How many times have we heard ourselves and those around us complain about how there never seems to be enough time? And how often have we walked down an aisle in a grocery store and gotten overwhelmed by lines and choices of products? The answer would be ‘countless times’. Then why is it that advertisers often, in their rush to spend their marketing/advertising budgets often fail to understand what exactly they are competing with before formulating the message they want to communicate to the buyer.
While it is simple to define ‘competitors’ as those whom you are competing with, it would be naïve to limit the scope to only include products or businesses in the same category. Today’s lifestyle is often the major competitor. With the increasing tendency of multitasking and quick fixes, where cost of living is sky rocketing, and people are working more than one job or longer hours, people place a greater value on the little time they have left to spend with their families, friends and personal development.
What does this mean to marketers? It means there are only a few seconds in a day, for companies, to get consumers’ attention and how they reach out to consumers is equally significant. According to a research conducted by McKinsey in Europe, 54% of the respondent base went online to collect information before making a purchase. This means companies should have a stronger and mindful online presence, whether it’s through digital advertising or social media. It’s important to streamline your websites and have engaging topics of discussions on your social media sites and user-friendly navigation to assist consumers in getting the information they want effortlessly…. And quickly.
Information overload is a definite competing factor and should be recognized and analysed when trying to get consumers’ attention. Whatever it is you have to say, say it well and say it fast. Be sure that what you are claiming to offer is relevant to your consumer’s need.
know what they think, how they feel, who influences them, what drives them to buy that product and at what time,
what makes them pick up the one brand as opposed to the others,
when and where are they most receptive to actually listen to what you are trying to say,
Here are a few tips to make sure that your point gets across and sticks!
Do not ramble. You have to be focussed. You need to be concise.
Be catchy. There is enough serious stuff going on in the world. Don’t be afraid of a little cleverness, a little colour, a little music, a little positive emotion.
Keep it light. People like funny. If your brand puts that smile on their faces, they will remember you. Your job is partially done if they remember you fondly, and have positive emotional associations with your brand.
It goes without saying, of course, that your product should deliver on what it promises… marketing 101. No amount of cleverness or humour can make up for a brand that doesn’t deliver on its promise. Actually, you’ll tick off your consumers even more because they’ve taken out the time that they could have used else where to engage with your brand … only to be disappointed. But if you convey your promise of satisfaction and deliverance of benefits in a simple, light and humorous way, and deliver…you’ll definitely stand out.
You need to get inside their heads and step into their shoes to know how they think, how they process all the information bombarding them from everywhere. You need to understand this in order to break through all the clutter sucking up all their time. After all, that’s what advertising should do, gain share of mind and top of mind.
Please share your comments. We’d love to hear what you have to say.
Even if you have no interest in sport, there is something about the Olympics that makes even the most athletically apathetic tune in and take notice. That something is the drive, determination and dedication of the Olympic athletes. These individuals train tirelessly for the opportunity to prove themselves at their most prodigious competition. As spectators, we get to know them, their stories and for a couple of weeks watch how their life’s goal plays out for the world to see.
What’s more, we witness the raw emotion seen only when the human condition is pushed to its limit. For some, hopes and dreams will be realized, while others will be crushed. There are no second chances; although, sometimes the difference between winning or losing simply comes down to chance.
Emotive advertising
What is not left to chance are the messages of the Olympic sponsors. The advertising these sponsors employ bank on the human element to pull on the heart strings of their consumers in the hopes of propelling their brands forward. And with good reason – emotive advertising has proven its impact on the mind of the consumer.
Emotion within advertising, is not unlike the emotion felt during the Olympic games. It goes beyond borders. Ultimately, no matter who we are or where we call home, we understand and truly relate to one another on a primitive, human level.
It’s been done before
Appealing to human emotion in advertising is nothing new. Some of the strongest brands in the world have successfully leveraged emotion in their campaigns. Let’s look at a few:
How does it work?
Although it isn’t new, emotive advertising has always required an authentic approach to be successful. The emotion behind the message must align directly with the brand. And, the audience must be able to effortlessly make that connection in order to trust the brand message. Basically, you can’t just insert your logo at the end of a heart felt ad, having no relation to your brand, and expect it will resonate with your market. As we all know, the implications of poor brand alignment within advertising messaging, emotional or otherwise, can be catastrophic.
Social implications
It is no secret that a misstep in brand advertising will cause your market to turn on you, and their good opinion once lost, takes a lot to gain back. What was once the brand influencing the market, is now the market influencing the brand. Persuasion has taken a back seat to public preference. Brands have their hands tied, so to speak, and are simply trying to keep hold of their reputations within the social realm.
Emotionally attached
The more technologically connected consumers become, the less emotionally attached (or loyal) they can feel. It has been said that as consumers, we make decisions emotionally and then justify them rationally. No consumer goes to the effort of typing something online without the hopes of being commented on, liked, shared or retweeted. Now more than ever, emotive advertising could be the key to bringing the consumer and brand back together. Social media has provided an outlet for consumers to be heard, and if brands don’t take action, they will be left behind. After all, if brand is a living entity, it only makes sense that it would appeal to its market’s wants and needs in an emotional context.
You don’t have to be an Olympic sponsor to realize the benefit of emotive advertising. And, it doesn’t matter if your brand is a soft drink, telephone, car or beauty product. In an effort to better understand consumers, let’s not just speak to ourselves, lets speak to each other. It could be just the thing our brands need.
Five years ago social media was 3% of our total media spend. Today it’s more than 20% and growing fast. ~ Muhtar Kent (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Coca-Cola Company)
Kudos to Coca-Cola‘s ability to integrate the new while keeping their heritage and brand positioning. Here are just a couple of examples of how Coca-Cola is harnessing social media to it’s advantage The Coca-Cola campaign titled “The happiness machine” was a video short, never intended to be aired on traditional broadcast media. It was created over a year ago utilizing the virility of social networks such as YouTube to convey its message of communal caring and assistance for one another. The strength and appeal of the videos are on the impromptu reaction to the people being filmed and by judging by the number of views of the videos, resonates with their consumer base. Coca-Cola again reinforces it’s basic positioning: It’s the real thing! Consumers want to be engaged by the brands they choose and Coca-Cola has demonstrated that real reactions rather then staged, appeal to the social media audience.
This video has been viewed 4,069,045 times since January of last year and has been liked 13,368 likes on YouTube.
Another example is the campaign that was followed by the “The Coca-Cola Happiness Truck” video which resulted in an international overall good feeling.
This video has been viewed 1,136,192 times since February this year and has been liked 3,159 likes on YouTube.
When an athlete is weary, run down or even a little discouraged… is it realistic for him or her to go and run a race, without much training in hopes of coming in first? No.
Original photo by d_vdm available under a creative commons license
Likewise, it’s not very realistic to aim to come out of a recession thinking you’re going to be in first place without having put the time into training your consumers. Branding is critical to create an educated consumer, a consumer who knows your product is front-of-the line. There’s no need to push the envelope of your marketing budget and to go for glory in these tough times, but keeping the momentum is key. Maintain the brand energy, and nurture your brand investment. You’ll make sure the long-term brand fitness by keeping it fit on a daily basis!
What is brand fitness?
A fit brand is a brand that lives a long healthy life, one of profitable longevity.Hold it. Maintain your existing budget to sustain your market share.
