Consistency is Key: The Three Vital Elements of a Successful Advertising Campaign

To reap the full benefits of an advertising campaign, you need three essential elements: consistency, frequency, and patience.

Advertising doesn’t work instantly. We wish it did. We know you wish it did, too. But that’s just not the case.

In order to see a return on your advertising campaign, you need to stay consistent with your ads. We mean this in two ways: firstly, you need to stay consistent with running your advertisements. One ad will not grow your brand or increase your sales. Frequency is the key to successful advertising.

Secondly, you need to stay consistent with the way your ads look. Use the same colors, fonts, logos and images in all of your advertisements. That’s not to say you can’t try out different designs, copy and/or headlines; it’s great to run split tests to see which attracts customers the best. You just need to make sure you have certain common elements in each and every one of your advertisements. For example, think about Coca-Cola. Even if you don’t see the logo or name of the brand, it’s fairly easy to recognize Coke by its famous red and white colors and whimsical typography. These elements are consistent in every Coca-Cola advertisement.

Keep this in mind when you are designing your ads. Shoppers should ideally be able to recognize your brand or product seconds after seeing them. If they have to sit and study your ad to figure out who you are or what your selling, you need to redesign.

As mentioned briefly above, frequency is the key to advertising. We cannot stress this enough.

So often, we work with clients that run one advertisement then sit back and wait for the sales to pour in. That’s the biggest mistake you could make. Unfortunately, one advertisement is not going to do anything for your business. We know that’s not what you want to hear, but don’t write off advertising just yet.

In the world of advertising, frequency is the key to success. On average, it takes a minimum of three advertisements before your business will start to see any results. That’s because shoppers, on average, need to be exposed to your advertisement three or more times before they will commit to purchasing your product. How many times do you purchase a product the first time you see it? Not very often, right?

Think of it this way: the first time a shopper sees your advertisement, he probably won’t  notice it. The second time he sees it, he will likely stop and glance over the ad. Maybe he’ll read the headline and make a note about doing a little more research into your product or brand.

The third exposure is where the magic happens. By now, the shopper has seen your brand or product before. He is interested, he has made a mental note about what you’re selling, and he wants to check it out. When he sees your ad for the third time, he’ll remember the interest he once had in your product, and he will take action. At this point, he will either go to your website, check out your social media, or pick up the phone and call. Now it’s your job to seal the deal. Make sure your website is optimized, visually appealing and easy to navigate. Your social media needs to be up-to-date, and your should have a current phone number or email address listed on your website. Even if you run 100 advertisements per month, ads can only get you so far. You need to make sure the rest of your business is just as great as your advertising campaign.

There’s a lot that goes into successful advertising, but frequency is by far the most important factor. With the holiday season approaching, it’s especially important. Shoppers are bombarded by ads at this time, and for your product to stand out, it needs to be seen multiple times. Booking a frequency or multiple-month campaign is the best way to do that. Not only will you increase your chances of being seen and recognized by shoppers, but you’ll also typically receive a discount on your advertising when you book a frequency. Think of it like buying in bulk — you save money from booking multiple ads at once, and you are exponentially more likely to see a bigger ROI at the end.

Advertising requires immense amounts of patience. Even if you’re consistent with your brand and run multiple ads, you are still not going to see results overnight. It takes time for consumers to make a purchase. Remember, you’re asking them to part with their money. It’ll take time for shoppers to realize your product is something they can’t live without. Trust us, they will eventually realize this. It just may not happen instantly.

If you stay consistent with it and don’t give up after one advertisement, there’s no doubt you will reap the benefits of advertising. If advertising didn’t work, global brands like Nike, Apple and Microsoft wouldn’t continually run campaigns. But they do. Because advertising does work. Just remember, all good things take time, and advertising is no different. However, if you commit to designing a consistent and visually-appealing ad, book a frequency that will allow shoppers to be exposed to your product multiple times, and remain patient with your results, your brand will grow, and your sales will increase. Just remember these three key elements of successful advertising when planning your next campaign.