Why?

I was appalled when I heard a Fallon spokesperson’s statement about the Loctite commercial the advertising agency had produced to air during the Super Bowl broadcast.  The interviewer broached the subject of results for these commercials, noting the controversy of how Super Bowl advertisers determine success.  “Victory for Loctite is name recognition,” he began.  “You raise a very interesting question.  There’s not a one-to-one correspondence between an ad’s popularity and sales or a campaign’s health in the world, and that is something everybody tries to navigate by various means.“

I was so shocked at his comment that I rewound his interview and wrote it down word-for-word.  He stated an assumption internalized by many advertising people:  Something that gets attention it will get sales.  They view the Super Bowl as the ad agency’s Oscars and strive to be the one who produces the most creative commercial.  These thirty-second films entertain but do not necessarily sell.

Loctite poured its entire annual advertising budget into that one commercial. 

Why? 

The Fallon spokesperson says for name recognition.  Really?  Does one thirty-second commercial aired one time give a brand name recognition?  After the Super Bowl, the commercial did get a great deal of acclaim.  However, that acclaim was for a day or so on particular news outlets.  Within a forty-eight hour time frame, Loctite blew an annual budget to establish name recognition.  Do you think the company achieved it?    

I don’t think so.  Achieving name recognition requires repetition.  One time is not repetition.   When Budweiser produces a commercial that includes the Clydesdales, the brand instantly benefits because viewers associate the horses with Budweiser.  Bud has invested millions of dollars over decades to achieve this recognition.  Every commercial with Clydesdales taps into this recognition, reinforces, and builds upon it. 

Marketing is a process.  A shot-in-the-pan, wonderful commercial or ad does not make your business or your brand.  Viewers need exposure to the commercial or ad over and over and over multiple times to establish name recognition.  Today, we are easily distracted.  Our attention is constantly pulled in several directions.  To get us to retain something, our attention must be piqued and that must be done many times over a long period of time.  Doing this requires a plan. 

Based on the Fallon spokesperson’s comment, I question that Loctite has a marketing plan.  I hope you are not making Loctite’s mistake.  I hope you have developed and use a marketing plan.

This week's marketing trivia challenge is  What brand have you seen use the marketing process to establish name recognition?  E-mail me your answer.    

Two Mistakes

Two of the most popular ads which ran during last week’s Super Bowl did an excellent job targeting their market.  The Paul Harvey-voiced ad dedicated to farmers caught the attention of every farm family that was watching.  Being two minutes long, the commercial took plenty of time to make the impression that the advertiser wanted.  By the middle of the commercial, I’m certain the target market was riveted.  Paul Harvey’s voice was very distinctive and commanded attention.  Since his program often aired on stations with farm programming, farmers instantly recognized it.  His description of a farmer was right on. 

Overall the commercial was excellent.  The producers only made one mistake.  I will disclose it with a question.  What company aired the commercial?  If you remember, good for that company.  To discover the company, you would have had to watch the commercial closely all the way to the end.  The company’s name was only shown for a few seconds at the very end of a two-minute commercial.  That was a big mistake.  The company would have been further ahead if it had displayed its logo and name in a lower corner throughout the commercial.

RAM trucks, the company, went through great pains and paid a great deal to air an effective commercial.  Why only have its name on screen for a few seconds?  Why not associate its name with the commercial for two minutes?  The company would have achieved much more from the commercial if it had done so. 

The second popular commercial which targeted its market well was the Clydesdale Budweiser commercial.  Reminiscent of the “War Horse” movie and “Christian the Lion” video, this commercial reached for the heart.  It grabbed mine.  Everyone with whom I have spoken agrees.  It has stuck in my mind, and, because of the Clydesdale, I associate it with Bud.  I’m certain that an important goal of the commercial was to maintain Bud customers.  As a consumer of Bud, I can attest that it reached that goal with me.

I was disappointed to find out that Budweiser made a mistake with this commercial.  In conjunction with the commercial, Budweiser ran a contest for naming the colt shown at the opening, which was born January 16.  The company announced the contest in its first ever tweet on January 26.  It received over 60,000 responses via tweets and phone calls.  Management was excited about this response. 

Think about how many responses Budweiser missed.  Think about the opportunity Bud missed.  If Budweiser had also offered that contest at the end of the commercial, how many more votes would it have received?  A lot.  Those additional votes would have represented more than additional numbers.  They would have been cast by consumers who became more involved in the Budweiser brand through their interactivity of voting.

Management could have taken this one step further and announced the name of the foal at the end of the Super Bowl.  This action would have involved consumers even further and given the commercial more mileage. 

Budweiser’s mistake was not maximizing the contest, threading it through all its marketing, and announcing the name at a strategic time.  Contests get attention.  They generate buzz.  Maximize their impact by promoting them through every communication and announcing their results at a peak time.

This week's marketing trivia challenge is Which was your favorite Super Bowl commercial and why?  E-mail me your answer.    

I am excited to share with you that my new book, Mistakes I Made Buying Advertising, will be released in three weeks.  Watch for more details.