Who is your commercial talking to?
Have you ever watched a television commercial, seen a sponsored post on Facebook or noticed a digital ad and wondered, who is this commercial suppose to be talking to?
When my daughter was eight years old we were watching one of her favorite shows when a M&M commercial aired.
The commercial showcased Hallie Barry in a slinky dress sitting on a couch seductively with the red animated M&M. Hallie talked to “red” about how much she desired him. How attracted she was to his red shiny coating, how she couldn’t wait to get her hands on him. Sitting next to my daughter I watched as my blood pressure began to rise.
Here was a highly sexual commercial for….candy?? Yes of course some adults indulge in sweet treats on occasion but really? I became very baffled trying to identify to whom this commercial was talking? It was pretty apparent they were talking to men. M&M candies decided to target men in a national ad?
In the 3 is the Key blog post I pose the questions that need to be addressed to ensure any advertising works effectively;
What are you saying? How often are you saying it? Who are you talking to?
As a business owner you need to think about your customer. Whether it be your current customer or a desired one you are trying to gain.
Are they male or female?
What age?
What are their habits?
What is important in their lives?
Where to they spend their time?
What you “say” in a commercial message/post needs to take these things into account. You may be having a lot of fun creating a catchy, funny or bizarre commercial and wasting a lot of your advertising dollars in the process.
The first step I take with all my clients is to identify the WHO. Who is their most desirable customer. In most cases this always drives the placement. It helps to identify which medium to purchase. Take the time to truly understand who is your customer can guide where (the medium) to advertise and how to craft the message, securing they will be heading to your storefront!
