We are just beginning to understand the Natural Laws of advertising. Don’t panic. They could have been written by Weight-Watchers. The first law seems to be don’t pig-out. Moderation makes advertising work better. Consumer markets show decreasing marginal response to high levels of advertising. Each additional exposure contributes a little less, so shoveling-it-in in bursts or flights is not cost-effective. Weight-Watchers tells the planner to save some donuts for tomorrow.
The second law is don’t skip dinner. More continuous advertising brings increasing marginal response. Each week added to a campaign produces more than the week before. It’s like compound interest. This means spreading the advertising across time is more cost-effective. Besides, not eating can give a brand a headache.
These two Laws teach the planner that more weeks of advertising are a better choice than heavier weight each week.
Third Law. Eat A Balanced Diet. Diminishing marginal response describes media as well as media weight, which explain the importance of media-mix.
Symposium: 2001: Venice, Session 2 - The Planning Process
Authors: Ephron, Erwin
Organisations: Ephron, Papazian & Ephron, Inc.
Topics: Data Collection