Tom Asacker: What's the purpose of advertising?

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1. Predictions for 2012

What's the purpose of advertising?

What a silly headline. I mean everyone knows that the purpose of advertising is to sell stuff, right?

Well, not always. Sometimes it's to get people to stop doing things (e.g. littering), start doing things (e.g. voting), and keep doing things (e.g. being proud and productive associates).

In any and all events, the purpose of advertising is to affect viewer and listener behavior. The real question is, What's the best way to go about it?

We're going to witness a subset of corporate America's answer to that question during this Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast, when they display the results of their collective brain power and combined investment of more than $200 million (the most expensive real estate on TV).

For many of those advertisers, the viewer behavior desired will be transparent and really quite simple:

Watch, enjoy, and remember the commercial;
Write about, talk about, tweet, and otherwise spread the commercial; and, eventually
Consume their stuff.

Most commercials will probably be about nothing. There won't be a compelling reason to consume their stuff weaved into the ads, since their stuff is pretty much the same stuff as their competitors' stuff; think beverages, salty snacks, and candy bars. Their solution: Get you to like and remember their brands, so when you walk through the store you'll (hopefully) reach out and grab a few.

Some advertisers will take a more subtle approach to the aforementioned strategy by acting as corporate sponsors of various portions of the game; $500k coin toss anyone? Others will employ a more experiential, sampling strategy; for example the network (NBC) and various movie studios will broadcast clips and trailers to whet viewers appetites for their upcoming shows.

Some, most notably automakers, will likely try to wow viewers with artsy displays of their new products, while others will use celebrities, babies, and animals to grab viewer's attention while casually highlighting their products' positive attributes (dot coms readily come to mind).

If, like me, you get your jollies out of studying and understanding what drives human behavior, you're in for a highly entertaining and revealing exhibition.

So, would I invest in a 30-second spot during this year's Super Bowl game to get my message in front of 100 million+ people? Perhaps.

First, I'd have to be at a complete loss as to where to invest the $3.5 million to improve my product, help my community, or enhance my customers' experiences with my organization (and my partners' organizations). The best marketing will always be passionate people.

Next, I'd have to have something ready to deliver that uniquely feeds people's hungers. When they search (which they will invariably do for all non-impulse purchases), I'd make sure they discover a frictionless experience wrapped enticingly around something highly desirable.

And finally, I'd have to star in the ad. :)

Okay, I'm kidding on that last point. But I'm not kidding when I emplore you to rethink advertising. It shouldn't be used as a mindless tool in a margin sucking game of share point improvement. Rather, it should be used to introduce people, and excite them, to new possibilities that can genuinely improve their lives.

And what should you do, in the short term, if you're fresh out of new possibilities to advertise? I don't know, open your heart and use your God-given imagination. Take the $3.5 million and turn on the lights at all of the local ball fields for a year. Rent some buses and shuttle a bunch of disabled veterans to a sponsored Super Bowl party. Do anything that will demonstrate your integrity of purpose and your imaginative vision.

And you know what? It may even cause people to like you, remember you, talk about you, and consume your stuff.

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Comments

When I think about all the things advertising was purportedly used for in the 20 years I worked in that business, seldom was the objective as simple as 'to sell stuff'. Yes, all advertisers want to sell stuff, but they have many other ulterior motives.

Sometimes it’s a simple as a client’s ego. They want to be able to tell their friends they have a spot on the Superbowl. It’s a social status.

In many cases, I've heard advertising described as the process of 'giving permission' for people to buy. Which means giving them a rationale to go ahead and do what they already wanted to do (buy that BMW, use the leading brand, etc.) Beyond the sale, good advertising makes the customer feel good about the choice they already made, and reinforces loyalty.

I know this sounds like advertising 101, but doesn't it often come down to how we feel about our social status? I see myself as a leader, therefore I buy the leading brand. I buy the most reliable car because I’m smart and reliable. I use generic brands because I’m independent enough not to buy into all that hype.

Smart advertisers have figured out what drives their best customer’s psyche, and they appeal to that mindset relentlessly. Advertising on a big stage like the Superbowl may ultimately be an exercise in moat-building: This is to let everybody know, I’m putting a big wall around my customers and defending them against competitors by defining my territory.

For certain companies, you can’t get a better advertising value than $3.5 million for a 30-second Superbowl spot. It’s one of the last places where advertising to the masses, all at once, is still possible.

Posted by: Jon P | January 31, 2012 at 10:00 AM