Traditional Advertising has Negative Brand Equity

Thinking back to the days when I worked in infomercials, it’s not surprising how many people in the business use the products they sell. When you are in the agency, you have a lot of direct access to the people who make the product. They answer all your questions about it, you often get to sample and use it before you make the show, and you have a really clear understanding of the features and benefits that inform the commercial. A lot of people in the business really appreciate the brands and products they are hawking.

AND YET!

When you watch those things on TV, they tend to immediately trigger a highly skeptical reaction. The exaggerated problem statements, the hollering pitchmen, the weird upsells… they all undermine the actual value of the product they are selling. I mean, is THIS really persuasive?

The truth is, these things make billions of dollars every year, so the argument from the industry is that these methods work. But they work in the absence of something BETTER.

For example, this is persuasive:

But this is SO MUCH MORE persuasive:

This stranger on the internet who you don’t know has so much more credibility than QVCtv, and this thorough assessment from an unbiased party is incredibly valuable. 1500 people found this Amazon review helpful, unlike the 212 people who “liked” the ad on YouTube. Based on those numbers, one could reasonably assume that Debra alone has sold more Shark Rockets than the YouTube video, particularly given the top comment on the YouTube video.

Advertising agencies recruit new clients on the basis that ads sell products, and that’s true – ads absolutely sell products. But compared to what? Compared to putting your product in a store and not marketing it at all? Furthermore, this kind of advertising is actually bad for the brand: it makes people skeptical of all the claims and products associated with the brand name.

Instead of advertising, brands could spend that time and resources on the process of informing and educating the customer, and engage in a dialogue that accepts feedback and evolves designs to truly meet the needs and earn the praise of their customer. It’s not more work than advertising. It’s the same amount of work, but the approach to the work and the relationship with the customer is completely different.

The truth is, customers are abandoning these media in droves, moving their buying habits to channels that are more informative, authentic, and customer-centric. Brands need to meet them there.