For the full polling data from Harris Interactive, please click here
In a recent poll released by Harris, in collaboration with LinkedIn, they survey consumers and “advertisers from agencies or corporations who are involved in the advertising decision making process.” The results are quite interesting.
The first apparent finding is that, overall, advertisers believe that their ads will be more effective than consumers actually find them. When it comes to the effectiveness of characteristics of advertising, in each characteristic advertisers consistently rank the characteristics very effective more often than the consumer does. However, taking this into account, there are some similarities and a few differences in the effectiveness the professionals are delivering and the characteristics the market wants.
First, the top five advertising characteristics are the same for both advertisers and consumers (they are: ‘ads that make me stop and think,’ ‘ads that give me new information,’ ‘ads that are entertaining,’ ‘ads that are informative,’ and ‘ads that are funny.’) Of these, consumers rank ‘ads that are entertaining’ and ‘ads that are funny’ as the most effective, with 34% and 33% saying these types of ads are highly effective, respectfully. Advertisers, on the other hand, rank ‘ads that make me stop and think’ and ‘ads that give me new information’ as the most effective.’ While these two categories are not far off from the effectiveness of the consumers top two choices, at 30 and 29% saying they are very effective respectfully, they are slightly lower. And, though some might think that while ‘funny’ or ‘entertaining’ ads might also have a high percentage of respondents saying they are ineffective, that is not the case. In the long run, it seems that advertisers, while overestimating the effectiveness of their ads, know what the consumers find most effective.
Some differences emerged when dealing with the current economic situation. According to consumers, the most effective way to position to them in the recession is using the ‘value proposition’ (i.e. discounts, coupons, etc…). Advertisers seem to understand this with 61% stating that they are using this in their branded communications. However, the second most effective position, according to consumers, is clearly ‘luxury for less’ with 34% believing this messaging works well or very well. However, advertisers seem to be using the ‘empathy’ proposition as their second gun in their arsenal, while only 18% are employing the ‘luxury for less’ position, which even losses to the ‘cheerleading’ message by 7%. There is, obviously, a clear message/position that can be employed and exploited here by marketers; especially for those targeting consumers aged 18-34 (51% believe the ‘luxury for less’ position works well or very well.)
As the recession continues, advertisers have and will continue to reposition their products to appeal to consumers who must tighten their belts. And, while they seem to be doing a pretty good job gauging which ads and positions are effective with their audience, it seems they are lagging in the ‘luxury for less’ position. Typically in a recession, consumers tend to treat themselves to small luxury items (i.e. higher quality chocolate) because they cannot afford more expensive luxuries. The lack of positioning seen within the advertising community and consumers willingness to purchase ‘smaller’ luxury items leaves a hole in the market that, if filled, could produce a huge return in this tough time.
