Which advertiser wouldn't know how to influence people and change their behavior or preferences. There are no clear simple rules. Advertising is the people business and people factor is what makes it unpredictable. However the years of experimentation, testing and measuring allow us to draw out a few clear conclusions, which I stumbled upon on Faris blog.
The Journal of Advertising research run a special issue that concerned the advertising and the ways it works. Here is the one of papers by Les Binet and Peter Fields Empirical Generalizations about Advertising Campaign Success (thanks to Faris)
Download Empirical Generalizations about Advertising Campaign Success
One of the most interesting statements is about the vague role of rational arguments in advertising:
"The most effective advertisements of all are those with little or no rational content."
(Les Binet/Peter Field)
(Les Binet/Peter Field)
Emotions, needs, urges working on subconscious level is what drives human behavior and we need to tap into it, but the problem is that often we rely on consumers opinions (focus groups and other types of research) that are mainly driven by post-rationalization.
Lot of great material, theories and things to take into consideration when planning the next campaigns. You can learn a lot but it is important to keep in mind that:
"No single theory or group of theories can explain it all, because advertisements work in such different ways. There is no point in looking for an overall theory."
(Nevill Darby, quoted in Advertising Frameworks, Giep Franzen, Brand New Brand Thinking)
Thanks for the useful links and the interesting premise of the post. We, the practitioners of advertising, are largely to blame for moving it into an area of scientific dependence. The simple fact that we are consumers ourselves and that we do not operate in a logical way is completely forgotten when we try to wear our Marketing and Advertising hats.
Posted by: Subbu | December 21, 2009 at 01:18 PM
Great article!Advertising is just one part of a larger marketing effort to effectively promote your business and use an integrated approach that combines advertising with public relations,direct mail,special events,trade shows,newsletters,brochures and other marketing materials.
Posted by: how to get him back | February 12, 2010 at 10:10 AM