere watched Kirstie Allie, America’s favorite 'fat actress,' shed 75 pounds and return to glamour. Many strong brands are based on category insights.
Insights focus more on what is enduring, than what is new.
Example:Abercrombie
Insight: While pre-teen adolescents teens say they want to be trendy, they actually are the antithesis – they want fashion that is ‘lasting’ so they will fit in.
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Solution: Clothing that is a clever blend of classic styles of jeans, t-shirts and sweats with fashion following not trendsetting details.
Insights inspire new ideas, not the same old stuff.
Example:Payless Shoes
Insight: Men are not just women with bigger feet, they mean something different when they say they want ‘casual shoes’, something they can wear everyday with everything.
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Solution: Give men a mix of classic and fashionable shoe styles and treat them differently when they come in the store.
Insights reveal more about how people want to feel, than what they think.
Examples:Brands built on insights about desired lifestyle include Nike, Starbucks, Apple, BMW, Martha Stewart, Oprah and more.
Insight: People buy brands that fit the life they want to lead.
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Solution: Make users love how they feel about themselves when using or wearing the brand – loved, secure, indulged, athletic, healthy, smart or productive.
Below is a set of fairly generic examples based on Truths that probably appeal to any segment or persona
  1. Coca-Cola: “Share a Coke” Human Truth: The desire for personalization and connection.
    Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign replaced its iconic logo with popular names and phrases. This tapped into people’s desire for personalization, making the product feel more tailored to individuals. The campaign encouraged people to find bottles with their names or the names of loved ones and share the experience, enhancing the sense of connection with others.
  2. Dove: “Real Beauty” Human Truth: The need for self-acceptance and body positivity.
    Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign challenged conventional beauty standards by featuring women of diverse body shapes and sizes. This campaign addressed the human truth that many individuals struggle with body image and self-esteem, encouraging them to embrace their uniqueness and feel beautiful in their skin.
  3. Apple: “Think Different” Human Truth: The aspiration for individuality and creativity.
    Apple’s “Think Different” campaign celebrated iconic personalities who made a significant impact on the world by thinking differently. By associating its products with creativity and innovation, Apple tapped into the human truth that people admire and strive for individuality, encouraging them to choose Apple products as a means of self-expression.
  4. Nike: “Just Do It” Human Truth: The longing for empowerment and achievement.
    Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign motivated individuals to push their limits and achieve greatness. By addressing the human truth that people desire empowerment and success, the campaign inspired athletes and non-athletes alike to take action and pursue their goals fearlessly.
  5. Amazon: “A Smile with Every Purchase” Human Truth: The pursuit of happiness through convenience and delight.
    Amazon’s customer-centric campaigns focus on the joy and convenience of shopping online. By highlighting the ease of purchasing and the excitement of receiving packages, Amazon taps into the human truth that people seek happiness and satisfaction in their buying experiences.
  6. Always: “Like a Girl” Human Truth: The need for gender equality and empowerment.
    Always’ “Like a Girl” campaign challenged the negative connotations associated with the phrase “like a girl.” It highlighted the human truth that gender stereotypes can affect self-confidence and aspirations. The campaign aimed to empower young girls and women, encouraging them to embrace their strengths and capabilities.
  7. Google: “Year in Search” Human Truth: The quest for knowledge and understanding.
    Google’s “Year in Search” campaigns showcase the top searches and events of the year, reflecting the collective curiosity and desire for knowledge. By touching on the human truth that people want to understand the world around them, Google reinforces its role as a reliable source of information and connection.
  8. Subway: “Eat Fresh” Human Truth: The pursuit of healthier choices and well-being.
    Subway’s “Eat Fresh” campaign highlighted the desire for healthier food options. By positioning their products as fresh and customizable, Subway tapped into the human truth that people strive to make healthier choices in their diets, appealing to health-conscious consumers.
  9. Airbnb: “Belong Anywhere” Human Truth: The yearning for authentic experiences and belonging.
    Airbnb’s “Belong Anywhere” campaign emphasized the human truth that travelers seek more meaningful connections and authentic experiences when exploring new places. The campaign promoted the idea that staying with locals offers a sense of belonging, encouraging travelers to choose Airbnb for a more immersive and personal experience.
  10. Toyota: “Let’s Go Places” Human Truth: The desire for adventure and exploration.
    Toyota’s “Let’s Go Places” campaign appealed to the human truth that people crave adventure and new experiences. The campaign showcased Toyota vehicles as the perfect companions for journeys, tapping into the aspirations of travelers and adventurers.

More Examples

On outside blogs.

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