Is advertising “MAGIC”?

If not, then how does it work?

Often, creatives refer to advertising as “𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰.”

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲.

It does need “Magic” or at least often relies heavily on intuition, taste, timing, and a feeling of culture.

Things we can’t easily quantify.

That doesn’t mean there are no rules we could use to make advertising more effective.

Rules that are based not on advertising science but rather on human nature.

These principles are not connected to any specific art form or commercial style but to how our brain works.

That’s why you might often hear that if you want to be in advertising, it pays off to learn about:

* 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆,
* 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀,
* 𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀,
* 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

This gives you more understanding of how people are driven towards certain choices or how irrational they might be.

On the other hand, when we say advertising effectiveness, we mean that the advertising is effective in delivering results against a particular objective or objectives.

That means it needs to change the behaviour or attitude of our audience towards our brand.

Something irrational should be translated to something rigid and extremely rational... a business.

So, there are additional principles that one should know to produce work that has the best chance of succeeding in the crowded market.

Some of them are:

𝟭. 𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 - Emotions build memory structures quicker. This should be at the top of the priority list. You need to leave your audience with a feeling towards your ad. Boring, flat advertising is just not effective.
𝟮. 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 - If they already know you, you need to ensure they remember you when they see your ad. Be present with your brand in the ad. Don’t let them guess.
𝟯. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 - Similar to familiarity and the point above, when you know that you have something that works, use it often and consistently. Memory structures are far easier to reinforce than to build from scratch.

These are just a few of the principles. There are more.

Including all of these in your next project doesn't guarantee success, but it is a great checklist to go through when thinking about the next ad.

Keeping in mind that 𝟴𝟬% 𝗼𝗿 𝟵𝟬% (𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁) 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, we need to try harder to produce work that delivers.

𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.

Otherwise, what is the alternative?

Producing work that is ignored.

​𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲.