Advertising is all about capturing the attention of one’s audience. Achieving visibility for the advertisement is a necessary condition for success. While every visible advertisement does not always achieve its goal of success, if an ad is not seen (or is not visible), it has failed no matter how good it is. Conventional wisdom is not wrong in saying, “Jo dikhta hai wohi bikta hai”. Only the brands that are highly visible can sell.
Yet some advertisers tolerate the distribution of their ads to places where they have virtually no chance of ever being seen, let alone remembered or even subconsciously noticed. This waste of media costs not only in terms of the time and budget devoted to creative production but also impacts raw campaign ROI.
GOLDEN RULES OF AD VISIBILITY
- Shock advertising often serves in granting instant widespread visibility. It can send a message that elevates a business entity’s profile and positions its brand as forward-thinking. Used ineffectively, shock advertising can backfire and cause long-term brand damage. Jack Trout & Al Ries further recommend in their best-seller, ‘Positioning’, that you have to shock your way into the mind of the consumer.
- The power of the glamorous lies in their supposed happiness. Perhaps this explains the absent, unfocused look of so many glamour images that surround us. Often celebrities are used to give the brand instant visibility and a personality that is an extension of the celebrity.
- The longer the ad, the lower the return on your investment. A thirty-second commercial is not as effective as a fifteen-second commercial. Lots of shorter commercials have proved to be more effective. So visibility is not related to the screen time, but the impact the advertisement makes per second.
- The earlier in the commercial that your logo appears, the better. How many times have you heard somebody rave about a new commercial because of its content, but when you ask them who it was for, they don’t have a clue? Make sure that your brand gets visibility before the creative idea.
- ‘Advertising awareness scores’ are driven by the number of existing users. People who use your brand are more likely to see and hear your advertising. So, the more the users, the higher your score. And if your brand has a lot of committed users, the effect of user-ship will be further exaggerated. Advertising is circular. The more people “see” your ad, the more they use your brand. But the more they use your brand, the more likely they are to see your ad.