I think its a good question.
If your ad campaign strategy is based on a prediction about what “people” will do when they encounter your advertising, I have a question. Which “people” are we talking about?
Too often in business we hyper-simplify “people” into a category of beings akin to robots. We assume they have nothing better to do than count their money while waiting patiently for the appearance of our ads. At that point we expect them to react with mechanical precision and make a purchase. At least that is how “people” are often thought of in this context.
“People will see this…and do that”. Really? People will do nothing of the sort.
Here’s where the mark gets missed; take a moment and examine the real lives of these fictional dream customers. By real lives, I mean let’s give these people jobs and families, overcrowded schedules and undercrowded wallets, with some time poverty and information overload thrown in.
That might sound something like your day to day – and that’s the point. Consider for a moment how you react to advertising. My guess is that advertising gives you ideas of where to look when you are shopping for something in particular, but outside of that you are spectacularly indifferent. You successfully ignore hundreds of ads everyday. Just like “people”.
However, if you think about it, a few companies have managed to cut through your indifference. They’ll get remembered when the time comes to shop in their category.
We need to talk about creating the same effect with your ads.
J. Alfred