How Advertising Works - Common Sense Clarity

Ron Berger
Euro RSCG MVBMS Partners
CEO

Art or Science?

The question of whether advertising is an art or a science is often debated. The answer is that it’s a combination of both. The art lies in the ability to create a beautiful picture or photograph that has a selling proposition in it. The art also lies in the ability to take a strategy and frame it in a photograph or television commercial.

The science, or business, involves all the methodologies marketers use to measure the effectiveness of communications, including sales, of course.

The most basic skill needed to create an advertising campaign is to write copy, design the look of an ad, and get it executed in a magazine, in newspapers, or on television. The essentials in advertising are a combination of common sense and clarity. As someone once said, common sense isn’t common enough in advertising: You always must remember that the people your ads are talking to are your wife, your kids, and your mother-in-law. So it’s critical to keep the message simple and clear. Too much advertising sounds like marketingese. There are also a few pitfalls to watch out for. Stupidity would be one: stupid ideas, overcomplicated strategies, or self-indulgent executions of advertising that don’t show understanding of what a brand is all about are an enormous waste of time and money.

The difference between advertising and other types of marketing is that advertising allows you to reach many people quickly and to get your message out in the specific way you want. This is different, for example, from public relations where the media messages are unpaid and therefore can be changed or diluted by the reporter writing the story. If you run one commercial on the Super Bowl, a lot of people will know who you are. If it’s the right message, if it’s interesting and relevant, you’ll communicate effectively with your target audience. If it isn’t, you’ll waste an enormous amount of money. Advertising is very efficient. It can sell everything from cars to hamburgers to Presidents of the United States. If you want to run for political office and have a lot of money, by the end of next week many people will know who you are. And by the end of the first Tuesday in November, you will know how many people have liked what you have had to say and “bought” your product.

Success can be measured in many ways, but it’s critical that the role of advertising be understood before you can decide on how success will be measured. The bottom line has to be the amount of products you sell. You want the advertising campaign to drive business in a measurable and hopefully profitable way. In some corporate advertising, the role of advertising is to drive the image ratings of a company or its brand, but even that is usually quantifiable. There should be absolute accountability for the money being spent.

To succeed in advertising, you need to have a smart, simple strategy and a clear understanding of your audience. You need to articulate clearly and create and execute an idea that motivates people in ways they never would have imagined being motivated. And then you need to pray that you’re right.