David Abbott was quoted in the October 27 edition of MEDIA as
saying it is up to the creative team "to say what has to be said like it
has never been said before", particularly in light of the fact that most
brands have nothing new to say to consumers.
So, what does the research evidence show? Is creativity enough?
Shouldn't I be persuasive, and creativity is just icing on the cake?
Ad agencies hate most copy testing procedures, and perhaps with good
reason.
One of the most commonly used techniques, originating in the United
States, is the pre-post persuasion measure.
Here, respondents are asked to indicate which products they would choose
if they were the winner of a prize draw - they do this before and after
they are exposed to a clutter reel of ads which contain the client's
ad.
The percentage who choose the client's brand after exposure to the ad
minus the percentage who choose the client's brand before exposure to
the ad equals the persuasive power of the ad.
In terms of the ability of this technique to predict short term sales
effects, it is quite good as it turns out.
The validation data we have seen shows that the correlation between
predicted sales increases from the copy test and in market (short term)
sales is high.
Many advertisers in the States are happy with this result because they
believe, in error I might add, that persuasion is the measure for sales
effectiveness.
Given the "direct product sell" advertising in the US and the focus on
new news, this is perhaps not surprising.
However, the technique ignores one critical fact; there are significant
long term sales effects that our modelling shows can account for between
two to five times the effect of short term sales effects.
Suddenly, unprofitable advertising can look very profitable if you use
the right measure.
So where did these longer term sales effects come from?
Creative or persuasive advertising?
Ads that generate the largest sales are memorable, communicate one (or
maximum of two) key messages, and immediately persuade.
Nice in theory, but for over 80 per cent of brands there is going to be
nothing at the strategic heart of the brand that is innovative.
Fortunately, our 25 years of Link copy testing and tracking tells us
that highly memorable advertising which communicates well (whether a
rational or emotional message) is enough to maintain long term sales of
a brand and generate a financial return easily sufficient to cover the
cost of advertising.
What gives us cut-through, visibility or stand-out, the first ingredient
of successful advertising? Being remembered.
Your agency may use animals, children, relationships, slice of life,
star endorsement, even humour to deliver this.
Whatever is used, all the best ads we have tested share a common
characteristic; the brand is at the heart of the ad.
When copy test findings are delivered to clients and agencies which is
bad news, it often revolves around two key issues; the ad is not
enjoyable or involving enough, or what is enjoyable and involving is not
linked to the brand.
Branding does not mean repeating the brand name and showing packs.
A good test to use is this; if you can take out your brand and stick in
a competitor's and the ad still works, you probably have a problem.
The best ads we have tested are also elegantly simple (although this
still can mean there is a lot going on in the ad as long as there is
clarity of purpose that the consumer can perceive).
Better ads also tend to have a degree of pace about them, a momentum
that carries the viewer through.
Communication is not as easy as we might think.
We have already learned that many ads that fail try and cram too many
messages into them.
Our database of norms show communication scores for key message that
range from zero per cent to 99 per cent.
Memorability provides a platform to communicate, but ultimately the
effectiveness of your ad will depends on your ability to leave an
impression with the consumer.
In summary, if you are a new brand trying to establish yourself, it is
better to be persuasive, to deliver news that is relevant, credible and
different.
If you are an established brand, creative advertising that has the brand
at the heart of the ad will leverage your sales in the longer term.
