I have always been fascinated with the mind--why we do what we do, how we remember, respond, etc. Maybe that's why I enjoyed working in advertising so much (and still do) because a good ad invokes a positive response from the brain.
Over the expanse of my career (32 years), I've had a lot of business owners ask me what constitutes not just an award-winning ad--but one that will SELL!
In order to sell--we must understand the dynamics behind the sale. What elements lead to that sale.
Today, I want to focus on that first step--top of mind awareness.
I want you to think back when you first learned your ABC's. How old were you? Where were you? How did you learn them?
This is fundamental to our understanding of effective advertising (that we often do not think about--no pun intended!).
If we can grasp the process of how the brain affects us and how we learn--then maybe we can utilize that understanding into our advertising strategy.
Learning the alphabet I believe is a good example of understanding the process of advertising effectiveness:
1. It involves Memory.
2. It involves Repetition.
3. It involves a sticky substance (a nursery rhyme/melody/something memorable)
In order for us to learn the basics of the entire English language--we listened to a nursery rhyme.
Think about that a minute. A simple nursery rhyme repeated over and over helped teach us how to read and write!
I'll bet today--say fifty years later, you can still remember that nursery rhyme. Talk about top of mind awareness!
Well, in understanding how we learn, it's the same dynamic behind effective advertising:
Memory, Repetition, Sticky Substance.
Think of a favorite jingle, song, etc--the same elements are at work. So, the answer to creating an effective ad for top of mind awareness--is to create a memorable message and repeat it.
This idea is fundamentally important--because most businesses run an ad for less than three months, then say it didn't work because they saw no results.
This is understandable--and there are ways to minimize that risk that i'll discuss in a later post--but realizing how important that repetition is, is critical to gaining top of mind awareness in your prospect.
I used to work with a plumber who did his own radio ads. His ads were singsongy--not very good as far as quality of voice, etc. But--they were MEMORABLE. He had a drawl that people could imitate--and they did!
When his name came up at meetings, events, etc--people immediately began to imitate his voice!
What is even more amazing is--he really didn't run that many ads each week--but he was on every week--all year long.
It wasn't really what he said--but how he said it.
And now....hhhheeeeeerrrrre'ss Johnny! We remember Ed McMahon drawing out his introduction to Johnny Carson by that one phrase. He became known for that. People would imitate that.
And, we heard that every night---five nights a week, all year long, for over twenty years. It was like the Chinese water torture. Drip...drip...drip....
Moral of this post: do what your competition doesn't do. Most will try something short-term--you do it long term.
Now that you understand the dynamics of repetition--suffice it to say that the brain and our subconscious retain information long after it receives it (childhood memories, etc)
Creating top of mind awareness is tapping into that reservoir in that storage part in the brain on a consistent basis.
We don't know when a prospect will buy--but when that time arrives--what will pop into the consciousness?
Thus is the real beginning of the sale process. By repeating your message over and over and over to a target prospect--you'll retain top of mind even though you may not think you do. They may or may not realize it--but you are subtly brain-washing them--in a good way!
Next post--I'll discuss how to use emotional trigger mechanism's to create favorable brand awareness.
If you'd like to learn more about creating top of mind awareness--click HERE.
If you like these posts--please share with your friends!
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