How advertising really affects a brand

If I'm honest, I'm an advertiser's dream. I'm so easily swayed. I don't even try not to be. I used to work in advertising sales, and I was passionate about a decent ad campaign. People don't consider how much advertising affects their lives because it's there all the time. In the ad world we'd call it 'ambient media'. I love that term. It's a polite way of saying 'in your face and you haven't got a fucking clue'.

There are all sorts of tricks advertisers use to make you buy their stuff. From fibbing about Cheryl Cole's hair, to finding out which buses their target audience catch and placing their adverts on the other side of the road. So you see the ads whilst you're waiting. There's all sorts of other tricks I can't possibly tell you, but let's just say that some of them aren't very ethical (and yes, I've been guilty of using them). But society is the biggest influence in advertising. Everything is a bit of a game. Except when it comes to the brand.

And this is the part about advertising that's key for me. And why I respect companies that do it well, even if I'm not particularly drawn to the company. If a company gets an advert right (and in the case above, match.com really have), then it's because they know their brand better than anyone. It's because they know the exact message that they want to convey. To them, their business is clear. And that's what works. How many times have you seen an ad that just doens't make sense? That isn't the ad company's fault. There are so many flimsy gimmicks that a company can use to get their message across - We Buy Any Car! is a great example of this - and they work in the short-term (or at least until you've ripped of your own ears) but you get nothing else. Nothing about the brand. Nothing about the company that want your money.

And that's key. Even more so now we're in a recession. Yes, people are advertising less, but to me that just means advertising is more important. I measure the success of something by the adverts it carries. I don't have an issue with the adverts that Spotify runs. I do have an issue with the fact that every other one is an ad for advertising space. The only reason a company ever runs a house ad, is because they don't have any paying ones. If they don't have any paying ads, I question why not. If you've got shitty ads, badly designed and showing crappy companies, that brings the whole reputation of your company down. That's how important adverts are. PR and blogging and newpapers can say what they like about your company, but your adverts are what YOU say about your company. People forget how important that is. It's what I judge the media on.

I read a couple of tweets today saying that whilst people were loving the Match.com advert, they were annoyed that it was their ad. I think that's a battle with adverts. If you don't care about a company, it'll take a lot for an advert to sway you the other way, but a blog post, or a Twitter trend might do just that. It's hard to listen to the opinion of a company that you don't care about. I'm not a huge match.com fan. I used them and didn't find love (or even anyone I wanted to kiss), boohoo etc. But the advert summed up everything it needed to. Romance, hope, love, possibility, incredibly pretty hair. There's not much else I need from an ad. Oh, and then they throw in a catchy (but not annoying) tune as well.

My point is that as important as PR is, it doesn't replace advertising. I don't think that it ever will. Match.com are doing a very good job of viral advertising. Not viral marketing. There's a difference and it's impressive. It can turn a brand around (heck, it even worked for Stella). I'd love to see more advertising and PR companies working together. The two can be exclusive, and you can build a brand without advertising (Domestic Sluttery is doing just that). But advertising is still a driving force in media and having potential clients know exactly how highly you regard your own brand is priceless.

(Match.com very kindly set me presents earlier this week, but in no way did that influence this blog post that's been bubbling away in my head for the last month. The chocolates were very nice though.)