The real role of advertising is to predispose and reassure a target market. Too many variables are involved in making "sales" and most of them are beyond the control of the advertising.
A transaction is not a sale. A sale or being sold is really a continuum. For instance, suppose you are sitting in front of the TV one night, when you see a commercial for a bar of soap that makes people smell like an Irishman. You say to yourself, "Hmmm, that looks interesting." So, the next time you go shopping, you pick up a bar. Are you sold? I think not. How could you be? You haven't tried it yet. You were, however, predisposed by the advertising and the price of the soap was no barrier to trial. In fact, you might have even received a coupon to make the transaction barrier even less of an issue.
Later, you take a shower and lo and behold, you do indeed smell like an Irishman, and yes, you are sold. However, the next morning you wake up with a rash all over your body. You blame he soap, and it's probably safe to assume you are no longer sold. You call your doctor. The doctor says it was the seafood you had for supper… you're back to being sold.
From this it should be clear that being sold is a process, whether it's satisfaction with your car, or your toothpaste. Once the transaction takes place, you will need reassurance you did the right thing for the right reasons. Hence, the role of advertising in maintaining brand loyalty.
If this line of thinking is used for a new car purchase, the example tends to work even better. How many people after seeing an ad for a new car rush down to the dealership with cheque in hand? The role of advertising is to get the consumer to pick up the phone, visit the dealership, increase the purchase intent, or merely hold a new or changed opinion about the car. It's then up to the dealer to provide the customer with enough motivation to make the transaction happen. Some of the highest awareness of vehicle advertising comes from new purchasers who want reassurance that they made the right decision.
Ideally your advertising will be most effective if it can do these three things:
A transaction is not a sale. A sale or being sold is really a continuum. For instance, suppose you are sitting in front of the TV one night, when you see a commercial for a bar of soap that makes people smell like an Irishman. You say to yourself, "Hmmm, that looks interesting." So, the next time you go shopping, you pick up a bar. Are you sold? I think not. How could you be? You haven't tried it yet. You were, however, predisposed by the advertising and the price of the soap was no barrier to trial. In fact, you might have even received a coupon to make the transaction barrier even less of an issue.
Later, you take a shower and lo and behold, you do indeed smell like an Irishman, and yes, you are sold. However, the next morning you wake up with a rash all over your body. You blame he soap, and it's probably safe to assume you are no longer sold. You call your doctor. The doctor says it was the seafood you had for supper… you're back to being sold.
From this it should be clear that being sold is a process, whether it's satisfaction with your car, or your toothpaste. Once the transaction takes place, you will need reassurance you did the right thing for the right reasons. Hence, the role of advertising in maintaining brand loyalty.
If this line of thinking is used for a new car purchase, the example tends to work even better. How many people after seeing an ad for a new car rush down to the dealership with cheque in hand? The role of advertising is to get the consumer to pick up the phone, visit the dealership, increase the purchase intent, or merely hold a new or changed opinion about the car. It's then up to the dealer to provide the customer with enough motivation to make the transaction happen. Some of the highest awareness of vehicle advertising comes from new purchasers who want reassurance that they made the right decision.
Ideally your advertising will be most effective if it can do these three things:
- Catch the attention of the target market
- Put forward a meaningful proposition
- Make your communication credible
Again, the role of advertising is to predispose and reassure. A client advertising umbrellas in a dry spell won't see much in the way of sales. It would be reasonable to conclude though, that by doubling awareness, sales should rise. It doesn't mean, however, that sales should double. There is a relationship between advertising and sales but not a correlation.
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