Here in the office, we are always coming across interesting or intriguing pieces of ad work. It often spurs a moment or two of discussion. This one got us talking.

Often times, anti-fur ads are extremely graphic in nature (like this one – but beware, it is intense), alienating both the target audience (people who wear fur) and people with weak stomachs. People are prone to stiff arm the ads that make them feel uncomfortable or that cast them villains in their own lives. The anti-fur ads below are a bit different – they drive home the point without being too graphic. And because of the mannequin nature of the characters in the ads, consumers can become detached in a way that allows us to get the message without being alienated.

What do you think? Are these ads successful, or do the graphic anti-fur ads work better?

Via I Believe in Adv.

Act. Perform. Do. Move. Execute. Commit. Pursue. Participate.

At the end of the day, most brands are trying to accomplish these things. Most want their target consumers to act: to try a new product, buy the newest version, tell a friend. Whatever the case may be, it is forever the challenge of marketers to mold the actions of the audiences we market to. And by challenge, we really mean challenge. But there are a few things we’ve learned along the way that make it easier and more worthwhile to get our audiences to act.

Knowing Your Target Audience

Everyone knows this, right? WRONG. Sure, we might know the demographics of our target audience, but we’ve got to know more than just an abstract picture of their life and more of why and what makes them who they are.

The Environment

In an ideal marketing world, we could blast out one message that would subscribe to all people, everywhere. And for a while, the ad world prescribed to that. But its not a top down environment like that anymore. Brands can’t simply rely on traditional media along. Nor can they forego traditional aspects of traditional marketing in favor of jumping on the social media bandwagon. Each are important, but work best together, in a combination of “old” and “new.”

What You Say

It’s not just being in the right places, but saying the right things. You can know your target audience inside and out, place your ads in all the right places and still fall short of creating action within the target audience. This is where applying knowledge about the target audience really comes into play. Brands that understand their audiences and create campaigns with ad messages that really resonate with them are almost always successful. And if you can say the right thing to the right people in the right space, well, you just might be succesful, too.

I think everyone wants to be unique and different to a certain extent. Not “weird” different, just individualistic. I think its human nature to want to be perceived as an individual and not just another person in the crowd. It’s the reason we all make the choices we do. From the clothes we wear to the way we speak to the career path we choose. We’re stickin’ it to the world by saying, “Hey, I’ll do what I want, thank you very much.”

It seems that this sometimes falls on deaf ears. Brands can forget that their target audiences are made up of real people – people who go deeper than demographic categories. It is one of those inherent Ad 101 principles we all learn, but somehow forget in the midst of briefs, proposals, and campaigns.

I almost feel foolish even writing about this. It seems like such a given that everyone knows the importance and value of understanding psychographics. But the fact is that everyone doesn’t. They weigh demographics (Women, 25-54, with a household income of $75k, living in urban areas), but do they weigh what makes their target audience who they are? The demo listed above could include crunchy moms that are outdoorsy, family oriented, bargain hunters, interested in green products and like to buy from brands that they believe in… OR… it could be single working professionals that are on-the-go and career focused, with a lot of disposable income looking for status brands and products that offer convenience. The way you approach the demographic group might be the same. But the way you approach the psychographic groups is entirely different.

I, for one, want to be marketed to for who I am; not my age, sex, marital status, and household income. Let’s make it the marketing golden rule: Advertise unto the consumer as you would have a brand advertise unto you.

If you lived in Argentina and spoke the local tongue, you would order a Pepsi by requesting a Pecsi.  Phonetically, this pronunciation is easier for Argentineans.  In 2009, Pepsi acknowledged this little quirk and gave BBDO Argentina the green light to give a friendly nod to the locals and rebrand Pepsi as Pecsi –a significant move to localize an international brand.

Pecsi Case from BBDO argentina on Vimeo.

National Advertisers have always recognized the importance of advertising on a local level, just not always as successfully as Pepsi. Or, Pecsi for those readers in Argentina. For the majority of national Advertisers the successful implementation of local advertising has been hindered by their misunderstanding about the best tactics and traffic sources to use, and how to effectively measure the results and return on investment (ROI). This confusion exists because they don’t live and work in every community they are targeting.  But you do.

As a local business, you have the upper hand. You are not only a marketer to a locale; you are a local yourself. The idiosyncrasies and particulars of your target area are part of your everyday life.  Benefiting from this advantage isn’t as easy as just being present, though.  You must recognize the shift in consumer control and engage your evangelists—your most loyal customers and fellow citizens.  The good news is you don’t have to spend huge marketing dollars to make your brand relevant to the local community, like Pecsi.

Thankfully the current technology environment has driven media consumption on the go – making it easy for local brands to reach and engage their audiences. The emergence and mass acceptance of new devices from laptops to tablets to smart phones has created an intuitive engaged user experience.  According to the latest Mobile Audience Insights Report from JiWire, when local content is added to creative, users engage 100-120 percent more than they do with the same ad without the local content.  There are more cost effective, measurable ways to stretch your marketing dollars farther than there have ever been before.

If you don’t know where to start, that’s okay – we do.

Every year it’s the same thing. The day after the Super Bowl, we’re all comparing notes on our favorites ads and someone brings up “that funny one with…[fill in the blank]” and inevitably the response is “Yes, but can you remember who it’s for?” It’s become an old cliché in our office. But there’s something to it.

At The Cyphers Agency we strive to live in a culture not just of creativity – but of strategy. The fact remains that a lot of people are creative. There’s a world of musicians, artists, writers, and architects out there creating new things and bringing new ideas to the table. But to create a worthwhile execution in advertising there are different standards. A truly good ad has to be both creative and strategic. It has to be unique and original to stand out and grab attention, but it also has to finish the job with a well thought out ad message that resonates with the consumer to accomplish an advertising objective.

Sure the ads that are funny, over the top, or outlandish certainly attract attention and maybe even win awards. But those types of ads won’t help move the needle on the marketing and advertising goals our clients have tasked us with. That’s not to say we don’t do amazing creative work. We do. It just means we hold ourselves to a higher standard: the best creative ideas with the strongest strategic foundation. And that is what makes us different.