Top of Mind Thursday – May 11, 2023: Whose Ad Was That Anyway?

It happened again tonight. Watching TV, a cute ad came on that seemed to have no relation to any specific product or brand.

This seems to occur more and more frequently. Advertisers choose music or a comic scenario or some kind of theme. That’s all well and good, but when viewers can’t recognize who the advertiser is, the question is why spend the money on marketing?

Not all marketing is designed to sell products. Some spots are designed to build brand awareness or recognition. Some advertising is meant to show brand values–what that brand stands for. Other promotions are meant to make you feel good about a recent purchase–to both build repeat business and encourage referrals to other potential customers.

But none of that can happen when your audience sees your marketing and has no idea who you are or why you’re running with those messages. It’s one thing to disagree with a brand’s messaging. It’s another to not be able to connect the brand to the message they’ve just shown you. Or, worse yet, to connect that message to one of your competitors.

Are your marketing messages resonating with your customers and prospects? Or are you leaving your audience befuddled as to who just spoke to them?

John Wanamaker famously said half his advertising was wasted, but he wasn’t sure what half. If your customers can’t connect you to your message, you might be wasting both halves of your marketing budget.

Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.