Why Good Advertising Works?!!

“Advertising doesn’t affect us” - For those of us in marketing, this is a familiar thing to hear. You can respond to this by pointing out that U.S. companies would not invest $70 billion (yes, that's the size of TV's ad market) in something they thought didn't work. Companies expect advertising to produce returns, just like any other investment. The reason why many of us think advertising doesn't "work" is that we tend to believe that advertisements are trying to make us do something immediately.

This is wrong.

Successful advertising rarely succeeds through argument or calls to action. Instead, it creates positive memories and feelings that influence our behavior over time to encourage us to buy something at a later date. No one likes to think that they are easily influenced. In fact, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that we hardly respond to attempts at persuasion.

Instead, the best advertisements are ingenious and well suited at leaving impressions. In sum, the best advertisements use images, jingles, and stories to focus attention on the brand. They are not just creative for creative's sake. The crucial challenge for marketers is: What's the best way to translate these memories into actions?

There is a debate between two groups. The first group believes in raw persuasion. Its focus is on making an argument that will encourage you, with the delivery of "new news," to buy something right away. The second group believes in the power of engagement. Its focus is on creating a positive experience that will influence you over the longer-term and help you decide to buy something at a later date. Here, the objective is to seed positive ideas and memories that will attract you to the brand.

But this distinction is largely a myth. Advertisers actually have little control over how audiences receive their message. New news might appear relevant and credible to some while others consider it unpersuasive. Similarly, a TV commercial designed to engage the viewer might cause you to buy the brand immediately, simply because it reminds you of how much you enjoy the product. So it differs from individual to individual.

Once in a blue moon an advert might leave you thinking, "Just what I need!" More often, however, you barely attend to the commercials you see. Unless you see the advertisement again and again it doesn't trigger the urge to buy something at a later date. Even then, it is not the ad that matters. The ideas, impressions and positive feelings about the brand that matter.

So contrary to many people's beliefs, advertising does influence them. But advertising's influence is subtle. But engaging and memorable ads seed memories that influence our behavior. You may not think advertising influences you, but marketers do!!