WHITE PAPER 10 Lessons Learned: Effective Advertising ...

It’s been a full year since the first COVID lock downs and it’s been a year like no other. We’ve all learned a lot about ourselves, about our ability to adapt and survive, and about what’s actually important.

Advertisers have been learning too – about what still works, what doesn’t work anymore, and some have even gained new insights about practices that never worked – and still don’t.

10 Lessons Learned: Effective Advertising During A PandemicHits, Misses, and Surprises

WHITE PAPER

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• Because so many ads looked alike and were not strongly connected to the brand, consumers mostly didn’t associate the ad or its message with the brand at all.

• Even when the sponsoring brand was clear, the connection between the benefits provided by the brand and the empathetic message was often tenuous, at best. Without this connection, a consumer could appreciate a brand’s empathy but not be driven to change their brand behavior.

First some surprises - advertising that performed differently than might have been expected.

Empathetic, ‘we hear you/feel your pain’ themes haven’t been all that successful. These ads have mostly failed to result in benefits for the sponsoring brands for two reasons:

Not everything is about COVID. Even in the midst of this pandemic, some brands have found that it’s okay to just focus on those authentic qualities that have always made them a great/distinctive brand choice. Lots has changed. But consumers still make many purchases that are driven by the same dynamics that existed pre-pandemic.

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During the initial lock down period, the general belief was that ad messages should focus on strong themes of empathy, and that the appropriate tone was sober. In fact...

“Thanks, I see that you get my pain,

but why exactly should I buy a

car from you, or switch brands of

toothpaste?”

“I’ve always wanted to serve my kids meals

that they’ll eat because they like the taste,

but that provide the nutrition that I know they

need.”

“I’ve always wanted to drink a beer that

reflects who I am as a person.”

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And some confirmation - tried and true best practices that still proved highly effective as

society has been swept up in the pandemic era.Lots has changed. How advertising works hasn’t.

Strong positive emotion, when effectively elicited in support of your brand’s benefits or solutions, has proven to be as potent as ever- if not more so. The emotion-driven ads that have worked particularly well in this year of the pandemic have been those that were strongly inspiring and uplifting.

It’s okay to be lighthearted, as long as you use relatable humor. People still want to smile. Not everything needs to be ponderous and heavy.

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Ads that appear when potential buyers are in the right situation or frame of mind are more likely to engage and persuade. This concept of ‘aperture’ has been around for quite some time, but has probably never been a stronger leverage point than it is today.

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• Consumers are subject to a flood of ad exposures across an increasing sea of platforms in today’s world.

• And, overlay this with the pressures being felt by consumers to fulfill more roles in their daily lives than ever before, ads that appear in the right moment have a strong advantage over those that appear at seemingly random times and places.

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Relevant, relatable stories that focus on what’s important to the audience, with product solutions strongly woven in is still a winning formula that generates attention and can build brand success.

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Distinctive Brand Assets (DBAs) - Those characters, jingles, colors, unique visual approaches, voice-overs, and other familiar elements that telegraph your brand identity and benefits - remain as powerful as ever.

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What doesn’t work anymore

Ads that show behaviors that are out of sync with COVID safety protocols. Yes, consumers would love to be back to normalcy and hope to be soon, but reminding them of what they’re not able to do now is not the way to be relatable and build brand desire in this moment.

These might’ve been great ads pre-pandemic, but these just don’t work right now - and their tone-deafness may do damage to your brand.

Strategies that never really worked before and still don’t

“Let us tell you about us...”

A focus on the company and how wonderful it is with no consumer payoff makes you and your Board of Directors feel great. But unless you can tie why you’re so great to a real or perceived consumer benefit, no one cares. In the COVID era, these company brag ads have often been couched in the lingo of compassion. These ads usually come off as inauthentic, and rarely build the brand.

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Non-distinctive ads that could be for any brand in the category. Unless your brand is clearly woven into the story, you have built brand equities that allow you to ‘own’ a particular benefit in the mind of the consumer, your ads are unlikely to distinguish you or build your brand.

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Hits, Misses, and Surprises: A Year of Pandemic Advertising

It’s all about maintaining authenticity and distinction, while connecting with your audience in a relatable way - and eliciting a positive emotion doesn’t hurt, either.

In summary, for advertisers, these twelve pandemic-dominated months have mainly reinforced the tried-and-true universal truths about the characteristics of ads that build brands.

Communicus can help you better understand how advertising works.

All of our research is based on proven, standardized processes, with each project custom-designed and implemented based on the unique campaign dynamics and information needs of the client and brand. We are happy to provide more information on the foundational design elements and deliverables to you and your team, and to discuss your specific situation with you.

Communicus.com [email protected]