Advertising breakthrough

Blog Andy Drake – Managing Consultant

It’s no secret advertisements are taking up a massive part of our lives. Today, the average person is estimated to encounter between 6,000 to 10,000 ads every single day, likely not remembering more than a handful of them, and trying to get through the mass as quickly as possible. The reality is that the default position for consumers is to avoid commercials. This sets a major challenge for advertising and creative development. Consumers are exposed to so many commercials, generally don’t like them and therefore zap away quickly after the first few seconds, making it crucial for brands to hold the attention in those first moments. As the playing field has become a game of seconds, first impressions really matter when it comes to brand advertising and communications.

how do you stand out?

Understanding how people ‘consume’ media, the reality that channels and devices behave differently with regards to what people process, means that we need to stand out more than ever. DVJ’s principles start from the premise that most people’s default position is of ‘advertising avoidance’. With that in mind, and with the underlying growth of digital channels, willingness to watch, brand cues, and linkage to the brand becomes vital to achieving ‘breakthrough’. Given that is the case, it’s pretty important to know contextually that:

• 80% of the TV commercials in a TV-reel are zapped away by 80% of the consumers
• Only 4% of Facebook ads are watched with sound but 75% of ads require sound
• On social media, you have a mere 8 seconds to grab the consumer’s attention
• Online ads only get noticed within the 3rd and 5th second
• Print ads are scanned in 2 to 3 seconds

In evaluating creative, we ensure it is within a natural environment. When we explore early stage, we measure in-market potential to identify the best options. When we pre-test an ad, we clearly focus on whether the creative achieves breakthrough and recall. And lastly, before execution, we focus on optimisation. Experience tells us that this iterative approach during the creative process – that eliminates ineffective ideas and then finely polishes the good ones – is key to breakthrough and response. Detail is key to stand out – it seems obvious but often method, time or budget can work against creative that works. Standing out amongst all the clutter is and will become increasingly important for advertisers and content providers.

This blog is part of a series on First Impressions.
Read the previous blogs here.