In the book Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer, authors Max Sutherland and Alice Sylvester ask these questions – “Why is it so difficult to be introspective on advertising and how it influences us?” Their conclusion – as marketers, we too often look for the major effects of advertising – that super bowl ad that stays with us for a lifetime. That “ah ha” moment that makes an emotional connection with us as consumers. Not that making an emotional connection is bad, as marketers we all strive to do that with consumers. But, Max and Alice recommend that what we need to do as marketers is measure the more subtle effects of advertising, the minor effects that are not as obvious but are more characteristic of the way effective advertising works over time.
They equate the advertising process to watching our children grow up. As parents, we often don’t notice the physical growth that our children are going through each day. Occasionally though, over the course of a given year, we may notice small changes that are happening with them. The punch line – determining how much your child has grown in the last 24 hours is like evaluating the effect of being exposed to a single ad.
It is through the process and power of repetition, that small increments will add up over time. Eventually these repeated small increments can produce major perceived differences between brands and products in the minds of consumers. From day-to-day though, we are rarely aware of the process taking place.
