The AdNews NGen blog: Emotive Advertising

Having made the decision in the past year to start afresh in a new city, I have been faced with not just a whole new city full of media opportunities, but also at times vastly different advertising techniques. When in the US, TV advertising in particular seemed so in your face, and pushy to the extreme. There's no doubt this approach works on many, but if I had to spend much more time being shouted at from my TV about the never-ending list of side-effects of the latest pharmaceutical drug or the fee charged on a win-only from the best compensation lawyers around, I think I'd scream. It gets the message across that's for sure, but at what cost?

In Ireland and the UK, it's far more subtle. Many times it's such a slow releasing advertising campaign, that at times in the early days of the campaign, you have no idea what they're trying to communicate. It's a gradual mounted interest, which you hope is worth it. Humour is used so often, sometimes in the quirkiest of ways, or communicated in the form of a story. Subtle and oftentimes indirect, it's so different from its US counterpart. However, it connects emotionally, particularly in the past couple of years with the onslaught of the recession. The spending bubble has well and truly been burst, and in turn we've been brought back down to earth with a thud. Brands have had to completely re-think their communication strategy and appeal, relying heavily on nostalgic advertising. By reminding the consumer of times gone by, emotional resonance is paramount. Brands that had lost their cool factor have seen a sudden and surprisingly successful comeback.

Then there's Australia. Somewhere in the middle between direct and indirect? It's direct, oftentimes similar to the US, but not overly in your face. There's some fantastic advertising out here, but I believe creativity still needs to be pushed a bit further. As to what's best, that depends on the product. For example, Lynx are of the mindset that sex sells, which it clearly does. Their brand is so strongly bound with the notion of female attraction, it's entirely the emotional connection that sells the product. On the other hand, we have all the technological products conveying only the functionality. We can communicate the attributes of any product, but it's not all we should do. We should have the confidence to move past this, engage the consumer, capture their interest whilst also conveying brand or product qualities. Ikea's advertising is the perfect embodiment of both. What's going to communicate better to their audience the product attributes whilst connecting emotionally to their everyday lives, than a pop-up studio apartment on a busy street or a bus stop converted into a comfortable living room? It conveys the product attributes perfectly, whilst also connecting with the consumer emotionally, moving past straightforward advertising. Yellow pages also did a great job of this here, with their hidden pizza restaurant. This directed consumers to the restaurant via the Yellow Pages, letting consumers discover for themselves the attributes of the product.

With so many products and brands out there vying for the same attention, there's only so many that can cut through. To do this we must move beyond traditional communication methods, and connect emotionally to the consumer. Find what they're passionate about, where their interests lie and what motivates them, and make a connection from there. Engage the consumer without bombarding them. With so many brands competing against one another, it's those that are emotionally connected to their consumers that will ultimately win out.

Hazel Galbraith
OMD Brisbane