Tourism advertising has a knack for beauty.
Lush landscapes. Emotive soundtracks. Aspirational travel moments.
But in a category dominated by gorgeous imagery, one question often gets lost:
What is the audience actually meant to do after seeing the ad?
That’s Step 5 in The Six Unmissable Steps to a Winning Creative Strategy:
👉 Agree what the audience should do differently after consuming the message.
Let’s take the latest Virgin Atlantic commercial as an example.
Titled “Be a Rainbow in the Clouds”, the ad is a cinematic journey through subtle cross-cultural moments of kindness and discovery. It’s visually engaging, stylishly cast, and unmistakably on-brand.
The brand’s objective seems clear on one level: to differentiate Virgin Atlantic from its long-haul competitors (namely British Airways). But dig a little deeper, and the strategic outcome becomes less certain.
What’s the behavioural ask?
That’s the question Step 5 is designed to clarify.
Here are four possible objectives that could underpin this campaign — each valid, but very different:
- Inspire desire for long-haul travel in general?
- Place Virgin Atlantic on the consideration list for travellers already planning?
- Drive urgency to book now, for those already leaning toward Virgin?
- Or simply reinforce a broad brand preference and trust in the future?
The problem isn’t that any of these are wrong.
It’s that trying to do all of them at once means doing none of them well.
Without clarity around the single behavioural outcome – the one shift in thought, feeling or action the brand wants to create – the campaign risks looking beautiful but landing soft.
Worse, it could actually grow the category and send traffic to competitors.
Clarity beats coverage
This is where strategy serves creativity.
A strong campaign doesn’t just aim for emotional resonance or production polish. It connects that resonance to a desired response.
Step 5 is the bridge between attention and action.
It forces marketers, strategists and creatives to ask:
“What exactly are we asking the audience to do differently as a result of this ad?”
Until that’s clear, you’re still writing the brief.
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