Political ads are ubiquitous this time of year, whether online, on TV, or even in your mailbox. Every year the ads become more targeted, more negative, and downright toxic. And while these ads can be relentless and off-putting, especially as we approach November 5th, there are some key takeaways from these campaigns that you can use in your own marketing plans, regardless of the candidates you support.
Leverage endorsements
Many political ads feature prominent or influential people from the community vouching for a particular candidate and explaining why they are supporting them, and why you should, too. These endorsements are designed to bolster credibility for the candidate from a prominent, respected person or organization, also called transference. It humanizes the politician in the viewer’s eyes and tries to build affinity for them via the shared surrogate, whom you are more likely to know personally or identify with closely. It can also help foster a sense of belonging – “I want to be like him/her and vote for the candidate, too”.
And while you may not need a police chief or a retired judge promoting your business, it can help your business and brand to flourish if you have people endorsing you and helping to amplify your message. These endorsements, just like in political ads, can build brand affinity and develop a customer base connected to your vision. Past clients are a great source for testimonials and recommendations but if your business is new or has few clients to reference, offer to work with select customers for free or reduced rates to secure their endorsement.
Develop succinct messaging points
Campaign ads use a variety of catch phrases and sometimes malicious words to get their message across to try to sway voters. And whether it’s a positive or negative tone, each campaign anchors their candidate’s message around a few key points – economy, immigration, social justice, etc. These messaging points are derived from the constituents – the issues that are important to the people the politicians are representing.
Your business is not different. You need to develop the key messages about your brand and the product offering to attract the customers that are good fits for your brand. Your messaging points need to be genuine and authentic. Maybe your brand messages include sustainability, locally-grown, and diversity. Or maybe your messages center around efficiency, global-reach, and economically-priced. These messaging points become your brand anchors and help drive the content you create. When a customer thinks of your business, you want them to think of these core messages.
Exposure and repetition
Political campaigns know that a consumer needs to see an ad 7-8 times before it is memorable*. And with human attention spans dwindling, the plethora of distractions available, and the different mediums in which we consume information, the strategy to run ads as often as they can afford, is sound.
For your business, which is not likely running television ads, the concept is still relevant – you need to be in front of your audience as often as possible. You need to meet your audience where they are and provide something of value to them to quicken the time to memorability, using the brand’s main messaging points discussed above. For example, if you are a plumber, you might target local community groups on social media, offering tips on how to keep your pipes in good working order over a harsh winter or offer a discount coupon on grocery receipts or the local coupon book. It wouldn’t make sense to go to a retirement community and speak with the residents about their plumbing needs. These interactions and exposures need to be consistent and often.
While political ads can be exasperating and seemingly endless, they do offer us a lesson in the basic principles of a marketing campaign and effective application that we can extrapolate, regardless of your business or products. By leveraging endorsements, developing succinct messaging points, and promoting your brand regularly, you can effectively build your brand and your business organically.
Publish date: October 29, 2024
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