Don't mistake gimmick for creativity

Three things media industry types should keep repeating to themselves. I say media and not advertising even though these are extracted from an interview Arena did with Ogilvy & Mather Singapore's group chairman Stephen Mangham. Because anyone who is trying to reach out to the people, whether you're in advertising or marketing or public relations or market research or journalism, we could all be better at our jobs and more useful human beings by remembering these.

1. Teaser campaigns are overused. Unless you have a brilliant idea behind it, you should bring the launch forward. Why spend money running a campaign when you're not advertising the product or brand name?

2. Taglines are overestimated in their value and are not magic weapons that make a sale. On its own, without ideas behind it, it's just a set of words. Nike's famous tagline "Just Do It," sums up what it stands for - that anybody can be an athlete. Divorce it from the brand and it's meaningless.

3. Jargon gets in the way of ideas. Speak in language your mum understands. People hide behind jargon and use it without thinking about it. I think the most brilliant communicators are those who use plain language.