The Ingredients to a clever advert

If anyone knew the answer to this they would be very rich. I wish I could tell you the answer to this, if there were a secret formula, however there isn’t…sorry. Instead, I have though come up with two factors that I believe need to be addressed in any advert in order for it to be successful. Additionally, I have included some adverts I find very good for different reasons.

Understanding your audience:

An obvious one? Maybe. However it is imperative that whatever your advert is going to be, using whichever media you prefer, it has to resonate with the target audience. Deciphering the demographics of your audience is just one aspect of segmenting your market. Knowing who buys your product is also important but may not be as simple as you first think.

Let’s take nappies for example. The consumers are the babies and the customers are the parents. However, an advert by Huggies for example needs to appeal to women and men. Arguably, women often purchase the nappies and therefore many advertisers orientate their adverts around this. However, studies have shown that, men who go to the supermarket at the end of the week to buy alcohol for the weekend may also pick up nappies. Therefore, many supermarkets place nappies next to the Alcohol section as a means of Point of Sale.

 
A clear message:

Understanding the context to where your message is being pushed out is vital. There are many examples of companies that have used the same slogan throughout many countries. Schweppes Tonic Water when publicised in Italy translated into ‘Schweppes toilet water’ and General Motors new launch of the Chevy Nova didn’t go down as expected in Spain, only finding out later that ‘Nova’ means ‘does not go’ in Spanish.

This also means using a simple and clear message. Having a billboard with too much writing on it is as much use as promoting a course for beginner internet users on social media networks. A great example of a clear and concise message used in a campaign was the VW Beetle Think Small campaign. Even in the 1960’s clarity was vastly important. This is even more important nowadays with the increasing noise of different medias preventing a message being delivered.   

  












Let me know your thought on this post. What have you seen that has taken your interest? Please let me know what you think by contacting me on Twitter @nickwilliamgale