Today’s society has become increasingly bombarded with advertisements than ever before. If it feels as though ads have infiltrated almost every aspect of daily life, that’s because they have. They’re on our phones, in our emails, on streaming apps, on social media, on buildings, in subway stations, on the subways themselves, you name it. They have become inescapable. The average person is served about 10,000 ads per day (according to Windowstill), and that’s only accounting for digital ads. Our brains have become so accustomed to this constant barrage that we’re starting to (subconsciously or not) tune them out. We at Orchestra Marketing have dubbed this phenomenon, “ad imperviousness.”
Similar to (but not to be confused with) ad fatigue, which refers to seeing the same ad so many times in a short period of time that the audience becomes either bored of it or annoyed by it, ad imperviousness goes one step further. Instead of overexposure to one specific ad rendering it ineffective, it describes an overarching immunity to all advertising.
So as marketers, what can we do to combat this? It may sound overly obvious, but we need to take more risks and create more exciting messaging that breaks through the clutter (which will be necessary now more than ever in the wake of the inevitable influx of AI-generated content). We recommend doing so in the following ways:
One of the most effective ways to engage your audience and leave a lasting impression is to create an emotional connection. While there are many ways to do so, our top recommendation is to do so by creating a sense of intrigue. By using intrigue tactics in your marketing strategy, it tells your audience that you want to start a conversation and build a relationship with them. Rather than solely focusing on getting a rise out of them, there is real substance in what you’re sharing with them. Often, it includes some measure of vulnerability on the part of the marketer that the audience will recognize and appreciate. You’re meeting them halfway. It’s human nature to be curious, so play into it. Draw them in and leave them wanting more.
British supermarket chain Waitrose does this well in their new holiday campaign. The commercial plays out more like a who-done-it mystery than an ad, even ending it on a cliffhanger with the line, “to be continued”. This is especially smart because not only have they intrigued the viewer enough to watch until the very end, but now they’ve created a need or desire to watch out for the follow-up.
According to Pocket PHD, “In the media landscape we live in, where the goal of marketing seems to be “going viral” on your preferred platform, it’s easy to think that the only way to get people’s attention is by being over the top. Clearly, shock sells and outrage marketing is all the rage.”
Rather than trying to simply outrage your audience, we recommend challenging their perceptions or beliefs. A great example of this is the recent Progress Action Fund ad released ahead of the US election. The ad illustrates a scenario in which a man calls a doctor over concerns for his pregnant partner who is clearly in physical distress. The doctor tells the man that without an abortion, his partner will die due to pregnancy complications. Suddenly, a Republican congressman appears, telling the man that no such thing will be happening, as abortion care has been now banned by the government. He goes on to say that as the party in power it is now his decision to make on the couple’s behalf whether the woman will be able to receive this life-saving procedure. The ad ends with the congressman’s line to the man, “Don't worry, you can still have children, just not with her.” By making them face the brutal reality that could result as a consequence of electing a president who will impose Nationwide abortion bans, the message of the ad is meant to challenge voters by showing how it may directly affect them and their loved ones.
You may have heard the old adage that the quickest way to engage someone is to get them to talk about themselves. The same concept can be applied to marketing. You’d probably be hard-pressed to find someone who has never taken a Buzzfeed quiz. The secret to their success? Getting people to answer questions about - you guessed it - themselves! Try creating a sponsored Buzzfeed quiz, or running interactive quizzes on social media to make personalized product recommendations based on your audience’s answers.
Another way to appeal to one’s ego is to make them feel like they’re in the know. A great example of this is the Tide commercial featuring actor and comedian Jason Alexander (who famously played George in Seinfeld) that aired during Super Bowl LV. The ad follows a teenager wearing a hoodie featuring Jason Alexander’s face that changes expressions as it goes through various messy situations throughout the day, showing that for all our clothing endures, the new Tide Hygienic Clean can take care of it. But the real kicker of the ad is the song selection- “Believe It or Not” by Joey Scarbury. True Seinfeld fans will remember the song from S08E15 titled “The Susie” in which George is screening his calls to avoid talking to his girlfriend and we hear his (old tech alert) outgoing voicemail message where George sings,“Believe it or not, George isn't at home, / Please leave a message at the beep. / I must be out, or I'd pick up the phone, / Where could I be? / Believe it or not, I'm not home,” to the tune of (wait for it) “Believe It or Not” by Joey Scarbury. This added layer of detail went a long way to make the commercial extra memorable for big fans of Seinfeld.
While you may think that this one goes without saying, we do believe it needs to be stated outright. At the bare minimum, an ad must be entertaining to capture the attention of the audience. Whether you do so using humour, eye-catching visuals, nostalgia, a song-and-dance, something a little risque, or what have you, it’s important to present the information about your product or service in an entertaining way. All too often we see companies playing it far too safe, but safe ads aren’t the ones going viral or getting talked about at the water cooler.
Sometimes we see commercials that we love- they make us laugh or feature a cute animal, but for the life of us we can’t remember what the ad was actually for. Producing ads that are fun and entertaining is all well and good, but ultimately not very effective if the service or product gets lost. One commercial, in particular, comes to mind in which a dog and his owner stare at the dog’s favourite toy trapped in a broken washing machine and discuss the situation. While we can quote each of the dog’s lines, we couldn’t tell you what in the world the commercial was actually supposed to be promoting. Turns out that all the talking dogs in the world can’t save a commercial if there is no obvious connection between the scenario playing out and the product.
It’s important to know your audience well so you can reach them in the places they frequent. An interesting example of this is the mobile game Clash of Clans’ recent “Bathroom Battlestations” pop-up at San Diego Comic-Con - self-proclaimed as “bringing toilets to mobile gamers where they need them most”. Upon learning that half of gamers reported playing the game while sitting on the porcelain throne, they decided to use their activation to both promote their game and solve the issue to escape the crowds and avoid long bathroom lines to “turn the call of nature into a call to action”. The experience included functional toilets/battlestations, free wifi and on-theme amenities including branded toilet paper, Poo-pourri Battle Breeze sprayers and more. The activation saw an average of 130 engagements per hour for a total of 2,859 unique attendees with the average experience lasting about 26 minutes.
Read the article here.
Brands can also use the element of surprise in marketing, putting ads in unexpected places to excite and delight their audience. A great example is a US-based campaign for the fetishwear brand Dressing for Pleasure. They cleverly marry the two worlds of “bottom smacking” by strategically placing photos of rear ends in their underwear on the bottoms of ketchup bottles in bars with taglines like “Harder” or “Give it a good smack”. Not only is the placement of the ad a surprise, but it’s also interactive for the ketchup bottle user, not to mention the word-of-mouth advertising that undoubtedly came from people telling their friends about this campaign.
Read the article here.
While paused screen ads seem to be gaining traction, we’re hesitant to recommend them. The main reason for this is that when people hit pause on whatever they are watching, it is because their attention is being pulled elsewhere. So why would advertisers want to market to people who have actively signalled that they have stopped paying attention to their screens? It will be interesting to see the results of this new type of ad.
Sources:
https://focal.inc/comparison/ad-fatigue
https://www.trend.io/blog/ad-fatigue
https://siteefy.com/how-many-ads-do-we-see-a-day/
https://jackmorton.com/work/clash-of-clans-bathroom-battlestation/
https://www.adsoftheworld.com/campaigns/ketchup-bottle
https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/12/20/creative-advertising-ideas
https://www.commondreams.org/news/miscarriage-vs-abortion
https://www.thepocketphd.com/2023/06/20/the-art-of-intrigue-why-fascination-trumps-shock-in-marketing/#:~:text=Intriguing%20marketing%20has%20the%20goal,interested%20in%20their%20emotional%20response
https://www.windowstill.com/the-surprising-number-of-advertisements-were-exposed-to-daily/posts/#:~:text=We%20are%20exposed%20to%20advertisements,advertisements%20are%20everywhere%20we%20look
