That said, in 2018 analysis of the Adtrack database from Kantar shows that in 2018, 77% of ads failed to resonate with consumers. Incidentally, the categories which consistently had the highest recall are carbonated soft drinks, fast food (QSR) restaurants, CPG, banking, and alcoholic beverages. What’s clear is that, while capturing the consumers attention is imperative, it must result in brand recall.
To ensure ads are optimized, focus on the following:
1. ATTENTION
2. BRAND LINK
3. MESSAGE
ATTENTION
Consumers do not remember the expected. Therefore, educate, entertain and/or inspire -- but defy convention. Do something different. Take a risk. Most brand managers shy away from this path because it has higher-risk. That said, with higher-risk there is higher reward.
A timeless example of this was DDB’s (1959) Volkswagen campaign “Think Small”. At the time there was a notable trend towards larger cars in the United States and “thinking big”. Bigger was definitely seen as better. We have previously discussed truth and authenticity as brand attributes, but this campaign is an excellent example. This campaign was in effect, the exact opposite of how cars were marketed at the time.
Speaking of entertaining, another effective technique to gain attention is to provide (someone) with amusement or enjoyment. It’s why consumers engage media in the first place. So, make your ad part of the entertainment. Incidentally, humour is not the only way to connect with consumers. A great, inspired example is Canadian Tire’s “We All Play for Canada” Olympic (CSR) campaign’s “First Skate” ad which tells the touching story of a father fashioning a sledge for his paraplegic son.
Brands need to remain ‘top of mind’ - so find ways to drive popular culture. Budweiser’s ‘Wassup’ commercial is an excellent example. Originally premiered during NBC’s Monday Night Football in December 1999, the campaign became a pop-culture catchphrase and won the Cannes Grand Prix award and was inducted into the CLIO Hall of Fame.
The ad creative also needs to be matched to the appropriate media. If you knew, for example, that 78% of all engagement with the video you created would be via mobile on Facebook, would you not optimize the video for that channel? Alternatively, if you knew your print ad would only be extended to billboards, would you not optimize for vehicles speeding by at 80 kms per hour? Of course you would.
You should also be thinking about virality. Specifically, what makes something sharable? There is a wealth of information available of the science of making things go viral and even a great TED Talk by BuzzFeed's Publisher, Dao Nguyen. As an aside, there are a number of (largely unconscious) variables involved in what makes brands stand the test of time, which we have previously discussed at length.
BRAND LINK
The highest brand link comes from connecting your brand closer to the climax of the ad’s story. By brand we ideally mean USP or brand truth. So, don’t just make your brand central to the story - make it the driver of the story itself.
Another useful way to tell a compelling human-interest story is to connect with your target audience using a meaningful consumer insight or find an emotional story to demonstrate how the consumer engages your brand.
But arguably, the single most important element in telling your brand story is to amplify what sets you apart from everyone else. Call it whatever you like - USP or brand truth, consumer benefit (or insert the buzzword du jour.) The point is to identify what makes your brand unique and different and weave that into your story (with a strong visual cue.)
MESSAGE
You probably already know this, however, when brand equity is measured it is based upon what the consumer believes (not what you want them to believe.) To this end, communication is not what is said, rather it is what is heard. The best brand communication therefore occurs when you focus on the one benefit that moves consumers. It’s about telling the story behind your brand purpose.
Ask yourself, if you could tell the consumer one thing about your product or service - what would it be? Remember also that the more messages you put into your ad, the less likely it is that consumers recall your primary message. *Millward-Brown data demonstrates that when an ad has more than one message the consumer recall drops by 37%.
Ultimately, try to move from a functional to an emotional benefit. Why? Because triggering an emotional reaction, whether joy, sadness, humour or sympathy, should be the goal of any creative.
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