This morning I heard an ad on the radio (giving up my iPod and books on CD for a brief second). The ad had several different students and faculty members talking about a specific school. They didn’t name it, but you could tell it was a smaller school with “hands-on” learning. Because of my interest in Stephens and other colleges in the area, I sat at my destination and waited the entire commercial (30 seconds-ish) to learn where in the world they were talking about.
It was Metro Business College. I could sing the catchy “a small college can make a big difference” jingle (did you just do it?). But the name of the school - which is so great according to my blaring radio - wasn’t mentioned until the end.
What do you think about this strategy? Holding information till the last possible second to keep listeners (viewers) hooked? If I didn’t have an active interest in advertising I would have never listened to the entire commercial. But I’m not really that important.
What about their target market? Do you think a person considering college will listen to that commercial to learn the name of this amazing school?
TV shows do it, radio stations do it. They tease you with what’s coming next to keep you around.
But with the short attention span of our society, will this strategy continue to work?
Rachel
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3 comments:
Very interesting thought
I'm surprised that you waited until the end of the commercial, Rachel! I personally think that most of us are too busy to wait around for 30 seconds just to hear what they were blabbing about. I could have been updating my twitter in 30 seconds. I could have been answering an important phone call. I could have been concentrating on driving. In my opinion, that type of strategy is risky business in today's fast-paced society. Risky, but though-provoking.
Mandy
Well, the ad certainly got your attention. : )
I love when TV ads use background music or silence instead of celebrity endorsement or voiceovers and rely on the user to read what's on the screen. It's effective because it's so different.
As Co Co Chanel once said: "In order to be unforgettable, one must always be different." I guess the lady knew a lot about fashion and marketing! : )
Namaste,
Caren aka Cthegirl
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