Advertising has evolved a lot over last 50 years, but our main strategies haven’t.
Traditionally we’ve used two main methods to advertise our goods and services:

Direct Response – Performance based advertising with the goal of driving immediate results. Usually achieved by creating ads that are product focused, include an enticing offer, and leverage a strong call to action(CTA).

Brand Advertising – Emotionally driven advertising with the goal of creating long-term growth by keeping your brand top-of-mind with your audience. Usually accomplished by creating ads that are driven by great storytelling, striking visuals, and strong messaging that focus on creating a deeper connection with your audience.

But these two methods have been on a collision course for quite some time and brand response advertising is what that evolution looks like.

Brand Response Advertising – is a hybrid method of advertising that combines the storytelling of brand advertising with the sales focused actions of direct response. The goal being to drive immediate sales activity while building brand over the long-term.

I know, that’s easier said than done.

So I want to give you an example of how a brand could approach and benefit from brand response advertising.

Background:
ACME Shaving Company is a small but growing brand that creates a one-of-a-kind razor for men. Their razor is sustainably made from recycled materials, is more durable than anything on the market, and can last 2x longer than the leading brand. They’re on a mission to change the mens shaving game. Now they need to get the word out and drive more sales.

Brand Tagline: Built For Life

The Product
Men’s Razor
– Sustainably made from 100% recycled materials
– Most durable product on the market
– Blades that last 2x longer than the leading brand

As a smaller company they need to maximize their advertising budget. They also need their ads to meet the following goals…

• Cut through the noise and standout to the most content inundated audience in history – all in 3 seconds
• Differentiate from stiff competition in a cluttered space
• Be memorable to a distracted audience that have the attention span of goldfish
• Position their brand so they can stay top-of-mind
• Drive short-term sales so they can keep the lights on
• Create a positive LTV:CAC ratio
• Increase ROAS

To help them overcome the above challenges and reach their goals we’ll take a look at some ad concepts built on the three different methods(Direct Response, Brand, and Brand Response).

Note: ACME Shaving Co. is not a real company and the following aren’t concepts aren’t meant to be groundbreaking creative. They only exist to help illustrate a point.

1) Direct Response Concept

The problem with this Direct Response ad is that it doesn’t really differentiate ACME from their competition or build their brand. People also tend to avoid this type of ad because it only adds to the noise they deal with on a daily basis.

2) Brand Advertising Concept

The problem with this brand ad is that we don’t learn enough about the product and it’s features, which won’t help drive any short-term sales. It also represents an expensive production where it might become hard to measure the results, making it difficult for some people to justify the spend (looking at you CFO’s).

3) Brand Response Concept

In this Brand Response ad you can see how we combine the best elements of direct response and brand advertising to create an ad that interconnects brand, product, story, and response. It also sets up a campaign theme(storytelling while shaving) that is cost-effective to produce and can be used to create individual videos around each feature of the product(2x longer, durability, 100% recycled) – this is the true power of brand response. You’re able to set up flexible and scalable storytelling frameworks that drive sales and build brand while…

• Cutting through the noise
• Differentiating from the competition
• Being memorable
• Improving ROAS

Creative Strategy – Creative for the sake of creative isn’t how brand response works. The creative that’s developed for brand response needs to be more strategic in it’s development and execution. It’s goal is to ensure you’re creating scalable storytelling that drives action through the entire funnel and interconnects brand, product, story, and performance.

Storytelling – Great storytelling has the ability to drop your audiences “Ad Avoidance Reaction” and help them connect with your brand and product on an emotional level. Allowing you to effectively position your product as the answer to their wants and needs.

Strong Messaging – Like all good advertising, your brand response advertising needs to have sticky messaging that resonates.

Strong Visuals – Strong visuals that help you stand out, tell a story, and position your brand play a critical role in brand response.

CTA – Brand Response is all about driving results, so a smart call to action is required.

In short, it’s for any brand looking for a smarter way to do more with their advertising.
But here are some scenarios in which you might want to consider doing a brand response campaign…
– You need to maximize your marketing budget while positively impacting sales and brand directly
– You’re launching a new product
– You’re promoting a new offer on an existing product
– You’re trying to connect with a new niche audience

The simplest way to measure a brand response campaign is to use the same metrics you would for a direct response campaign – while including any brand awareness signals/metrics you track regularly.

Advances in Production – Production of video, photography, and design has come a long way. The advances in production tools and software has made higher-quality production more accessible. Allowing smaller brands and agencies to create dynamic work that competes with the larger players.

The Growth of Video – Video being ubiquitous on most platforms, and preferred by consumers, makes higher-quality and creative storytelling a must in the future of advertising. A brand response approach helps you take advantage of it.

Omni-Channel is Becoming More Important – As brands we need to meet audiences where they’re at and focus on creating a holistic experience. Brand response lends itself well to these efforts because it allows you to create a consistent experience across your 360 campaigns.

Evolving Consumers – People are tired of being sold to(poorly) – Most direct response advertising is becoming less effective and more costly. Brand response can be viewed as a natural evolution of direct response that is more effective.

No One is Safe – Competition is fierce. One day you’re fending off a new player in the space. The next you’re trying to figure how to deal with someone who knocked-off your product and seems to have unlimited marketing spend. Brand response helps you stay ahead of the competition by both branding and selling.

If you do want to talk more about brand response advertising Contact Me Here.

To view some of our brand response campaigns checkout our work for Acura and/or Aetna.