Millions of dollars are spent each year by corporations around the world that try to outdo each other in sales and market presence. The most glaring example of this type of spending is with all of the ads that air during the Super Bowl when just one minute of airtime can cost upwards of three million dollars. These are crazy figures and many experts are not certain that the costs are justified and what kind of advertising effectiveness this enormous outlay of money is actually producing.
Advertising effectiveness should be measured in only one way and that is The Bottom Line. How many consumer dollars can the ad itself draw into the companys coffers at the end of the day. This is a very difficult thing to gauge however and there are entire companies built around just measuring these effects and how they impact the advertiser and the advertisers revenues.
Can advertising really make that much of a difference in profits? The answer is a resounding yes but in todays advertising saturated world only the very best ads stand out from the crowd. Gone are the days of catchy slogans such as Wheres the Beef? or I Cant Believe I Ate the Whole Thing. Todays slogans are more pedestrian such as Dr. Pepper with Just What the Doctor Ordered or So Misunderstood. Back in advertisings history Coca-Cola came out with the song Wed Like to Teach the World to Sing which became an iconic anthem and led to the We Are the World song and video from Michael Jackson.
Advertising effectiveness is not only measured in dollars and cents but also in brand identity. How many times have you seen a clever commercial but could not for the life of you remember what the product was? This is a common mistake and usually have to do with the big egos of the creative types at the ad agencies who push for their ideas to hit the air at all costs. Corporations have since wised up and you will rarely see an ad that does not prominently feature the product. This comes at the cost of creativity however and can create an ad that blends in with all the others. It is a fine line between displaying a product and putting an audience to sleep. We have all seen the very boring commercials that are put out there every day. Which one of us has not said I could come up with better ads than these. That is easy to say, but much harder to actually do.
When advertising effectiveness does work however it is a thing of beauty. Many brands have become iconic household names just from the power of great advertising. Agencies will continue to rack up the big bucks and corporations will continue to throw money at them in the hope of becoming the next Coke or Mac. One of todays most effective advertising campaigns is Are You a Mac or a PC? Of course, after seeing the ads, who would want to be a PC, even if that is what you are using?