Advertising for the Long Term

Advertising for the Long Term

Effective advertising can help brands grow beyond belief.

We used hard science to unlock the truth behind effective advertising.

Check out our blog post here.

Regardless of size or market share, all brands must advertise to achieve both short- and long-term growth.

Here we’ll be tackling its purpose and the different ways to advertise.

Let’s begin.

WHY ADVERTISE?

Why do brands advertise in the first place?

You may believe it’s to boost revenue.

The truthAdvertising simply prevents the slow decline in sales.It rarely causes a jump in sales.

Advertising’s effects on sales tend to be spread out over time, and are extremely difficult to measure.

As such, the true purpose of advertising is to hold onto a brand’s huge base of infrequent buyers.

“Reach and nudge your infrequent buyers via advertising.”

— Byron Sharp, How Brands Grow

GROWTH

How can brands advertise to achieve short- and long-term brand growth?

Rational metrics tend to predict short-term success.

Short-term growth

Emotional metrics tend to predict long-term success. The most important driver of long-term growth is the level of share of voice.

Long-term growth

Brands should strive for meaningful, long-term growth, rather than chasing short-term metrics.

“Brands must practice patience: growing a brand simply takes time.”

— Byron Sharp, How Brands Grow

EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING

What does effective advertising look like?

target continuous advertising over bursts with gaps

REACH > FREQUENCY CONTINUOUS > BURSTS

Brand advertising should do two things:

target buyer reach rather than frequency of exposure

More on penetrationBrands should try to affect market penetration by targeting a wider audience. So, brands should try to advertise to all category buyers, from non-buyers all the way to heavy buyers. The most effective campaigns talk to the whole category—that is existing and potential customers.

BUYER REACH FREQUENCY>

More on timing

Brands should advertise in a continuous stream, rather than in bursts. Advertisements are meant to consistently strengthen brand associations, which happens more effectively through well-timed repetition. Long lapses in advertising cause your hard-earned brand links to fade in consumer memory.

CONTINUOUS ADVERTISING

BURSTS WITH GAPS>

THE BRAIN

How are advertisements processed in the brain?

Ads work through memory, building an element-to-brand link within the brain.

Advertising through an emotional message, rather than a rational one, is key. This is to say that emotional images are more effective than a page of facts and statistics.

Emotion influences and motivates customers

“Brands should strive for advertisements that refresh consumer memories through emotion and consistent brand element usage.”

— Byron Sharp, How Brands Grow

PRICE PROMOTIONS

Do promotions grow penetration or loyalty?

Price promotions are time restricted—“buy these jeans for half off, this week only!”—so they show up within sales figures easily and clearly.

Promotions do generate a short-term sales spike.

But sales return back to previous levels as soon as the promotion is over.

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Sales Cycle (months)0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Effect of Price Promotions on SalesPrice promotions generate a short-term sales spike

Total

There’s no evidence that these promotions grow penetration or loyalty, as already-heavy buyers are the most likely to notice the promotion, given their status as a heavy buyer.

Over timeIf brands consistently offer deep discounts, they could erode their reference price and brand image.

“Beyond the benefit of a quick spike in sales for a manager or to comply with retailers, price promotions don’t really do much for brands.”

— Byron Sharp, How Brands Grow

THE WRAP-UP

What have we learned?1.Ad campaigns usually don’t show up in short-term sales metrics

If done effectively, they can tremendously help in building a brand over the long-term.

What have we learned?1.Ad campaigns usually don’t show up in short-term sales metrics

If done effectively, they can tremendously help in building a brand over the long-term.

2.Advertisements should be emotional, consistently display your brand elements, and refresh consumer memory Ads that consistently display your brand elements and tap into consumers’ emotions will be far more memorable, and thus brand-building, in the long-term.

You can read the full story on how to grow your brand on the Percolate blog: Advertising for the Long Term

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Kat Gebert Kat Gebert is on the Product Marketing team at Percolate.