A fellow adlander recently told me that I am no longer considered as an ‘average consumer’. Apparently my short time in the media industry has given me insight into the churning gears behind our industry and this will be reflected in my critical thinking. For example, when I come into contact with advertising in my everyday life, I will now over analyse the strategy behind the message more than the ‘average consumer’ would. She said my transformation might even be reflected in my speech. When I thought about it, I realised that I say “moving forward” and “impactful” more often than I should. What have I become?
This assumption bothered me, because I don’t really believe that there is such a thing as an “average” consumer. In my experience, people are more aware of the intentions of advertisers than we think. This is especially applicable to my fellow Gen-Ys, who I believe are cynical to the point of being jaded. We know we will get spammed with emails if we sign up to a ‘loyalty’ program; we are not going to click on a banner ad because it had a ‘great call to action.’ With thousands of brand messages aimed at us every day, it’s no wonder brand loyalty is low, and brands are finding it hard to connect.
So if the average consumer no longer exists and people are more informed, aware and jaded than ever before, how can brands really connect with their consumers?
The answer is fairly simple, entertain and surprise - give us something un-expected.
Working in cinema, I can think of some clever examples where this has been done in this environment.
In 2011, a cinema in Brussels was filled with the meanest looking biker types that could be found. Unsuspecting couples walked into the cinema, only to find that there were only two spare seats left right in the middle. The couples that braved the tense environment made their way along the crowded rows of bikers and wedged themselves next to the tattooed patrons. Then they were suddenly met with a cinema full of applause from the bikers. The tagline ‘That calls for a Carlsberg’ came up on the screen and the couples were handed Carlsberg beers by the bikers next to them. The stunt was filmed and went viral. It currently has over 13 million views on YouTube.
A stunt or activation, call it what you will, is a chance for a brand to break out of the average marketing strategy and do something different. These activations not only compliment the ‘traditional’ channels on a media plan, but also have the potential to clock up thousands of dollars in free media value through social media shares on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Some even get news coverage.
Nescafe recently ran an activation where they released the Nescafe coffee aroma in cinemas while the ad was playing onscreen. This created a multi-sensory experience for the audiences and connected with them in a new and exciting way. But how do you truly measure the success of an activation? How can you count the number of people who went home and told their friends and family about their experience and measure the value this personal endorsement has added to how people think about the brand?
So it might seem risky for advertisers to venture into this territory, but doing well conceived activations such as these really do grab people’s attention. Stunts are tool that can separate a standard campaign from the norm, enabling advertisers to gain that all important cut-through in the cluttered advertising world we are all surrounded by.
We are lucky enough to work in an industry where pitching an idea for filling a cinema with 100 bikies wouldn’t be viewed as crazy, but viewed as genius. So next time you consider planning an activation as a part of your clients media campaign, remember that the average consumer might not exist anymore, so why have an average media campaign?
Stephanie Musgrave
Coordinator at Val Morgan