| |
| |
|
WebsiteAlways |
|
When Advertising Wears Out
One of the challenges facing marketers is determining the most effective level of advertising exposure for a brand, while maintaining a given budget. Conceptually, the media planner could choose continuous advertising (even exposures spread over a period of time) or follow a strategy of pulsing ("on" for some months and "off" for others). The decision is important because the wrong one will considerably affect customer response. When advertisements are run at a low frequency (very few times), they run a risk of going unnoticed. The first time customers view an advertisement, a majority of the time, the message doesn't even process in their minds. On the other hand, when an advertisement is run at a high frequency, advertising wearout may occur. Therefore, the task at hand is finding just the right frequency for a positive response. Overly repetitive messages typically have a negative effect on customer attitudes as they relate to a brand. Advertising wearout occurs when, at some level of repetition, the customer's affective response is either no longer positive or shows a significant decline. Advertising wearout is the result of excessive frequency causing viewers to perceive there's nothing new to be gained from processing the advertisement, thereby withdrawing attention. That's assuming all possible customers view every exposure, which is unrealistic. Not every customer will see every rotation. That's why it becomes difficult to find the optimal level of exposure. Media planners must remember that not every rotation is seen by all customers. Wearout can also be a hazard, causing negative customer attitudes. Aggressively communicating with your customers doesn't always lead to poor or deteriorating relationships. But unless media's carefully planned and executed, it may ruin the opportunity to build long-term customer equity. So, the question is "How do marketers solve the puzzle of how frequently to expose their advertisements?" First, we have to address the issue of wearout. To avoid wearout, marketers frequently develop and rotate a pool of advertisements that employ different executions but convey the same basic message and claims. These executions typically share a number of common features, such as brand name, logo, tag line and general layout, while other features such as headline, copy and graphic elements are varied. The logic is that by introducing ample variations in advertising executions, the onset of wearout will be delayed. At the same time, the continued use of certain features of the advertisement across executions establishes consistency and presumably builds brand recognition or equity. To understand why wearout occurs, scientists studied the brain to understand cognitive thinking and responses to these situations. They found the brain tends to ignore an object or theme that's repeated too many times. Essentially, most communication works by triggering memories. Old images or concepts are associated with something in the advertisement, recognizing elements as familiar. In the process, something new may be introduced and the brain links it with the old. When something new or unknown to a customer is presented to the brain for processing it evaluates: a) whether it is new and b) whether it corresponds to prior experience, knowledge and beliefs. The familiar portion of the advertisement is treated more casually. The brain recognizes it and spends less time evaluating its validity. It's interpreted as given. To that end, marketers should change portions of advertisements to keep customers interested. Of course, when considering advertising wearout, we must consider that each situation, product, market, and many other characteristics are always variable factors that can't be conformed to an "advertising mold." Each situation must be dealt with differently. Radio, television and print media wearout at different levels; print media tends to wearout more quickly than more entertaining forms of media such as television. For example, which would you rather do, watch a commercial over and over, or read an article over and over? Obviously the stimulation that occurs with entertaining commercials will bring customers back more easily than a newspaper or magazine article. The best way for marketers to fend off wearout is to rotate variations in theme with different executions of the same message strategy. Regarding low frequencies, the question remains, "What isn't enough?" That's also dependent on the situation, but budget allowing, multiple exposures are more effective than one or a few. Media schedules are based on budgets and demographics. When selling products to the elderly, a low frequency will generally suffice. As for teens, the higher the frequency the better. Business-to-business typically requires higher frequency, as well. Simply put, the shorter the attention span of the customer, the more exposures necessary to break through. There's no finite answer to the question of advertising wearout. The most important variables in deciding the optimal frequency are an understanding of the customer, rotating different advertisements, and keeping the customer's attention. There are rewards in reminding the consumer about the attributes of a brand. Reinforcement and refreshment of existing attribute, without wearing out the message, is a primary goal of advertising. Mark Levit is managing partner of Partners & Levit Advertising New York and a professor of marketing at New York University. For more information visit http://www.partnerslevit.com or call
MORE RESOURCES:
Advertising - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Harness the Power of Direct Marketing - More Small Business Power Tools One of the most powerful tools available to small businesses is direct mail. By this I don't mean electronic, Internet-based mail, but the old-fashioned kind that requires a stamp and a trip to the post office. How to Write Ads that Pull Orders If your ads aren't paying off then you need this quick method in writing ads that get orders. Step 1 - Write a headline that will draw attention to your product or service. Cable Ads 5 Bucks! Cable has grown from 13 houses connected together in 1948 to coverage of nearly 70% of all households in the U.S. Add More Pizzazz To Your Ad For More Profits I recently completed a Marketing Makeover for an Ad that wasn't generating results for the owner of a Piano Tuning Business.Here is the original ad:======================================== A BETTER PIANOA well tuned and adjusted piano is a beautiful instrument. Getting the Most Out of Your Networking Group Here is my personal list of things to do at your networking group:(1) Bring your business cards. Sound simple? Well, I regularly meet people at networking groups who have forgotten their cards or their cards are at the printers. 11 Ways To Make Your Business Cards Work For You 1. Spend money on decent quality business cards. Creating a Winning Logo Creating a logo to get you noticed.When you're branding a company with a name, a colour scheme and a logo the logo is often not given enough care and attention. Small Business Image The single easiest way to increase sales is to look professional. People believe what they see. Lamination of Signs I suspect that everyone has an idea of what lamination is even if you have only seen it in passing. Restaurant menus are a common example. Why Most Advertisements Stink! Question: What do you think the most important part of any ad is? Your company name? Your telephone number? Your offer? Look at your own advertising. What stands out? What is in the largest print? If it's your company name or logo hold out your wrist so I can whack it with a stick. LED video Displays LED video displays give you the power to communicate, to motivate, and to entertain. Led video displays are seen to be sited for outdoor advertising, in casinos, for events like sporting events in stadium and arena, for staging and mobile display etc. What Does the Back of Your Business Card Say? Business cards with nothing on the back are wasted opportunities to sell.Use the back of your card to expand and reaffirm your selling sentence (which should be prominent on the front of your card). Adding Art to Business Spaces Larger companies have learned that collecting art adds something special to its overall corporate image. An art collection may include art on display in waiting, or general areas. Your Eye Catching Publicity Flyer Your website is done, your business cards have been delivered, and your brochure has received accolades. In the promoting department you have everything you need, right? Well, there is one item you lack and by having this item in your arsenal it can be a dealmaker for you. What Happened? Troubleshooting Poor Response from Ad Campaigns Too many small business owners today run ad campaigns that get little to no results, and they have no idea why. When you have the knowledge to troubleshoot the poor responses, you also have the knowledge to make the needed changes so that - next time - your sales improve! Let's take a look at the breakdown of an ad campaign, and how to determine what went wrong. Online Classifieds Choosing a Classified Website and creating your advertisements.The internet has opened a vast number of doors for people to market their products and services. 7 Unique Ways To Get FREE Advertising 1. Give Testimonials When you purchase a product or service and it exceeds your expectations e-mail the business a testimonial. Giorgio Armani: A Persuasive Campaign Lets examine the use of Giorgio Armani Company's advertisements for a persuasive campaign. My reasoning is because the company is separated into several different divisions, while each tries to sell their product, the advertisements must maintain an overall company image. Advertise Where Its Forbidden To The most common way to drive people to your business site is advertising. You cannot succeed without advertising, this is a fact. Brand Young and You Brand for Life; Why Cinema Advertising is an Effective Tools for Marketers In the world of advertising there are many forms of media that can be utilized to get an advertisers message to its intended audience. Newspapers, television, radio, Internet and billboards are effective tools in this effort but one form of advertising that is often overlooked is Cinema Advertising.
|
| Interesting articles | Home | site map | Link |
| © 2006 |
