Critics conclude that entertaining or ?creative? commercials
sell better than those that are bland. But liking the commercial
may not really be that important in the scheme of things. It all
depends on the needs and preferences, motivation and financial
reservations of the customer. The question isn't whether people
like the advertisement or not, it?s whether the advertisement is
effective in selling.
Often, people who are irritated by certain campaigns don't fall
within the intended target market. In 2000 Budweiser ran its
''Whassup?!'' campaign. Ad Track reported these commercials
scored best with 18- to 24-year-olds; 52% of the survey
participants said they liked them ''a lot'', while participants
65 years old and over didn't understand them, or didn't want to;
61% disliked the commercials. Yet, it's highly unlikely that
Budweiser was trying to reach the 65+ market.
When Toys R Us launched their campaign featuring Geoffrey the
giraffe to promote the revamping of all Toys R Us stores, 38% of
women rated the advertisements highly compared to 16% of men.
Since the advertiser's goal was to get moms back into the
stores, that low rating from men was meaningless to Toys R Us.
Pier 1 started running its commercials featuring Kirstie Alley
this year. Twenty-seven percent of the people familiar with the
commercials didn?t like them, and only 6% thought that they were
effective. That comes as a surprise to Pier 1 because same-store
sales rose 17% in February and foot traffic is up 12% since
October! The goal of most advertising is to increase sales. So,
if people buy, the advertising is effective?no matter what
critics may say.
Let's look at some other factors that contribute to the
effectiveness of "irritating" or "disliked" advertising. Media
weighting has a lot to do with response to advertising. It's
important the media plan is developed to accurately reach its
target. Just the right amount of frequency has been proven to
increase recall, recognition and even persuasion. So a focused
and targeted media schedule with effective frequency is a major
influence in selling a product.
Familiarity with the product plays a role in increased sales of
a brand with an "irritating" advertising campaign, too.
According to the Journal of Advertising Research, customers?
knowledge of, experience with, or loyalty to a brand are
components of familiarity?and familiarity is the most important
factor in the effectiveness of advertising. Since customers tend
to give greater attention to advertisements of a familiar brand,
and may attach their experience with the brand to the
advertisement, customers are likely to accept the message and
respond to the "irritating" advertisement with a purchase.
International Brand & Advertising Research conducted a test to
determine if "feelings of liking or disliking commercials are
the motors that drive brand attitudes and sales." In the study,
251 30-second commercials were aired, representing six major
product categories: food, confectionery & desserts, beverages,
household products, personal care products and automotive. An
analysis of the 251 commercials showed that there was no
"robust, empirical evidence to suggest that either liking or
disliking are reliable predictors of a commercial's performance
in relation to sales-validated, evaluative measures." In fact,
liking or disliking accounted for "no more that 11% of the
variation on any of the major evaluative measures."
A "well-liked" advertising campaign does not always mean an
increase in sales. Just like an "irritating" advertising
campaign does not always suppress sales. The fact of the matter
is that effectiveness depends on factors other than
"likeability", and what may be "irritating" to some may not be
"irritating" to the intended target. At the same time, what may
be "well-liked" by one group may not be received as well by
another. It?s up to the advertiser to determine the most likely
target and the best way to reach that market to make a campaign
effective.
About the author:
Mark Levit is managing partner of Partners & Levit Advertising
and a professor of marketing at New York University. Partners &
Levit's clients include Procter & Gamble, UnitedHealth Group,
and GE Commercial Finance. For more information call
212-696-1200 or visit www.partnerslevit.com.
|
