Anyone with a touch of business acumen knows how important advertising is to the success of your business. Without advertising, your company will go unnoticed. You might be the best company in the world, offering the best products and services that are available, but if no customer knows you exist… your business doesn’t exist. Advertising can be the difference between business success and joining the ranks of the hundreds of businesses that fail every year.
This simple truth is why so many entrepreneurs understand the importance of putting time and effort into considering their ad campaigns; exploring the different options available to them; and ensuring they have multiple methods of spreading their message online. As a business owner, you likely do this as well– but have you ever considered that there is one, single aspect that determines whether an ad campaign is successful?
“Just one?” you may be wondering. “Surely there are a number of different factors that determine whether an advertising campaign can be considered to be successful?”
This isn’t true; ultimately, all advertising falls down to a single factor.
“And that is…?”
It’s pretty simple: your ads have to be memorable.
“Ads have to be memorable? Why is that so important?”
You can invest a huge amount of time, energy, and money into an ad campaign– but if it doesn’t stick in the mind of the people who see it, the campaign is largely irrelevant. Advertising, when done correctly, interests people in the moment, but also stays with them, burying into their mind and ensuring they remember your business for the future.
“How can businesses be memorable with their advertising?”
There are a number of different tricks that advertising agencies use to ensure that their work is memorable. By far the most popular is straplines; sayings that are automatically meant to bring the company to mind.
“For example?”
If I were to say “I’m lovin’ it” to you, what company would you immediately think of?
“McDonald’s.”
Right. McDonald’s have been using their “I’m lovin’ it” strapline for years, and it’s consistent in its use. They use it in their ads, in a song, across their social media– over and over again, the strapline is tied to the company.
This worms into people’s minds. If I were to say “I’m lovin’ it” to you, you’d think of McDonald’s, even if I wasn’t actually saying anything about McDonald’s to you. We could be discussing the weather; I say “I’m lovin’ it”, and you’ll think of McDonald’s anyway. This is an example of just how effective straplines can be.
“I’m lovin’ it” is just an example of an effective strapline. There’s also “just do it”, Nike’s trademarked strapline; “finger lickin’ good” for KFC; “taste the rainbow” for Skittles… the list goes on and on, and all have been hugely effective for the company they belong to.
“So all my ads need to have a strapline?”
Yes, that’s the first point. A good strapline is short, catchy, and unique. It does not have to specifically reference your company; after all, “I’m lovin’ it” has got nothing to do with food. It just has to be a saying that you use consistently throughout the branding and promotion of your product.
“Okay, I’ve got my strapline. How else can ads be memorable?”
Well, there is an interesting truth in advertising that you may want to consider– have your ad be so bad, so cheesy, that they somehow turn full circle and become enjoyable.
This technique is not a new trend. In fact, there are examples of it from nearly a decade ago; here are a few of the deliberately “bad”, cheesy ads that managed to make their mark.
This ad, from nearly 8 years ago, has generated a huge number of views for the company.
This is the UK version of this advert, starring “Barry Scott”. There’s a different Barry Scott for every country, but the ad versions are the same: Stilted, awkward, old-fashioned, almost unbearably cheesy… and incredibly successful.
Finally, this compilation of bad local ads. It’s easy to look at the dated graphics, awkward voiceovers, and frozen smiles and just think that these adverts are just outright bad– but this is being done deliberately. A bad ad is far more memorable than a cool, slick advert, so this is a technique you might want to consider.
“Okay, make it cheesy. Is there anything else that can make ads memorable?”
When advertising online, your best tool for being memorable with your ads isn’t actually about the ad at all.
Have you ever visited a website, then noticed adverts for that site popping up while you’re viewing other pages? This is an incredibly effective technique called remarketing, which works by installing a cookie on the computer of anyone who visits your site. This ensures a warm lead, as they were already interested enough in your site to begin with, and guarantees they will be reminded of your company even as they browse the internet as normal.
Remarketing ads are best kept simple, so as to not irritate users. If you utilize this technique in your online advertising, you have multiple chances to make an impact on a potential customer, and hopefully encourage them to return to your site to buy.
“Anything else I should know about keeping ads memorable?”
The above just about covers it! If you can make good ads (or so-bad-they-are-good ads), use remarketing, and introduce a memorable slogan, then your adverts are guaranteed to make an impact– repeatedly. Your business will stay in the minds of your potential customers, and as a result, you should see a dramatic improvement in the performance of your ad campaigns.
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