Successful Ads? Think 3 T's

These kinds of post make my day.  As a teacher, I hope to ruin...I mean, enlighten, the brains that I am fortunate enough to have in my class.  It's not that I want to forever wreck television for them, it's that I really enjoy when a student begins to understand the influence that advertising has on them. 

This post (left on the Facebook group Marketingminded used in the marketing class I teach at California State University, Chico) was left by a student after a lecture on the basics of advertising.  The lesson began by me showing several different recent tv ads and then having the class decide what type of ad they were, as well as the tone that each ad was designed with.  One of my favorites (because it has an unusual tone for its type) is this example.  After several semsters of doing this excersize, it never fails that some of my students really start to see that advertising can have a profound effect on us as consumers.  

Small business owners can also learn from these foundational concepts I teach in my marketing class.  For one, understanding that tone can influence perceptions of consumers is key.  Typical tones include humor, fear, sex, and a general emotional appeal.  In addition to humor, (see example above) fear can be impactful as well.  See a good example of how to use fear here.  However, the trick with any type and tone decision is to match it up to the target market you are trying to communicate to.  Target market is critical to successful adveritsing and should be the first...and last "T" to take into consideration.

Unfortunatley, as I point out in the post above, there are many organizations that miss the mark with their target market. Here is an example of that!  I'm pretty sure this Swiffer ad is trying to target me, but this company is so off the mark that I would rather scrub my floor with a toothbrush than buy one of their mops. Probably not the effect they were going for...

The moral of the story? If you are about to embark on some advertising, which is never an inexpensive endeavor, focus on the 3 T's I have discussed here: Target market, type, & tone...and then to make sure your ad really cleans up, give your target market a second look!