When you go to your dentist, mechanic or baker, they can more or less give you a few options to solve your problem. Do a filling. Remove the tooth. Put in a cap. Change the radiator. Go with the red velvet cake. In advertising it’s not that easy.
Because it’s so easy. It’s easy to come up with an idea for that new pizza or bank launch. And how about we do one “like the one I saw last night on cable. You know the one with the talking cat that does cartwheels.” There are so many roads to the mind.
Who says the ad agency’s way is the best way? Because there are no measurements that link ads to sales and brand performance, it’s one big guessing game. The T&T ad industry do ourselves no favors by taking part in this lottery with our clients’ money.
The dentists have figured it out. They have an X Ray machine that shows that the cavity is no more. Online advertising does offer some hope with all its fancy fan-dangle analytics. But that’s less than 5% of the ad spend pie and even in developed markets has only reached 15% on its best day. We need to find an X Ray machine for press, radio and TV otherwise we will continue to be a nation of advertising experts.
