History of Advertising
In what US city was the first newspaper ad?
The first newspaper ad was published in the Boston News-Letter.
The ad was an announcement seeking a buyer for an Oyster Bay, Long Island, Estate. This ad marked the birth of newspaper classifieds.
What is the difference between headline and body copy?
The headline is the words in the leading position of the ad - the words that will be read first or are positioned to draw the most attention. Headlines are usually set in larger type and are often set apart from the body copy or text position of the ad to give them prominence.
The main text portion of a print ad is referred to as the body copy, while the body copy is usually the heart of the advertising message, getting the target audience to read it is often difficult. The copywriter faces a dilemma, the body copy must be long enough to communicate the advertisers message yet short enough to hold readers interest
Why is it important for brands to routinely conduct a competitive analysis?
It is incredibly important for brands to evaluate the marketplace they are in and understand what their key competitors are doing. Typically brands review competitive intelligence on at least a quarterly basis, if not more frequently.
With a successful competitive analysis, you look at what the other guys are doing, and, more importantly, what you can do in response
What is branding?
Branding is the perpetual process of identifying, creating, and managing the cumulative assets and actions that shape the perception of a brand in stakeholders’ minds. It has come to signify the emotional “gut feeling” reaction a company can elicit from its customers
What is the difference between branding and positioning?
Branding is about the process of building a brand, while positioning it is about putting that brand in the mind of the consumer
The Super Bowl annually rotates among which big networks?
CBS, Fox, NBC, and ABC
What client side role is typically in charge of advertising and works most closely with agencies?
The brand manager is typically in charge of advertising and works collaboratively across the other departments in their company to both inform and implement their campaigns
Why did early radio ads need to be performed live every time they aired?
They performed live every time because practical recording equipment had not yet been invented.
What is the difference between a direct headline and an indirect headline? Give an example of each for a shampoo product.
Direct headlines are straightforward in terms of the message they are presenting and the target audience they are directed toward. Ex. "Our shampoo will give you silky smooth hair"
Indirect headlines are not straightforward about identifying the product or service or getting to the point by they are often more effective at attracting readers attention and interest because they provoke curiosity and lure readers into the body copy to learn an answer or get an explanation. Ex. "Is your hair thinning and greasy?"
What is segmentation?
Segmentation is the process of dividing a target market into smaller, more defined categories. It segments customers into groups that share similar characteristics such as demographics, interests, needs or location
Why did UNH choose to rebrand in 2013 from their T-hall logo to the new shield logo?
Old logo featured T-hall, which is a symbol of the Durham campus, but alienated the Concord and Manchester campuses
T-hall logo was difficult to scale onto smaller digital media placements, was too intricate and difficult to discern when shrunk down
Why would a brand consider repositioning their product/service?
Repositioning a product usually occurs because of declining or stagnant sales, or because of anticipated opportunities in other market positions.
Which big game advertiser ended their 33 year exclusivity deal with the NFL?
Anheuser-Busch
What are the key players in the advertising ecosystem?
Client, advertising agencies, media agencies, specialist organizations, collateral services
Why was the Ad Council created in 1941?
Initially called the War Advertising Council, the Ad Council was set up when America entered World War II.
It began implementing (on a massive scale) the idea of using advertising to influence American society on a range of social issues
What elements are part of a layout?
A layout is the physical arrangement of the various parts of the ad, including the headline, subheads, body copy illustrations and any identifying marks
What are the four main types of segmentation?
Demographic, Psychographic, Behavioral, Geographic
What is the difference between a jingle and a mnemonic?
Jingles are catchy songs about a product or service that usually carry the advertising theme and a simple message.
A mnemonic is a short signature sound that appears at the beginning or end of an advertisement.
Why was the Pepsi Zero Sugar ineffective?
:40 seconds goes by before they even say the word “Pepsi” - essentially like a $7M Ben Stiller commercial for the first half. “NEW AND IMPROVED TASTE #REALORACTING” - Leaves the door wide open to criticize the taste and say it was acting. Not wise to make a commercial that dared consumers to ask if their new taste was essentially just them lying or not.
Why did Twitter's advertising revenue drop this year?
Many advertisers paused on Twitter ad spending after Musk took over in October 2022. Brands are concerned about Musk’s approach to content moderation and worry that ads will end up appearing near controversial content.
What do media agencies do?
Media agencies advise companies on how and where to advertise, ensuring that a marketing message appeals to consumers, appears in the right place, at the right time and that the advertiser pays the best possible price
Why was the transition from black and white TV to color TV so significant to advertising?
Color television gave viewers a reduced sense of psychological distance, while also increasing levels of emotional involvement, empathy, creativity, comprehension, sociality, and immediacy. Color TV could intensify a sense of realism while simultaneously stimulating “a world of fantasy.” Color was also found to be “symbolic of innovation, progress and modernity.”
What is the most important component of any ad?
The most important component of any advertisement is the call to action (CTA) - this is the behavior the advertiser would like the consumer to engage in
What are personas and why are they important to the strategic process?
Personas are fictional representations of segments of buyers within your target audience. Fueled by data-driven research, they map the “who” behind the buying decisions of your products or services.
Insights from customer personas can help improve copy, tailor targeting, and inform product development. Great personas, however, don’t just appear. You have to start with research.
What is brand loyalty?
Brand loyalty describes a consumer's positive feelings towards a brand, and their dedication to purchasing the brand's products and/or services repeatedly, regardless of deficiencies, a competitor's actions, or changes in the environment.
True brand loyalty occurs when consumers are willing to pay higher prices for a certain brand and go out of their way for the brand, or think highly of it
Why is repositioning difficult to accomplish?
Repositioning is often difficult to accomplish because of entrenched perceptions about and attitudes toward the product or brand
What two brands did Netflix partner with during the Super Bowl?
General Motors & Michelob Ultra
How did The Martin Agency turn around the failing Axe brand?
Provided a welcome, grownup take on masculinity and redefined the concept as attraction for all with “clear values around diversity, inclusivity and mutuality of attraction.”
What year did Coca-Cola's infamous "Hilltop" ad air?
(aka "I'd like to buy the world a Coke...")
1971
What are the four p's and what do they mean?
Product (or service) - What are you selling?
Price - How much is it?
Place (distribution) - Where is it sold?
Promotion - How are we selling it?
Name and explain the three types of reference groups consumers use to guide their behaviors?
Associative - include people who more realistically represent the individuals’ current equals or near-equals—e.g., coworkers, neighbors, or members of clubs, and organizations.
Aspirational - refers to those others against whom one would like to compare oneself. For example, many firms use athletes as spokespeople, and these represent what many people would ideally like to be.
Dissociative - includes people that the individual would not like to be like.
Why did Market Basket's customers, employees and vendors decide to boycott the brand in 2014?
Market Basket CEO Artie T was seen as a father figure by a number of his employees and compared to It's a Wonderful Life protagonist George Bailey for his willingness to put people over profit.
Market Basket stakeholders were brand loyal because they loved CEO Artie T. and his hard work to ensure all parties had "more for your dollar." They were fearful that once he was removed, the brand they loved would be scrapped and sold to the highest bidder, thus ruining their livelihoods and causing a higher cost of groceries.
What was unwise of Jeep to show in their commercial? Why?
They showed an EV charging station on top of a mountain. This was unwise as consumers are skeptical about EVs due to the lack of a large charging footprint. Depicting a charging station on top of a mountain insinuates that the charging stations are wider spread throughout the US then they really are.
Why were Fox executives worried about the collapse of FTX in November 2022?
The Crypto-currency industry collectively spent $54M in advertising during the 2022 Super Bowl. Fox executives were worried that if FTX crashed that the other Crypto advertisers would pull out and leave them with a $54M hole in inventory, which is exactly what happened!
Name 3 reasons why a brand would hire a new agency.
Poor performance or service of current agency
Declining sales
Disagreement over marketing and/or creative strategy
Personnel changes on client side or agency side
Conflicting compensation policies
Poor communication with current agency
Unrealistic demands their agency can’t meet
Personality conflicts with agency
Changes in size of client or agency
Conflicts of interest
Changes in the client’s corporate and/or marketing strategy
Changes in policies
Lack of integrated marketing capabilities
Which brand ran the first ever online advertisement in 1994?
AT&T
What was the name of the Metro Trains Australia integrated campaign that reduced accidents and deaths by 21%?
Dumb Ways to Die
What kind of audience are fear appeals most effective for?
Fear appeals are more effective when the message recipient is self confident and prefers to cope with dangers, rather than avoid them.
What are brand guidelines and why are they important?
A tangible document that includes all the stylistic elements of your branding, including your color palette, fonts, and an outline of your brand voice.
Important to ensure consistency across all branded touch points for the consumer.
What did Bud Light change their new tagline to during their Super Bowl spot?
“Easy to Drink. Easy to Enjoy.”
What Super Bowl spot hit the No. 1 trending spot on YouTube?
Dunkin’
How do ad agencies make money?
At a high level, the difference between what they pay employees and what they charge clients for their employees’ work is how they make money
What three things did the man in the 1995 AOL commercial seem astonished he could accomplish on the internet?
Send mom a birthday gift, book plane tickets for a trip next week, look up dinosaurs for his kids
Name at least 5/10 of the top 10 global brands
Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Tencent, Facebook, Alibaba, Visa, McDonalds, Mastercard
What are the 5 stages of the consumer decision making process and their accompanying psychological processes?
Need recognition - Motivation
Information search - Perception
Alternative evaluation - Attitude formation
Purchase decision - Integration
Postpurchase evaluation - Learning
(hmmm this might make a great essay question...)
What 3 companies had the top brand value in 2022?
1) Apple
2) Amazon
3) Google
The Farmer's Dog repositioned themselves during the Super Bowl. What was their positioning before/after the big game?
Product benefit focus > long, life focus
Previous marketing had been more product-focused, which had made sense “because our fresh food is so completely different from status-quo pet food,” said Iezzi. “But our mission is helping people give their dogs a long, full life, and for this campaign we wanted to bring that to life and bring something that was more emotional in the dog-human relationship.”
Bud Light, Busch, Crown Royal, Heineken, Michelob Ultra, Coors Light (aka Miller/Coors/Blue Moon), Remy Martin
What are the 6 big advertising holding companies?
WPP, Omnicom Group, Publicis Groupe, Interpublic Group, Dentsu Inc, Havas