Imagine you are hungry.

That shouldn’t be too difficult. It’s one of the most primitive human urges that everyone and everything across every continent experiences. It’s a signal from your body that says, “feed me” – a fundamental need.

But who cares about what you need when you are hungry? Any quick stop to Whataburger or the local Sac-N-Pac offers a plethora of options, and consumerism is all about options. What do you want? What are you hungry for?

Raise your hand if the name Shaun White rings a bell. Everyone’s hand goes up. Why have you heard of him? Is it because he can jump a snowboard higher than the U.S. national debt ceiling? Or is it because he has won the X-Games gold in SuperPipe four years in a row?

There are a few reasons he’s possibly the most prolific redhead since the ginger snap: outrageous, salient, relevant, marketing.

At Higher Creative, they offer a new answer to what consumers are hungry for, and it is blurring the line between creative advertising and marketing. They call it creative marketing. They apply marketing and advertising creatively to foster real meaning behind a brand. They give the brand salience. 

Remember, branding is not simply about the intrinsic elements of a brand. It’s not just about what a product is made of, or what it’s supposed to do, nor is it about brand image getting crammed down consumers’ throats. Branding is, rather, about the emotional connection between the consumer and the consumed.

Being outrageous makes perfect cents. Traditional advertising no longer works. If you want to get the message across, it’s important to be outrageous, off the wall and relevant. 

When marketing to consumers, it’s important to understand that often, people tend to buy things because of the way those things make them feel, not out of necessity. 

Take Red Bull, for example. Red Bull has been around since the early ‘80s, but most of us had no idea what the heck it was until the turn of the century. This is because Red Bull has mastered the art of being outrageous. 

When Red Bull first started, it was a drink served to cab drivers in Thailand to keep them alert during long working shifts. How did it get from A to B? 

Simply because Red Bull is everywhere, just like the commercial says: It gives you wings. Its ads are real, branded content of people doing death-defying stunts while on fire, in the air or on water – all with that blue-and-silver emblem proudly on display. 

Red Bull has branded itself in such a way that people make an emotional connection to the brand and buy its products because of the way the brand makes them feel. It’s a feeling of association: outrageous, off the wall, relevance.

A rider-driven branding agency?

At Higher Creative, they understand both the agency side and the consumer side of their market. Everyone there is an avid action sports enthusiast. From wakeboarding, surfing and rock climbing to snowboarding, BMX and everything in between, you will find a level of market comprehension that is matched by none other.

The mantra at Higher Creative is to make brands mean something to consumers. Higher Creative helps brands connect with their customers by providing insight-driven ideas to broaden the creative development of a brand’s product line. It can help increase both brand salience and relevance. 

At Higher Creative, they harness the power of emotion to make brands more engaging by deeply studying emotion and the art of selling to it, then design a strategy to best connect consumer and brand.

As the website says, “We connect emotion to your brand, we help give your brand meaning, we create differentiation. We are Higher Creative.”

“Progression, pushing the limits, passion … these driving forces are what have inspired athletes to dedicate their lives to their sport – going higher, faster and further than anyone has ever thought to be possible. Athletes around the world continue to push the limits every day in relentless pursuit of one goal: progression. Our goal is to become so entrenched in the action sports community that one day, we will bring the X-Games to Austin, Texas. We believe this industry is the ultimate expression of art and athleticism. The passion of all the athletes involved is undeniable. We’re here to make waves. We are here to shake things up. We are Higher Creative.” 

– Loy G. White, MBA, president of Higher Creative

For more information on Higher Creative, visit www.higher-creative.com, send an email to info@higher-creative.com or call 512-390-1544.