5 Reasons Continuity in Advertising is More Important Than Ever
With so much having changed in the consumer mindset in 2020, it stands to reason that how we talk to people in advertising, and what we say, should change as well. But how much should it change? While producing updated imagery and messages to be sensitive to this new world is a good thing, I’d argue that producing entirely new advertising is very much not a good thing. Here are the reasons. 1. Familiarity is comforting. In his book...
A More Purposeful Use of Norms
In advertising evaluation, as in much of market research, norms are a critical tool that provides valuable context. ‘Your ad scored 27%’ on a particular measure isn’t very helpful, let alone actionable, without a frame of reference – and that’s where norms come in! However, there are a few important caveats around norms that today’s time-pressured business decision makers often fail to take into consideration. First, the usual...
Emotional Dynamics in Advertising, 2020 Style
Emotions are raw in 2020. So much has changed in our everyday lives, and there are so many unknowns. Successful advertisers have always found ways to tap into viewer emotions to engage and persuade, and the power of emotion-driven approaches is clearly present in this moment. However, the ways that ads tap into emotions, the specific emotions they tap into, and the results produced cannot be assumed to be the same as they were...
What Hasn’t Changed in 2020
So much has changed. What we care about, what we worry about, the patterns of our lives. Among members of the Advertising and Insights communities, a big question on many minds is the ways that all these changes have affected how advertising works. Based on Communicus’ research, the surprising answer is that there’s more that hasn’t changed than has. First off, people are still paying attention to some ads, and not to others. Across...
Advertising Effectiveness in Tumultuous Times
The year of 2020 has been a time of tumultuous change, resulting in many dramatic shifts in consumer outlook, attitudes and behaviors. As time has passed, and with no assurance that anything resembling a status quo is on the near-term horizon, keeping a close watch on how brand advertising is working in-market has become more important than ever. In fact, amidst all the change, it’s no longer clear that what resonated and drove brand...
COVID-Era Ads & Brand Love
As brands have responded to the COVID pandemic with ads that have been crafted for the times, some clear trends have emerged. In fact, in the initial period, so many ads have looked and sounded alike, it has been hard to tell them apart. As acknowledged by an ad agency Creative Director: “Everyone’s working from the same brief.” Not surprisingly, while these ads tended to resonate, and even be appreciated by consumers in-market, the...