| |
| |
|
Advertising Information |
|
|
|
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
7 Questions to Ask Before You Advertise Most business owners and managers keep a fairly close eye on their marketing budgets.And nothing throws a budget out of whack faster than advertising. Nine Power Words To Punch Up Your Ads As every professional politician and public relations man knows words have the power to entice, persuade and motivate people into a specific course of action.There are certain words that I refer to as "Power Words" that I learned, back in the dawn of time, when the dinosaurs still roamed the earth. How To Write Kick-Ass, Profit Pulling Adverts For Your Business? Doesn't that just grab you by the eyeballs and make you stop dead in your tracks? I mean it's a little harsh - grammatically speaking - but holy smokes, it does it have 'stopping power'.. The Truth in Advertising Most of us have seen at least a dozen different toothpaste commercials that claim, "Three out of four dentists recommend.. Online vs. Offline Advertising Let's face it. Email marketing and publishing have became very popular tool for promoting your business, especially in the USA. The Inside Secrets Of Free Publicity For Your Business Product publicity is the "secret pathway" to business success everyone wants. In simple terms, product publicity is a kind of advertising that costs you nothing, yet brings in the orders for you. 2005 Super Bowl Ads... Winners and Losers Well, Super Bowl XXXIX is history. Too bad for the folks who consider themselves the always-pullin'-for-the-underdog type. Direct Mail Rules of Thumb First and foremost - You should identify your target market. Target your direct marketing lists. Books, Bibles and Fast-Talkers Every community has 'em. Fast talkers who roll into town with a clever idea to sell to people in business. Small Business Image The single easiest way to increase sales is to look professional. People believe what they see. How to Know if Direct Mail Will Work for Your Business Here's a great lesson that applies to direct mail. Ready? Some people say one thing and do the opposite. Advertising Through Moms Moms have a very powerful influence on what their families eat, drink, wear, do, and buy. Moms are not only the driving force behind their families, but also the economy. What Colors Make Your Services Most Attractive? This information is based on the principles of Laws of Attraction, Law of Allowing and Law of Deliberate Creation. And the Universal Laws of Energy (like attract likes) proven by Quantum Physics. The Motivational Triggers That Make People Buy In order to sell more products and service, you need master customers' mind. Put youself into customers' shoes and think what customers want. Persistant Advertising Will Do No Harm! From my experience, I've been on many discussion groups and have spoken to many other like minded people. The one topic that always seems to arise is how to get massive sales right away. Business Cards: Why Waste Valuable Space? So many business people neglect this valuable asset that may be used for a multitude of messages.Don't fall for the trap of supplying a "scribbler" for others that virtually guarantees your card will be in the "round file" sooner rather than later. How To Write Eye-Grabbing Headlines That Catapult Your Prospects Into Your Ads If you're interested in improving the selling results of your ads, tweaking your headlines is a great place to start. Because your headlines influence the sales results of your ad more than any other element. Marketing Messages with Add Zest & Appeal Boring is one thing you can't afford to be when it comes to marketing your business. With more than 3000+ marketing messages pummeling consumers on a daily basis, you need to be more, and do more, if you want to be heard above the racket. LED Moving Message Displays LED's are becoming more and more popular in all kinds of lighting fixtures. For simpler, slimmer design, moving message displays utilize Light Emitting Diodes (LED's) as the display technology. How To Get Big Sponsorship Money for Your Band, Tour, Event or Production Touring is a bands greatest opportunity for success. But, touring can be very expensive.
|
| home | site map | references |
| advertising-s.net © 2007 |
