Clever advertising is never about selling but about awareness. You will never sell anything using advertising. That may sound counter-intuitive, but it is fact. The fact is awareness sells.
There is no such thing as guaranteed sales. Advertising is about engaging people… like prompting them to go to the store… checking out an online contest or calling in for a meeting. Advertising is there to infiltrate the public conscious. It sounds invasive, but really it’s just about getting a name out there. It’s about making the audience identify with the concept, so that it becomes part of them, culture and resonates with lifestyle.
For commercial advertising, flashing dollar signs, discounts, and urging commentary in the realm of infomercials doesn’t engage us at the core of our consciousness. If anything, it makes us take it less seriously, and we don’t focus on it. We watch it, process it and move on.
During the world cup, official sponsor stock prices went up. More movement in the market wasn’t due to their commercials, but the stories they told and their presence in the games. Interactive ads such as online banners, viral video and mobile applications have greatly increased this adaptation. A good ad would like to share a concept with you, make you laugh, cry, to get motivated, and then with that set of ideals in mind, hope you identify with it.
The ad has to have meaning, and once it does, it is in the mind – therefore, the long run. Don’t think of advertising as selling; think of advertising as a propelling awareness.