Yes,
sometimes advertising is wizardry. I'll be the first to admit
my desperate desire to capture the "magic" and understand
just how it works. Why? To replicate it time and time again, of
course. Unfortunately, magic is just that - magic. We may never
know why some advertising excels beyond the rest.
Why
doesn't one campaign work as well as another campaign even if we
do precisely the same thing? The answer to this question lies in
understanding the infinite number of factors influencing advertising
and a potential audience's receptiveness. Timing matters, the placement
of an ad matters, the recipient's frame-of-mind matters, the state
of our culture matters, and for that matter, even the weather
matters. The list goes on, and on, and on.
It's
an understatement to say just how difficult it is to pinpoint the
magic of advertising and successfully replicate it. Advertising
is sometimes similar to creating a magical potion. Once all ingredients
are deposited into the boiling water and stirred, one can only sit
back, wait and hope for success.
I'm
pleased to say, however, there is hope for those of us lacking the
book of magical potions and spells! Advertising, to some extent,
is based on scientific methodology. Educators and practitioners
alike have long studied various methodologies, which help us to
better understand consumers (the recipients of advertising messages)
and the types of advertising to which they respond favorably.
One
such method of understanding consumers' reactions to TV commercials
is the focus group. Generally, 8-12 participants are recruited to
participate in an in-depth discussion led by a moderator on a particular
subject or concept.
The
true benefit of such groups is the dynamics which occur within the
group. We tend to learn much more than if we'd asked a closed ended
question to one person. Although a qualitative technique, rather
than quantitative, we tend to learn a lot of useful information,
which can help to provide creative direction for advertising campaigns.
This method has its drawbacks, such as believing you thoroughly
understand a situation, despite only having spoken with 8-12 people
rather than a statistically significant portion of the target market.
Disadvantages aside, focus groups are used quite often in the advertising
industry today because of the immediacy of the feedback and the
possibility of new idea generation as a result of the participants'
interactions. This approach helps to eliminate some of the wizardry
previously discussed.
Many
other techniques also aid the advertiser in creating advertising
developed to meet their strategic goals. Along with qualitative
techniques, advertisers can access data using secondary resources,
they can conduct surveys or observe certain populations and their
behaviors, or they can conduct experiments. Practitioners welcome
such scientific foundation since they frequently have financial
goals to meet.
Interested
in participating in a focus group or learning more about marketing
research surveys? Visit Greenfield
Online, a research company with Internet accessibility. Greenfield
is just one example of the many companies focusing on such research.
With the proliferation of products and services and brands to choose
from, consumers are having to make purchase decisions based on information
they have - information usually acquired by advertising.
Whether
advertising is pure wizardry, a science, or a mixture of the two,
we can be sure advertising is a conduit.
