Don't Let Your Clients Ads Be Skipped
Consumers now control when, where, and how they interact with brands. Brands no longer control the medium, the message or the consumer.
Think about it. How often do you watch commercials on TV? What about listening to an ad on the radio? I honestly can say that I can barely recall the last ad or commercial I watched or listened to. Reasons why? For one we have Dish Network and I almost watch everything from a recorded stage. My dish has a “hop” feature which will automatically skip the commercials. If I am watching something live, I usually pause the TV and watch a few minutes delayed so I can fast forward through commercials.
Next, we also have Netflix and we watch a lot of our shows and movies on it. Guess what?! They don’t have commercials.
Now regarding the radio, I have Sirius XM in my car and so I am commercial free. Again, if I am listening live my car has a pause feature on the radio and I can pause the music and again fast forward through the commercials or I simply change the channel. Seven out of ten drivers state the #1 reason for changing the channel….commercials. Also, my son listens to his music on Spotify. He asked me the other day if he could spend $.99 for a 90 day trial of commercial-free tunes. It’s amazing how many people will pay a small fee to be commercial free.
The same applies to the internet. However, right now you have to watch at least six seconds of an ad before you can skip. There are few platforms that require 15 seconds. How many times did you watch the whole ad or do you hit skip the second you can?
86% of people skip TV ads.
90% of people skip pre-roll ads.
65% of people skip online video ads.
Adblock usage grew 30% globally in 2016
Knowing this, I am really thankful we sell promotional products and not TV or radio commercials. Promotional products are the advertising medium people still appreciate and like to receive. They don’t mind the interruption.
Ask your customer – “When was the last time someone said thank you for your ad?” This is a good lead-in as it has probably been a while. Most consumers are changing channels, fast forwarding like me, installing ad blockers and unsubscribing from email lists. By nature, advertising is intrusive and these behaviors are a response to that intrusion. It’s not personal. People just don’t want to be interrupted or sold to. We have become so immune to all the commercials and ads that we don’t pay attention.
This validates the importance of promotional products. Promotional products are the only advertising I can think of where the recipient actually stops and says “Thank you”. Thank you, for this useful item I can utilize in my everyday life. The more useful and appealingly the product, the more favorable the response. It’s a positive impression and is a much more encouraging response than the “ugh” followed by the click of the remote.
Instead of being intrusive, your client’s advertisement is invited into kitchens, cars, offices, backpacks, totes, purses, etc. We all know the facts; however, I thought I would remind you of a few:
88% of people like receiving a promotional product
87% of people can recall the company
81% of people generally keep promotional products for more than a year
Promotional products ranked the #1 most effective form of advertising to prompt action across all generations
Think about this and use this information when visiting with your clients, especially those who use other advertising mediums. The effect that a promotional product has on a consumer is usually reciprocity. People who receive a product normally feel the need to show their appreciation by patronizing the business. This may seem like just warm fuzzies, but don’t forget that many purchasing decisions are influenced more by emotional triggers than cold, hard facts. The product triggers positive emotions. Few advertising mediums have that effect.
Content Provided by: Molly Beavers, CAS, Bankers Advertising
© 2017 Molly Beavers, CAS