“I Saw/Heard a Great Ad Yesterday…”
“…but I don’t remember who it was for.”
How many times have you had that conversation with friends, family or co-workers? Happens a lot. Too much, if you ask me. For example, here’s a pop quiz (and don’t cheat):
That TV campaign with the adult sitting in a kindergarten classroom asking kids which is better, fast or slow, bigger or smaller, doing two things at once or doing one… What Brand is that campaign advertising? If you know the answer right off the bat, good on ya for paying such close attention. It’s for AT&T.
You may have thought it was for a bank or investment company. It sure feels like a bank ad, doesn’t it? Maybe because Ally ran a similar campaign a few years ago. If you said, “I think it’s for a phone company, but I’m not sure which one,” you were close. But my guess is, the average viewer isn’t really sure.
Think of all the times you’ve seen or heard an ad that made you laugh, made you cry, made you feel something… and you remembered the feeling, but not the Brand.
From an advertising standpoint, that’s an ad that hasn’t done its whole job. Establish the emotional connection, check. Memorable creative, check. But that’s not enough. The listener/viewer has to walk away from that message knowing who said it. That’s the very definition of “Brand awareness,” and it’s what leads to increased market share. It’s why ads work in the first place.
Here’s a great example of an ad that I believe does this job well:
Maybe you found the ad funny, maybe not. Humor is subjective, as they say. But there’s no mistaking who that commercial is for. Because the product is such an important component to the storyline of the spot, there’s little chance anyone watching could say, “I think it was for some kind of candy, but I’m not sure which one.”
If you’re a small, local business, making that connection is even more important. National brands like Skittles and AT&T have the benefit of being able to throw millions of dollars into an ad campaign, so even if the message is weak, the spot can air enough times to eventually get viewers to remember them. However, most local businesses don’t have that luxury. The advertising budgets for your local small business is probably in the thousands, or even in the hundreds of dollars monthly. So each ad you run has to be as effective as possible. The message must be meaningful to the viewer/listener, and the viewer/listener must be able to recall who told it to them. Otherwise, you’ll have no chance to turn that viewer/listener into your customer, and the money you spent to write, produce, and air that spot has effectively been wasted.
Making a memorable commercial is crucial to the success of your business’ ad campaign. Just make sure people who see or hear it remember you, not just the ad.
Good luck!
At Slater’s Garage Ads & Audio, we help small businesses put a unique voice to their marketing through a combination of audio, video and social media. To find out how we can help you bring your marketing to life, contact us today.