Earth Month 2023

The theme of this year’s Earth month is “Invest in Our Planet.” This directive is targeting everyone from individuals at home to business at the workplace. We’re going to focus on the latter for the purpose of this article. We want to participate in Earth month this year through raising awareness of ways to be greener in business practices. Here is a short list of some tips to help get you get started.

1.     Choose sustainable suppliers: these products use less energy and produce less waste. These types of suppliers are more common than they used to be so it’s not hard to find them. They may cost a little bit more but it’s worth it to do your part!

2.     Use energy efficient office equipment: energy star certified is the way to go. Not only will it save you money using less energy, it will help create less CO2 emissions.

3.     Video meetings over in person: it’s now possible to meet with people over zoom or some other meeting interface. There’s no reason why meetings can’t all be done this way to save the company money and save the planet

4.     Offer hybrid work options: it’s no secret since the pandemic that hybrid work lowers the carbon footprint of businesses around the world. Less commuting means less vehicles on the road, which means less CO2 in the air.

5.     Rethink paper: recycle office waste. Landfills are a huge part of the methane gas production that contributes to CO2 problems. If you recycle paper that means less trees are cut down and in turn, less CO2 production in the process of manufacturing it. Also, rethink if you really need to print something and take notes on a computer.

6.     Give reusable merch to your employees: make brand merch that your employees can reuse, such as grocery bags and water bottles.

7.     Have fun contests: do a Verdura Venerdi (That means veggie Fridays in Italian) or Meatless Mondays. Offer a prize or provide the meal yourself.

There are many benefits to increasing awareness at your business on climate change and ways to help reduce the effects through daily acts. Sustainable business is no longer the option as consumers want to support brands that take hard stances on difficult topics, such as climate change. They will only support those businesses who talk the talk and walk the walk. Will your brand be at the forefront of the green movement?

AI & Copyright Laws

Artificial intelligence is the hottest topic right now. There are so many questions surrounding the technology that can create art, text, and even advertisement scripts based on certain actors’ personas. One thing that not a lot of people have talked about are the issues surrounding AI creations and copyright laws. Since it’s such a new territory these waters haven’t really been explored yet but there is some buzz starting to circulate around it. Think about this, AI is trained to search massive data pools that surround the parameters it’s given to create something. These works are from real people in the real world. Plagiarism is a concern when writing essays, so why wouldn’t copyright laws apply as well?  People are starting to look into the ownership of AI generated works and whether or not AI should be references the sources and/or getting permission in some cases. There is a lawsuit that was filed in 2022 from three artists suing an AI generator for using their art for a digital collage tool without permission. The argument is that the fair use doctrine says it can be used for “research” purposes without permission. There is also the question of AI generated works and who owns the copyright to that. A lot of jurisdictions state that anything not created by a human cannot be protected by copyright laws. Spain and Germany follow this currently. This could cause problems for business, however, because they could be used by anyone. Companies won’t spend a lot of time and effort putting work into AI generated works if just anyone can come along and steal them. Should the copyright laws include those programmers, etc. who help create the AI work? We think not. That’s like saying the pen is the creator and not the writer. Should computers be given the same rights as humans when it comes to copyright laws? The future of AI will determine the next steps, which seems not that far off. Perhaps granting the person who made the AI possible as the UK is already doing seems the most realistic approach for the time being.  It’s mind blowing to think that what we thought of as the very far sci-fy version of reality 20 years ago is now the truth of our world.

Advertising Audio & Sonic Branding

Did you know that it only takes 0.146 seconds for a human to hear and interpret a sound?!? (Business News Daily) When we think of advertising, the first thing that comes to mind is visual, but the sounds in an ad can make or break it. Certain sounds can connect with your audience on an emotional level. Something further, sonic branding is a sound that is associated with your brand. Think of the Netflix sound when it launches. All of you reading this can hear it in your mind right now huh? We can too. Another way to use sound is in a retail environment and is probably the most common. Let’s dive into each a little deeper.

In Store Audio

1.     What type of emotion do you want to inspire? Calm, excited, secure? This will create the emotional state of your customers while they’re shopping in your store.

2.     Do you want them to stay a while or get in and get out? Most stores want people to stay unless they’re fast food or high turnover shops. If you want consumers to stay slower music is best. They stay longer. They spend more money. If in and out is what you want then fast paced music with upbeat tempo.

3.     Are you selecting music that your target audience would listen to? You want to ensure that your audience likes what they are hearing. Dive a little into your target audience. What is their demographic? When were they born? This will give you an idea of what kind of music to play.

Sonic Branding

1.     Keep the sound simple. Just a few tones that last a few seconds. It should be a musical mnemonic pattern that is easy to remember and listen too.

2.     Make your audience feel something. Create a sound that conveys the right emotional response. Think of sounds that you often hear such as the sound when you upload something on LinkedIn. It’s oddly satisfying. There’s a reason for this.

3.     Don’t plagiarize. Stand out and be unique with your tonal voice. Not only is this copyright infringement, it’s lazy.

Sounds in Advertisements

1.     Again, know the brand audience. What is the product for? Is it fitness or a massage? This will greatly effect the sounds you want to use in your ads.

2.     Consider the platform. Looping sounds do better on social media since it tends to disrupt the user less. This will also determine which music can go on your ads. You need to have proper clearance for copyright purposes.

3.     Create with mobile in mind. Most people will watch digital ads on their phones. So, unless your ad is running on Hulu as a commercial, you want to pick tracks that don’t have a lot of heavy bass.

4.     Sound effects might be needed. Sometimes an added sound effect might be needed to emphasize a key point in your ad. Don’t forget to use these to bring attention to the points of visual interest.

5.     Get the mix right. Most ads have voice over. It’s important that the music and/or sound effects don’t overpower this. Obviously, this will be done by an editing professional but should always be checked before going live.

Sound can be a very powerful tool in advertising that is quite often overlooked. It can be used to enhance certain aspects of your ads or as a tactic to keep customers in your store longer. Our favorite though, is sonic branding and how it can be just as memorable as a visual logo if not more. Sounds tend to get stuck in our heads because it takes less attention to recognize them while visuals require us to focus our vision from whatever we may already be doing to something else. Also, if you get it right people will remember your sonic branding for years to come!

Marketing Attribution

Let’s be real, no one likes wasting their money! Well, maybe those who have it to waste. But most of us will do anything to save a buck in our personal and business lives. Marketing attribution is a technique that does just that in the business world. Marketing attribution evaluates areas of brand marketing strategies during the consumers path to purchase to see what leads to a purchase and what doesn’t. This allows for the brand to allocate more resources to those strategies that lead to revenue and back off on those that don’t. Thus, saving the company more money and ultimately, bring more in. The benefits are pretty obvious in order to optimize resources and budgets. There are a few different models that a brand can follow:

1.     First touch: this assumes that the consumer chose to purchase after seeing the initial ad they encountered. It could be the first time they visited your website or engaged with your brand on social media.

2.     Last touch: as the name implies, this model uses the final touchpoint that leads to a sale.

3.     Linear: this model considers all contributing channels in the buyer journey and considers all interactions equal.

4.     Lead conversion touch: this helps pinpoint the exact moment that a person decides to make the purchase.

5.     Multi-touch: can help the brand understand how all interactions work together. Can allow for tracking of the exact moment that lead to conversion of consumer.

6.     Time decay: focuses on more recent interactions. It gives weight to each purchase touchpoint differently. It will help understanding in which channels are pushing customers toward a purchase.

7.     Position based (U-shaped): it’s broken up like this, 40% at the first interaction, 40% at the final and 20% to the other touchpoints.

8.     Custom: most complex. Gives ability to assign their own touchpoint weights. Very accurate but also hard to set up.

So, how do you know which model to use for your brand? Well, the answer is in your marketing goals. First, ask yourself, what type of sales cycles does your brand use and how long does it run? How much is digital and which channels are used? Now, it’s time to figure out what you want to know. What’s the goal of your current marketing campaign and what type of campaigns have you been using? Here is a short list of questions to consider when choosing an attribution model:

1.     Can you get insights throughout the campaign to optimize or only at the end?

2.     Are you trying to understand how your marketing effort can generate leads?

3.     Are you assessing your marketing strategy?

Picking the right model isn’t an easy process so care should be taken to know what it is that you want to measure. Don’t rush this process so you can align to with your unique marketing strategies and goals.

Programmatic SEO

We all know that high SEO is important for your brand but what is programmatic SEO? Even if you’ve never heard of it, it is quite common practice in the digital space. Instead of spilling a definition at you, let’s look at an example of programmatic SEO and work our way backwards. Imagine you do a web search on best restaurants in (city) and when the results come back with a TripAdvisor page in at least the top 3. The reason for this is that they have a page for almost everything travel related anywhere in the world. They have to create thousands of landing pages in order to increase their SEO ranking. This is programmatic SEO in a nutshell. It is building a database of thousands of pages that are connected to a template in order to rank higher in Google’s search query. They all use similar, long-structure keywords. Brands can use this to write the content and publish for them instead of having to it all manually. So, how do you implement programmatic SEO? Here is a quick tips list to get you started.

1.     Choose your head terms: this is the overall broad categories. Advertising, advertising agency, content agency would be an example of some we would use. These will have a large search volume.

2.     Figure out what the modifier keywords are: Primary: found content agency, user-generated content agency. Secondary: advertising: user-generated content, found content, sourced content.

3.     Put them all together: it’s not uncommon to have 100K keywords.

4.     Do competitive analysis: what keywords and long for modifiers are your competition showing up on with Google search?

5.     Build the landing pages: they will all be a similar template but slightly unique. It’s important for the algorithm so it sees it as a unique value for visitors on each page.

Every brand can benefit from programmatic SEO, because every brand should have an online presence, no matter the size of the company. We live in a digital world, so improving your brand’s SEO will allow it to reach more people, make your site more attractive and the ROI on programmatic SEO is very high. It can also require much less time to achieve results.

Autism Awareness Month

April is autism awareness month and we recently saw a wonderfully done ad stating that girls are 3x’s less likely to be diagnosed with autism. Autism is a spectrum disorder and is a condition related to brain development that impacts how a person perceives and socializes with others. Although there is no cure for this, early diagnosis and treatment can make a huge difference in the lives of those that have it. It’s important to understanding the early signs that can change a child’s life. Some symptoms include:

1.     Reduced eye contact

2.     Lack of response to their name

3.     Sudden withdrawn or aggressive behavior

4.     Loss of language skills they’ve already acquired

5.     Difficulty learning

6.     Some have very high intelligence and learn quickly, yet have trouble communicating

There are many other signs, so it’s important to do adequate research. There are also some patterns of behavior such as:

1.     Repetitive movements

2.     Doing activities that cause self-harm (banging head or biting)

3.     Becomes annoyed with change in routines

4.     Coordination problems

5.     Fascinated with details of objects without understanding its overall function

6.     Unusually sensitive to light, sound or touch

7.     Fixates on objects with unusual intensity

While the causes of autism spectrum disorder is not known, there are plenty of treatment options. Early diagnosis will improve behavioral patterns and social interactions. Children will never “outgrow” autism spectrum disorder but they can learn to function well in society with it if caught at an early age.

Brand Salience

When I say Nike, you think… we’re pretty sure the image that came to mind was the iconic Nike swoosh. This is a prime example of brand salience. It sounds similar to brand awareness but they are different. Brand awareness focuses on measuring overall visibility during the entire customer journey. Salience is a measure of awareness during the actual purchasing decision.  The Nike swoosh might come to top of mind when you want a new pair of kicks. So, how do brands increase their salience?

1.     Tap into emotions: emotion creates a long-term memory. People often buy based on emotion and not logic. UGC found content advertising is a great way to tap into this.

2.     Create memorable branding: memorable images, ads, etc. Uniqueness will make you stand out from the competitors and staying true to your mission.

3.     Expand awareness: brand awareness intersects brand salience. Expanding your brand reach is important to gaining new customers to increase salience.

4.     Consistency is key: use newsletter, digital ads, commercials, social media marketing, etc. Getting your brand out into the world often means more eyes on it more often.

5.     Constantly test and improve: you only stop growing when you stop learning. It’s important to use this mindset in business. The more your brand tests campaigns through Google analytics, surveys and revenue, the more you will understand what works and what doesn’t. this will ensure that you get the right material in front of your audience that will resonate with them on a deeper level.

With fierce competition everywhere, if your brand masters salience it will come to mind first during purchasing decisions. It’s an important factor for brand success In order to become a household name.

Demand Driven Pricing

 Imagine that it’s winter time and you go to the sale rack at the clothing store. There are a ton of bathing suits marked down. This is an example of demand driven pricing. It’s a method that considers fluctuations in customer demand and adjusts prices to fit changes in perceived value of items/services. Let’s think about what goes into the price of an item or service. Looking at an item we have to think about factors, such as manufacturing costs, market, competition and quality. Taking these factors into consideration allows for demand driven pricing tactics as long as the brand is covering their costs to manufacture their product with some profit left on top. There are a few different demand driven pricing tactics to discuss.

1.     Psychological pricing: as the name sounds, this method involves psychology of using certain prices that have a psychological impact. The theory states that prices set at odd pricing, such as $9.99 drives demand more than it would if the number were whole.

2.     Penetration pricing: this method is the opposite of price skimming and sets the initial price below average. This will attract a larger pool of customers at the beginning and is used with brands entering a very competitive market place. It can create traction for new brands through brand awareness. This is a long-term strategy to increase sale volume but can be difficult to raise pricing later due to consumer expectations.

3.     Value-based pricing: this method uses the customer’s perceived value to set pricing rather than historical pricing of the product. This is where products tap into emotional purchasing. For example, in fashion or niche markets where consumers buy for social proof. Therefore, these prices are typically set high compared to manufacturing costs.

4.     Price skimming: this method is where the brand initially sets the price of an item/service higher and will lower it as time goes on. Usually people are willing to pay more initially for a product launch and it will attract high end customers at first. As the pricing is adjusted, it will attract a more price sensitive audience. This will also help the company recover costs quickly.

5.     Yield management: this method involves a strategy to sell a fixed-inventory resource within a limited time frame to match pricing fluctuations of customer demand. A good example of this is when airlines increase pricing closer to the holidays. Hotels will do the same. This is in order to cut their inventory costs in most situations and manage it efficiently. If demand is high then pricing will be high. If demand is low then pricing will be low.

6.     Geo-based pricing: again, as the name implies, this pricing model relies on geographic location to set the pricing. This is typically used by brands that have a global market. Pricing changes based on location due to reasons such as local economy. For example, a product will be marked at a higher price in NYC than it would in Mobile, Alabama.

There are definitely some pros and cons to demand driven pricing. It can help maximize revenue and it can better serve audience through ensuring access to fixed inventory. However, it can be labor intensive and extremely volatile. There’s no guarantee that consumers will pay and it can be tough to predict. It will take thought out strategy to implement if your brand is interested in using demand driven pricing tactics. That being said, it will pay off through immense data collection to understand competitor pricing and market value.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in the UGC Space

UGC found content is a very effective way to market your brand. It helps create an emotional connection, reduce marketing spend, engage your audience and make your brand stand out from the rest. However, it’s important to know what good practices are when creating a UGC found content campaign. Here are some common pitfalls to avoid and why you should steer clear of them in order to have a successful campaign launch.

1.     Publishing without permission: chances are that if you’re already working with us this isn’t an issue for you. For the rest of you, all content created is the rightful property of the creator(s). Legal permissions must be obtained in order to use someone else’s content, may it be a photo, video, slide, etc. it doesn’t matter what the said content is, you MUST get permission to legally use it under copyright laws.

2.     Not using organic creators: when someone isn’t genuine, the public can smell this a mile away. People crave authenticity and the content used in UGC found content advertising should reflect this. It is not the same as influencer marketing. UGC is real people, doing real-life situational things. This is what makes it relatable. If the videos are overly produced or seem scripted, then your audience is likely to ignore it in your campaign or write it off as just another boring ad.

3.     Using UGC in your ads only one time: using UGC in your found content campaign can extend your reach. It will most likely be shared by others who have been featured. If your brand is serious about its marketing and advertising strategies then you will want to adopt UGC found campaigns as part of that cycle.

4.     Not engaging: UGC found content campaigns engage the communities and audiences more than produced content ads will. It’s important to stay on top of the conversations that are being sparked by your found content ads. Keep the momentum going and let your audience know that you see and hear them. Each individual does matter and will be treated as such by your brand.

People are sick of being sold to. UGC found content campaigns are a good way to spark conversations around your brand without people feeling like it’s being shoved down their throats. It’s important to stay away from these top pit falls in order to drive a successful ad containing UGC content. We’re always here for you when you need UGC for your next ad!

Women’s History Month: Women in Advertising, Eliza Jane Nicholson

The first female publisher in U.S. history was Eliza Jane Nicholson. She ran the Daily Picayune from 76’-96’. And when we say that, we mean 1876-1896! Not only was the first female publisher, she owned the entire major newspaper. She moved to New Orleans to become a professional journalist and began working for the Daily Picayune, where she wrote under the name, Pearl Rivers. It was here that she met her husband, Alva Holbrook, who was the owner of this paper. When she married him, the paper was in financial turmoil but after her husband passed and she took the lead, it became profitable once again! Interesting side note, Holbrook’s ex-wife attempted to murder Eliza but all to no avail. She fought for women to be hired at the paper and fostered equal pay. Quite a feat for someone of her time when these things were still quite taboo. We would like to celebrate her on this final day of Women’s History Month and all other women in all industries fighting to for women’s equality all over the world. Equality and freedom transcend time and geography!

Consumer Trends March 2023

Trends shift so very quickly in our society today. It’s important to stay on top of what’s hot and what’s not in the advertising world. Every few months we do a dive into what is important to consumers and the trends that they’re following. Here is what we found as we’re about 4 months into the year so far.

1.     Uptrend in social media commerce: Millennials and Gen Z want brands to be where they are and apparently that’s on social media. 50% of adults in the U.S. have already taken advantage of social media commerce and that’s expected to grow (Future of Commerce).

2.     Search engines are still at the top for consumers discovery of new products: HubSpot survey shows that 44% of people still use search engines to discover new products over others. In store comes in at number two with 41%.

3.     Consumers want video content: HubSpot’s survey indicated that it’s important that the video be authentic. This really doesn’t come as a surprise to us. Do I hear sourced UGC advertising anyone?

4.     Adopting cost-saving habits: 96% of PwC’s Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey either have already or plan to within the next 6 months. It makes sense in the U.S. with financial uncertainties looming.

Staying up with trends is key to understanding how to effectively market to your audience. If social media commerce is up, it’s time to make sure your brand is taking advantage of shopping on social. Consumers want authentic, short-form video content. Give the people what they want in your advertisements. If your target audience is cutting back on spending, how can you let them see that what you have to offer them as a brand is necessity? What problems in their lives can you, and only you, solve?

AR & VR: What is the Difference & Why is it Important in Marketing?

Well, from all the science fiction movies over the years, I think we all understand what virtual reality is. It’s a software that immerses the user completely in a 3-D environment that is interactive in a 360-degree way. A good example of this is the Get Supernatural Fitness experience. Augmented reality is slightly different from that. This virtual space layers elements on top of a real-world scene in order to use the space they’re actually in while changing elements of the experience. Pokémon Go is an example of this digital reality experience. Let’s dive into how each type of these digital reality experiences can be used for marketing.

Augmented Reality:

1.     Try before you buy scenarios: Augmented reality can create a digital shopping experience where the user can try things out before they purchase. For example, they can use a photo of themselves to try on different styles of sunglasses before even stepping foot into the store. It’s already being used in these situations, such as cosmetic sampling and trying on clothing.

2.     Branding materials: Augmented reality can add digital elements to a real-world scene. We see this all the time where video or photos add a virtual element onto the scene.  

3.     Save on marketing costs: Due to the virtual nature of augmented reality, it can save the brand immense amount of dollars on their marketing spend. It creates a targeted and personalized approach without spending tons on traditional media.

Virtual Reality:

1.     Virtual tours: This offers a digital experience in place of a physical one. Augmented reality can use this as well. The difference lies in the immersion. VR takes you fully into the digital alternate world with no sense of the physical around you. AR only superimposes the content over the reality of our physical.

2.     Use it to tell your brand’s story: Creates a high emotional effect on customer and helps your brand stand out from all the rest. Memorable advertising, such as VR are engaging and give a more in-depth look. A study for Omni Hotels showed that those who experienced a VR tour were 67% more inclined to book a room at their hotel (Trade Force 306)

The science fiction of the past has now become a reality in our present. Things that we thought were far-fetched 20 years ago aren’t so far-fetched anymore. It’s interesting to note that people may actually prefer one over the other though. When asked, most people say they prefer VR. “They enjoy it for taking them to a different and entertaining world. An escape from reality if you will. They’re usually more familiar with VR as well and believe that the graphics and visuals are better,” according to Hubspot. While we don’t think that one is better than the other, they both can have a place in marketing and advertising strategies. Cheers to embracing the future!

Product Ecosystem Theory

Let’s go way back to science class. Remember what an ecosystem is defined as? Yea, we didn’t either, so we did some research and it is defined as a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. It’s also simplified by saying that it is just a complex network or interconnected system. Let’s go with this last one to describe what a product/service ecosystem is. I’m sure you’ve guessed already. It’s a new theory that describes how products coexist and complement one another. It also implies that products will inherently evolve over time, such as that in nature and parallels how species do the same. It also implies that that companies will respond to external threats and opportunities in the same way. Competition can force some brands out of business or cause them to go extinct if you will. We’re sure you get the idea by now. Think about Apple and how they integrate their products over a seamless coexistence. There are many benefits to having an efficient product/service ecosystem. Here are some to name a few.

1.     Boost revenue through multiple products that complement each other

2.     It will prevent customers from having to go to competitors

3.     It will offer support to customers by updating products/services over time to improve their compatibility with one another as technology advances

4.     Increase loyal audience by solving all problems for your audience and not just one

Now that you understand the benefits of the ecosystem, let’s chat about how to create one.

1.     Listen to what your customers want. Why would you not do this anyway? What are they missing and how can you solve that problem?

2.     If you have a service, package it like a product: give it a name and explain the method. This shows the value.

3.     Create seamless integrations and update often: the easier it is for the customer to see the value and connection between two products the better. Loyalty will improve and frustration decreases.

4.     Create value. What do you have that others don’t? Make your seamless integrations valuable so that your audience won’t need to go to competitors.

Mimicking the natural ecosystems is the best way to create a valuable product ecosystem. Use these steps above to help you get started. Use other brands as examples to turn on, such as Apple, Google and Adobe for inspiration.

Jack of No Trades, Master of One: Benefits to Niche Businesses

Sometimes it is better to stop trying to please everyone! I know this might seem counterintuitive to a business, but it is the truth. Jess Wheeler talks about this in his recent newsletter and it has inspired us. We couldn’t agree more. You’re never going to stand out from your competitors if all you’re doing is trying to be like them. It’s time to stop following the crowd and create your own path. The only way you’re going to do this is by making people some type of way. Whatever that way may be, it has to stand out and be memorable to them. So, no matter what business you are in you have to figure out what it is that makes you different and run with it. For us, it’s found content, specializing in UGC, clearing it and slapping a pretty bow on it for our partners to use in their advertisements. We do it like no one else does and while we can’t give you all of our secrets, we can tell you this… We do it honestly (pertaining to our pricing), we do it creatively (singularly source each piece of content personally) and we do it collaboratively by allowing our partners to work with us as a team on every project. All this being said, we can tell that we know for certain we are a master of our trade and not a jack of too many.

If you’re trying to stand out from the mainstream, have you found your niche yet? Think about it and once you have, it will help you build a loyal customer base, reduce competition and increase revenue. It might not be obvious to identify at first but with time and effort you can find it. Here are some tips to get you started.

1.     What are your passions and interests?

2.     Identify the problems you can solve creatively for your customers.

3.     Look at your competitors and see what weakness their brand has. This can show you areas that you can fill where they may not serve their audience.

4.     Is the niche profitable?

5.     Test it!

Most of all it’s important to have a niche that your passionate about within your business. Having a passion for what you do will always shine through to your audience and further your connection with them as well. Like attracts like and having like-minded individuals who support your brand will excel you to new heights. Happy searching!

The Frequency Illusion

We’ve all done this. Let’s imagine that you have recently learned about a small town in Italy called, Positano. You’ve never heard of it before but now you seem to keep seeing things about it everywhere. This phenomenon is called the frequency illusion. It is when you notice something recently and your brain gives more attentional processing and therefore, is more likely to be consciously perceived. So, no, it’s not a sign that you must buy that red dress because you keep seeing red dresses everywhere! You’re seeing red dresses everywhere because since you’ve thought about buying that red dress, it’s at the forefront of your mind. This can also create a confirmation bias in our minds. This phenomenon is interesting because it can be used in marketing strategy. When marketing your brand, the frequency illusion will cause people to notice you more.

In order to trigger the frequency illusion, starting with a strong message. Use powerful, yet concise visuals that are memorable. Invoking strong emotions will cause people to remember your ad. This means making content that’s relatable & relevant. Get your logo everywhere across various platforms. Make sure you don’t fall into the pitfall of being too spammy here though. The real hero is the content itself. It must stand out and create an emotional connection. This is why we truly believe that UGC is a great way to use the frequency illusion in your marketing and advertising efforts. It’s relatable, it’s sometimes funny, which means memorable and it always provokes a strong emotional connection.

Loss Aversion

No one likes losing and it isn’t limited to certain parts of our life. Losing sucks in any way, shape, or form. Loss aversion is the behavioral phenomenon that individuals perceive loss more severely than gains. According to Behavioral Economics, the pain is about twice as powerful than a gain. This means that people will go out of their way to make decisions or take risks purely based on what they avoid losing rather than what they will be gaining. This is why it’s sometimes argued that punishments, rather than rewards for doing or not something are more motivating. This topic is important in marketing and advertising because it helps brands to understand what may or may not be effective in their strategies. Think about “Flash Sales” tactics that are a limited time only. They force urgency on the consumer to realize that if they don’t act now, they will lose out on the deals and essentially lose more money. There are a couple of ways to market with loss aversion in mind.

1.     Limited time discounts

2.     Free trials

3.     Pre-order deals

4.     Highlight the loss customers will have without your product/service

Emotions impact our buying patterns and loss aversion is a key example of how this is true. It’s simple really. Loss is greater than value, pain is greater than pleasure and losses are two times greater than gains. It’s weird to think that we don’t celebrate gains in our lives as much as we mourn a loss but it this is the reality. Although, that being said, all people vary in the amount of loss aversion that they possess. Some more than others and some even more than them. Making the “no loss” option in marketing will highlight the best way not to lose something the consumer already has.

This or That: The Framing Effect

Let’s create a hypothetical for you. You go to the store to get some yogurt. One claims to be 80% fat free and the other brand says that it only contains 20% fat. Which do you choose? If you’re like most individuals, you choose the 80% fat free option. This is the framing effect. It is a cognitive bias that influences our decisions by the way that information is presented or “framed.” When something is framed in a more positive way, we tend to lean in that direction since we’re wired to avoid loss. This can sometimes cause us to overvalue how something is said and undervalue what is being said. Looking deeper at this takes you into the prospect theory of psychology. As we age we become more susceptible to the framing effect as our cognitive functions diminish.

Sticking with What’s Familiar: The Mere Exposure Effect

Sometimes the best decision is not always the familiar one. The mere exposure effect, also known as the familiarity effect, is when people chose preferred things, they’ve seen over things that are new. You can see why it is also called the familiarity effect because we tend to choose things that are familiar. This effect occurs even if the exposure is short and goes unnoticed by the viewer’s conscious mind. Therefore, the more someone has been exposed to something the more likely they are to like it. However, it should be noted that this only works when there is no preexisting negative attitude toward the product/service/brand. This is important for advertisers to know and implement. The more that people see your ad, the more likely they are to buy your product or service. It’s like when that jingle that you can’t stand comes on T.V. but eventually you find yourself singing it later in the day and it stops bothering you so much over time. The effect works with photos, sounds, foods and smells. Psychologists have come up with a couple of theories as to why this happens.

1.     Uncertainty reduction

2.     Perpetual fluency

Uncertainty reduction is the idea that the more we are exposed to something the less uncertainty we feel about it. This really goes back to human nature and staying alive. We’re hard wired to be cautious of new things since they could be dangerous. It helped us stay alive back in the early days of being human. Perpetual fluency is the idea that since we’ve seen something before it’s easier for us to understand and interpret it. Think about the first time you watched The Matrix perhaps. It was confusing and you were barely holding on to understand what was going on. After you saw it the second time you totally got it and knew what it was about. This is perpetual fluency. But this effect is limited. Studies have shown that seeing something more often will make people like it but if it’s shown too much then they will eventually get tired of it. This is why it is important to keep your ideas creative in marketing and advertising. Repeating the same concepts in many different ways keeps things exciting for the viewers. There’s no magic number that says show the ad this many times before returns start diminishing unfortunately. However, keeping the audience engaged with consistent branding is key to this effect taking hold and remaining effective.

Notable Women in Advertising: Phyllis Robinson

“Freedom is only part of the answer. Freedom is the atmosphere. A lot goes on within that freedom. The respect, first of all, of one human being for another—a respect for his ideas, his opinions, especially if they differ sharply from your own.”

-Phyllis Robinson

Phyllis Robinson was born in 1921 and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in sociology from Barnard College. After WWII, she moved to Boston from NYC and started working at Grey Advertising where she wrote fashion ads for Bresnick & Solomont. She was a chief copywriter for DDB in 1949 and was the first ever woman to hold this roll. Phyllis was a true creative that had a writing style that was witty and conversational. She fostered outside of the box thinking for herself and her team. As a pioneer that led the creative revolution of her time, she was inducted into the Copywriters Hall of Fame in 1968. She passed away at 89 years old and left the world a better place than it was when she came into it for women in America.

Decoy Effect

“Every bird has its decoy, and every man is led and misled in his own peculiar way”

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

How many times have you been out to purchase something and ended up with more than you essentially went for? The decoy effect may be the explanation for how you’re being influenced without knowing it. This is a pricing strategy that offers 3 options and one of which is only designed to get you to switch your choice to the more profitable one. The decoy or “asymmetrically dominated” option is priced specifically to make the others look more appealing in perceived value. Most of us have insane purchase anxiety from choice overload. I know I’m one of those people. It happened just the other day when I walked into a soap store and was immediately overwhelmed with choices surrounding me. I didn’t even know where to start. If you’re like me, this forces you to simplify by reducing everything down smaller into pricing and quantity. And while a decoy may sound manipulative in some situations it can be justified if the ends are ethical, such as using less water, less energy consumption or making healthier lifestyle choices. Here’s how it works in laymen’s terms. The first option is the target, the second option is one that competes with the competitor and the last is the decoy option designed to nudge you into choosing the target. For example, you go to a coffee shop and order a cappuccino. There are three sizing options. The 120z is listed at $4.99, the 16oz is priced at $0.50 more and the 20oz is just $0.50 more than the medium. The best value for the price seems to be the large in this situation. Why wouldn’t you get that size? Your choice to opt for the more expensive option happens at a subconscious level. We believe that we are making this choice of our own free will and decoys allow us to justify these choices. The ethics of the decoy effect can be questionable if the brand’s intentions aren’t moral. From a marketing stand point, this is great to know. However, it should be noted that those aged 65 and over almost never get caught up in the decoy effect and it tends to work best for those who are unfamiliar with a product. Those that have strong prior preferences are far less likely to fall for the decoy effect.