One Trait of All Successful Advertisers
Advertising is big, big business. In 2009, Apple spent more than half a million dollars in advertising – which is nothing when compared to Microsoft’s $1.4 billion.1 A 30-second Super Bowl ad now costs almost $3 million.2 To get the most out of their advertising, companies must turn to advertising firms that have a record of providing a solid return on investment.
These advertisers are not always the most creative or innovative – but they are without fail the best communicators. The key to creating successful ads in a saturated market is to clearly communicate a message that compels an audience to complete a desired action. Follow these two simple steps to improve your advertising efforts:
Communicate the Right Message
Successful communication in advertising hinges on getting across the right message to the right audience. Look at solid data to find out who your target market is and what motivates them. When you know what motivates your audience, you can then create an ad campaign that speaks directly to their wants and needs.
Communicating the right message involves a lot of planning. Chevy’s 2006 Tahoe ads illustrate how a lack of planning can submarine an entire campaign. Chevy’s promotion let consumers create their own Tahoe ads from stock footage. The promotion soon started receiving unwanted attention when people started creating ads bashing the Tahoe. Chevy did not consider that the audience that was interacting with its ad was 20-somethings with a love of biting humor.
It is also important to make sure your ad doesn’t have an unintended message for different groups or nationalities. For example, in 2007, a Virginia tourism campaign revolved around pictures of people making a heart with their thumbs and index fingers for illustrate the state’s “Virginia Is for Lovers” campaign. Unfortunately, the gesture was also the symbol used by the Gangster Disciples, a violent Chicago gang. The campaign, which cost a reported $400,000, had to be quickly changed.
Communicate Clearly
In 2008, Microsoft created a bizarre ad campaign that featured Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld doing things like buying shoes or playing ping pong.
They then pulled the ads just two weeks after they were released, even the campaign reportedly cost Microsoft $10 million. Why? Because nobody really knew what they were supposed to be about.
Today's consumer is oversaturated with media. In an effort to get through to an audience, it is easy to get swept up in the race to create the next "big" thing. Pretty soon, advertisers are sacrificing the clarity of a message in the name of arresting attention. The best advertisers will tell you that the cleverest campaign in the world won’t succeed if it doesn’t clearly communicate its message.
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- http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/10/28/apples-2009-ad-budget-half-a-billion/
- http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/11/sportsline/main6082591.shtml