Running Red Lights

The way people drive says a lot about the times we live in.

Back in our parents day, it was a rarity to see a car run a red light. Not anymore. These days, everybody is in way too much of a hurry to let traffic signals slow them down. Or to take the time to even use their turn signals.

We’re all in a mad dash to get somewhere. And in many cases, we’re not even sure where that somewhere is.

What does that have to do with advertising, you might ask.

Everything. The point being, at the frenetic pace we all seem to be going in, it has never been more challenging for those of us in the business of advertising/ branding/ marketing to get our target audience to stop, look and listen to whatever it is we’re putting out there, whether it’s a TV commercial, radio spot, print ad, brochure, web site, Facebook page, or some other form of social media.

And get this, with so much media out there today, it’s been estimated that the average person is exposed to over 5,000 branding and advertising messages per day. And unlike red lights and stop signs, nobody’s going to issue you a citation for running an ad. So now more than ever, whatever you put out there needs to have a really powerful hook. Which is where most advertising fails. Because it’s not enough anymore to do what most advertising has always done: Simply identify the primary advantage of a product or service and present it to your target audience in a pedestrian, clichéd manner.

On the other hand, really good advertising- the kind that takes hold in the mind of its target audience- finds a way to state the primary advantage of a product in a highly imaginative fashion, which when it really works is also both memorable and seductive. And that’s the formula April/Vaughn is wedded to: Finding the “big idea” in the most creative manner possible through a totally integrated mix of conventional and non conventional media.

That’s our focus in everything we do. And if you’ve come this far with our latest blog, think of it as a red light we got you to stop for. So now let’s talk about how we can help you get your target audience to do the same thing.