Are your advertisements effective? Do they convey an important message about your brand? Creating marketing materials without strategic backing will bring nothing but disappointing numbers. Successful marketers are strategic with their media choices, where to distribute said media, and when to distribute the media. It is imperative that markers consider these ideas when creating marketing media.
Grab the Viewer’s Attention
We are now 14 years into the new millennium. Everyone is using Social Media and online advertising in attempts to gain exposure with audiences. Companies are not just competing with similar brands any more, but also with random media on popular Social Media websites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram. The typical “Happy Friday” or “Good Morning” posts will not grab the attention of consumers.
One brand that does a successfully grabs the attention of audiences worldwide is the World Wide Fund for Nature. One of their ads consisted of a picture of a large forest in the shape of lungs, with the bottom section of one of the lungs turning brown. In the brown section of the lung, there are tracks leading out of the picture, helping to explain to the viewer that deforestation is the cause of the change. The ad spread through Social Media like wildfire thanks to the colorful design of the image, thought-provoking content, and relevance to a current problem plaguing the world today.
Topical humor works well on Social Media sites, as long as it is timed and executed appropriately. However, if a topical post reaches audiences after other brands have already sunk their teeth into it, then the post will be overshadowed. Oreo Cookies exemplifies topical humor success in their 2013 Twitter post during the Super Bowl blackout, which consisted of a picture of an Oreo Cookie and the text “You can still dunk in the dark.”
Give Audiences a Reason to Watch
Before you dive into the task of creating your marketing content, ask yourself if the content is going to be worthwhile for your audience. Why spend time creating content and distributing it if it has no effect on potential or current customers? While conducting daily business, audiences are exposed to an overwhelming number of messages. How do they know what to pay attention to? When the content is relevant to their lives, they will be more likely to absorb the message.
Chipotle’s 2013 scarecrow TV campaign was considered a major success for the brand. The commercial focused on a miserable scarecrow working in a city engulfed in processed foods and extreme consumerism. At one point in the commercial, the scarecrow and a fellow worker start to close a section of a giant cow sign above a fast food restaurant when they notice the cows inside locked in tiny cages. He also witnesses processed food with terms like “100% cow-ish” printed on labels in automated factories and giant bird robots spraying pesticides on the crops outside the city. The scarecrow’s solution to the problem is to sell organic food and decides to open a small shop in the large city. The commercial was considered a success because it was relevant to the lives of the U.S. audience, where it has become a common culture to be more health conscious and more environmentally aware.
Marketing Integration Across Multiple Platforms
Most big brands run campaigns on multiple digital platforms. However, not all brands have a cohesive message that organically passes from one platform to the next. Although different platforms are likely to overlap, marketers need to find ways to create an integrated marketing campaign that sends a message to the target audience across all forms of used media. For example, Progressive Auto Insurance streamlines their marketing integration from television to Social Media. Their fictional spokesperson, Flo, has her own Facebook page which is updated regularly. The posts from her page are posted using her personality, which helps Progressive customers build a relationship with the brand via a “persona” in the form of Flo. The Flo page is currently the most successful financial page on Facebook to date.
Another opportunity for brands to create a cohesive message is on YouTube. Many brands have the tendency to post their television spots onto YouTube, and nothing else. However, audiences visit YouTube for entertainment purposes. On a past blog we discussed how brands can achieve more user engagement through proper video posts on YouTube.
Proper marketing involves a strategic plan. You need to define what message you want customers to receive, where and when you want them to receive it, and how you will successfully portray the message to your audience. The trick is finding a way to make messages interesting to your target consumers. If you can help them understand why they should choose your brand when making a purchasing decision, then you achieved a great feat.
