My overall school of thought on how advertising works

I’ve learned that people hate to be hoodwinked and love to be seduced.

People value transparency, and respect for their intelligence. Today they’re more informed than ever and are particularly sensitive to feeling misled.

On the other hand, people are wired to respond to desire, curiosity and emotional connection. We love to feel special, valued and understood. When a brand seduces us, it taps into these feelings in a way that’s positive and empowering.

I’ve seen Field & Binet’s ‘the long and the short of it’ theory play out across all the brands and campaigns I’ve been involved with. These days I prefer James Hurman’s labels for the same concept; campaigns designed to grow future demand, and comms designed to convert existing demand.

I study ads that are highly popular with the public and highly effective for organisations. This led me to four essential components of advertising that works:

Be Remarkable – The first job of advertising is to turn heads. So what patterns or conventions will we break to grab attention and ideally be so surprising that people want to talk about it “Did you see that?!”. I aim for fame.
Be Rewarding – At their core, most great ads are entertaining product demonstrations. So how will we reward the audience with entertainment that holds their attention and earns more than one look? …and how will we give the thing we’re selling a starring role in the entertainment?
Be Remembered – By this I mean, it’s crucial people remember the brand that’s speaking to them. In New Zealand, less than one fifth of ads are recalled by the intended audience with the correct brand attribution. Four fifths ain’t doin’ sh*t. That makes me angry. So what are the recognisable brand cues that we’ll weave into the entertainment? The more entertaining the ad is, the more heavy handed you can be with overt branding. By the way, ‘entertaining’ isn’t just about joy and laughter; people pay good money to be freaked by horror films and cry at gritty drama.
Say one thing persuasively – whether it’s positioning the brand for a future sale, or converting a sale today, what’s the single idea or call to action that must get through? And how will we ensure that message is joined up with CX that leads to a sale? I think of the single-minded message like taking a snooker shot, applying force in a single direction that sets off a chain reaction. A single message in comms joined up with good CX will sink all your targets into their respective pockets, winning you the game.