Making a standout advertisement

Of the ads you saw today, how many do you remember? Better yet, how many ads did you see? According to research by The Trade Desk, the average consumer "experiences" 1,622 ads daily through digital advertisements, billboards, email tactics, and more. So you’re forgiven for forgetting.

This isn’t great news for marketers. Marketers may be hoping to hit on a subconscious level, but in most industries so many companies are trying the same message that differentiation is challenging. And the rare marketing campaign is one that can actually leave us with a message that sticks for years to come. Apple’s “Think Different” campaign from 1997 is a stellar example.

So what should marketers do to stand out from the crowd? My team and I have been exploring various ways to create a memorable and compelling message that resonates with our target audience. There are natural differences among the different types of media (digital advertising vs. billboard vs. emails). Based on the type of media, you do need to customize/optimize your message and visuals. But I will share some high-level learnings and examples. 

I recently posted about a new Malwarebytes billboard my team put together. Several people reached out to learn more about our design and thought process. For our billboard (placed on California Highway 101 in Santa Clara) we went through rigorous iterations before settling on one. This is what we finally chose because it draws attention and is memorable.

Here were some of the approaches we used.

1. Be bold: Fortune (and the consumer) favors the bold. You won’t stand out from the crowd if you say the same thing or try to fit in. Fitting in means being lost in the noise. Try to first find your comfort zone, and then take a few steps outside it. As the executive owner/sponsor, one must communicate what the goals are and the principles/tenants that need to be followed. In this project, I conveyed the importance of being memorable, relevant to the audience (i.e. holiday spirit, given the timing), and communicating the value of our product. All ideas that met these criteria were open for consideration.
2. Relate to the environment/mood: Know your audience, the context, and the distinctive traits of that area. In our case, we took into consideration the season and added a holiday theme to the billboard. And if you want your message to stick, it has to be relatable. That means customizing it for the audience. This billboard was aimed at Silicon Valley folks, who, given the dry cybersecurity marketing they’re typically subjected to, would appreciate a humorous angle. We are running different campaigns for SMB segments and account-based marketing for enterprise beyond just this billboard.
3. Bring humor: The power of humor can help create a lasting impression—in fact, the addition of humor has been found to improve word recall. Can it make advertising stickier? We think so. That is why we added humor into our latest billboard through word choice and captivating visuals.
4. Keep it short and memorable: You don’t have much time to make an impression, so a strong image coupled with a short, punchy message is key. The message should have a single takeaway to make it easy to remember. Given its brevity, every word has to earn its place. For our billboard, the team felt that “you” at the start grabs attention and personalizes it. (“You” is one of the sexiest words in advertising. ) We did have some internal discussion around using “us” versus “it.” In the end we felt that “You’re naked without us” was the strong brand play we were aiming for, whereas “You’re naked without it” was more of a product play.
5. Bring “Agile” to marketing: In product development we often talk about agile best practices of experimentation, A/B testing, failing fast, and iterating. We do the same things in our marketing approaches, and do so quickly. Before we run a billboard, we conduct numerous tests in other forums to gauge its likelihood of success.
6. Create a diverse and inclusive creative team: We put together a diverse cross-functional tiger team for this project, drawing members from Product, Content, and Design. Having a diverse set of creative backgrounds and letting the team know all ideas are up for consideration helps foster an inclusive environment with exceptional brainstorming. This helped us create a wide set of creative options to pick from. Fostering the right team and environment are essential to a fruitful creative process.

Please share your thoughts on creating standout marketing in the Comments below. I would love to hear from you.