Breaking through the noise: Creating ads that stick
On average, a person is exposed to between 4,000 to 10,000 ads daily--through social media, TV, magazines, online, and more.
But ads are not all we are exposed to on a daily basis and definitely they are not the most important information we are exposed to in a day. Research indicates that the average person processes about 74 gigabytes of information daily from various sources like social media, TV, and our phones, etc.
Our conscious mind can only handle a fraction of this overload of information and our brain’s working memory can retain about 7 items at a time—whether numbers, images or ideas.
So, with all the competition for brain space, what can ads do to be more likely to be retained by our brains?
Grab and hold attention
Be relevant
Make sure people remember the 1 or 2 most important elements
1. Cut through the noise
Humans are almost wired to remember certain things. Babies, animals, humor, and sex are all elements that make some thing or an experience memorable. But saying something new also helps. Something that is unexpected or different makes people want to watch or continue scrolling.
But simply grabbing attention is not enough. Research shows that we only pay attention to TV ads for about half of their duration and social ads for just about 2 seconds!
So, what should advertisers do to make sure people stay engaged?
Storytelling--telling a compelling story with your ad is more likely to keep people watching than going on to their next thing.
Front-load the best parts – get the most important and relevant information in before people tune out.
An ad that doesn’t connect to the correct brand is basically a waste of money—or even worse, it could be helping competitors.
Strong brand associations are not created by showing the brand logo all the time or mentioning the brand name often. Brand associations like jingles, colors, themes, characters take time to build and if successful are very valuable and very important to remind consumers of your brand.
2. Less is more when it comes to messages
People are not likely to remember entire ads from start to finish, but they are likely to recall a scene, a line, or a specific feeling or emotion. Typically, we see that the more messages an ad is trying to communicate, the less we remember. So, what should advertisers do?
Sick to one or two key messages. If there’s more to say, use different media. For example, while a social ad may be leveraged to communicate 1 message, a TV ad may communicate 2-3 key messages, while print can be used to provide even more information.
Place the key messages in memorable moments. People remember surprises, humor and emotional peaks.
Use visuals and emotions. Sometimes messages do not need words or audio to be communicated. Emotions, visuals, facial expressions can communicate just as effectively.
3. Motivate Action
Most ads want us to do something, but not all ads want us to buy something immediately. Some ads just want to spark curiosity, get us interested enough to look up the brand, ask about the brand, talk about it with friends. ( I must mention at this point that some ads are purely meant to keep the brand top of mind or to help brand building.)
Ads are more motivating when they:
Contain new information or say something that is different/unique
Are relevant to us - either the brand meets our needs or what is shown is somehow relevant to our lives by capturing who we are, what makes us happy or what frustrates us.
Keep in mind that ads do not work in a vacuum. Media placement, budget, and competition all play a role. So, an ad can be very creative and effective, but if nobody sees it, then it will not effectively help the brand!
Ads compete with thousands of other messages every day, and only a few actually sick. The ones that do grab our attention, keep it, and deliver a clear and memorable message. That’s why testing ads before launching is so important. Without testing, brands risk spending money on ads that don’t connect, don’t motivate, and ultimately, don’t work.
