In our industry, it is important to always be moving forward. Marketing without progression makes a company, brand, or product antiquated in so many ways. However, as the landscape changes and marketers are constantly learning of new ways to communicate with the audience, we sometimes forget to get back to the basics and make those new again.
Consumers are so inundated with advertising messages we have a very small window of time in which to accomplish our objectives. It becomes increasingly difficult to find new and different ways to get their attention. Web 2.0 has provided those new and different attention-grabbing ways, so it’s not surprising how easy it is to get caught up in the latest and greatest ways to get brand messages out there. But what about old tactics?
This article from Fast Company got me thinking about a marketing technique that’s been used since the 1920’s. The advertising Jingle! For some reason many people seem to view the jingle as an antiquated strategy. And while yes, many jingles we know may be pretty old school – that doesn’t mean it’s not still an effective way to connect with the consumer. One thing that stood out to me most from this article was this little tid bit:
“There’s no doubt about it, sound is immensely powerful. And yet 83% of all the advertising communication we’re exposed to daily focuses, almost exclusively, on the sense of sight”.
The real key is to apply the same marketing 101 principles in today’s advertising environment. We don’t have to create spots with a doe eyed kid, sitting in his 1960’s kitchen singing to the camera. Jingles aren’t just voice overs anymore. Think State Farm – they do a really great job of integrating a jingle within their ad message to create stronger recall of their tagline: Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
It’s not so much about whether or not to use “old school” marketing techniques like the jingle. It’s more about HOW you use them. The landscape may have changed but the principles haven’t. Our challenge is still to get (and keep) the attention of the target audience. And sound is an amazing way to do that.
