If you hang around long enough with marketing people, which is not an activity recommended for the faint-hearted, it won’t be long before someone tosses out the most famous criticism of advertising effectiveness: “Half my advertising spend is wasted, I just don’t know which half.”
Who noticed this first is the subject of much debate
Henry Ford has been mentioned, but the two most likely candidates are US retail magnate John Wannamaker – inventor of the department store concept – and UK industrialist Lord Leverhulme, whose soap manufacturing empire evolved into Unilever, the global household products manufacturer.
These great businessmen were all enthusiastic advertisers and there’s no doubt that, despite any dubious spending by their advertising agencies, they grew rich and powerful as a result.
Are advertisers still wasting half their budgets?
Actually, it’s more like 63% according to researchers Rex Briggs and Greg Stuart. Even more, if you include the cost of online fraud. After examining more than $1 billion of marketing spend by 30 major corporations, they published a book called What Sticks: Why Most Advertising Fails and How to Guarantee Yours Succeeds.
They concluded that several factors are at play
The sudden rise of digital and social advertising platforms whipped impressionable marketers into a froth. So blinded were they in their excitement to clamber aboard the shiny new bandwagon, they forgot that advertising in any medium must focus on what motivates customers to buy.
Instead, they obsessed on being liked and shared on social media and lost sight of what, in the real world, motivates customers to part with their hard-earned dollars.
This critical error was compounded by inaccurate messaging and an inappropriate mix of media choices.
The honeymoon is over. It’s time to have a fresh look at traditional media
Advertising research specialist Jerry W Thomas, CEO of Decision Analyst, one of North America’s top 20 research firms, published a white paper in which he argues that social media, online, search and mobile advertising all grab the headlines and attract marketing executives like moths to a flame, but we should not be dazzled by this new media.
“The have their advantages,” he wrote, “and can be part of the media mix, but they’re probably still playing a distant ‘second fiddle’ to traditional media.”
In the rush to adopt trendy new platforms desperately hoping that their ads might go viral – the ultimate digital media jackpot – many marketers were distracted from the media on which their products were probably launched and built: television, radio, print and outdoor (now called out of home).
Ads on television
Despite all the hype about digital platforms, television ads still deliver higher impact than any other medium. The appeal of tv is reflected in its steadily increasing share of the advertising dollar. Advertising spend on US television has risen from $90.71 billion in 2017 to an estimated $140.80 billion by the end of 2023 and $170.40 billion by 2027.
It’s true that online is growing faster, mainly driven by the deluge of new digital trickery streaming out from Silicon Valley, and seducing the marketing world by their novelty rather than any solid proof of effectiveness. Only time will tell how many of them last for more than a year or two.
Radio advertising
Closely behind tv comes commercial radio. Well written and professionally produced radio ads grab the listener’s attention and, when broadcast with enough frequency, are compelling and persuasive.
There are around 15, 400 radio stations in the US, many of them are local, so they’re ideal for smallish advertisers who wish to reach a tightly defined audience. Like tv, radio can be used to build brand awareness and is often the channel of choice for publicizing events and short-term promotions.
Print and out of home media
They tend to work more slowly and require regular exposure over longer periods. Advertising placed here must be carefully crafted to take advantage of their special characteristics.
Billboards, for example, must drive the message home with 6 words or less combined with an optional visual image that helps to drive home the message. A challenging task, as you can imagine.
Newspapers and magazines, on the other hand, have the unique advantage that they are often kept around for several days. Expensive, glossy magazines are stashed away for months and frequently re-read and loaned out to friends and family, so the advertising benefits from an extended reach beyond the original subscribers.
The static nature of newspapers and magazines makes them ideal for long copy ads which may be appropriate when pitching a complex product or service, or when advertising a range of offers.
What’s more important: the medium or the message?
A poorly conceived marketing proposition running in media that reaches your target market wastes as much money and effort as the opposite: a great message splashed on a platform your customers rarely visit.
It’s time to talk strategy
Think of strategy as a type of route map. And always keep in mind the words of famous author, inventor and mathematician Lewis Carroll: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.)
A good strategy will scope out the general direction your marketing campaign will take. It will include your key messaging, research findings, objectives, timing, and the milestones you’ll use to assess your progress towards your goals.
The next step is to distil the strategy into a marketing plan, a series of actions that, when coordinated according to your budget and timing requirements, will deliver the results you seek.
Apart from advertising to a clearly defined market, your plan should include events, product promotions, special offers, seasonal activities, media releases and so on.
As Jerry W Thomas points out in his white paper, the quality of advertising – its strategic strength – tends to be more important than the amount of money you spend on it.
Finally, always remember that smart advertising is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely.
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Which half of my advertising is wasted and is it only half
