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Why Focus on the Eye in Advertising?

December 18, 2009

No one takes in any information without it going through one or more of their five senses. Advertisers too must get their message through the same gates. At times the sense of smell is central. The smell from a bakery draws consumers to buy some fresh backed goods. The taste test is used in commercials for soda drinks or pizza. Pictures of food as you enter a restaurant will bring good memories of its flavor. When buying a bed, touch is the main seller. Consumers want to try out the various options to imagine how comfortable it would be for eight hours.

The most influential of all our senses is that of sight. In fact, 80% of all we learn comes in through our eyes. Most of the other 20% is learned through hearing. A radio ad then must capture the consumer’s attention through words alone.

Since 80% of what we learn enters our eyes, that means advertisers are smart to center their ads around this gate to the will. If they can appeal by way of sound also, this is even better. Printed ads can be read multiple times and by multiple people. They can last longer and thus potentially influence more people than sound ads alone.

Visual advertisement comes in two forms, words and pictures. Words are abstract for they represent a reality. The word ‘house’ stands for a dwelling of brick and wood. Words can also stand for products. Slogans have caught on and identify products. One of the most famous was, “Where’s the beef?” from the Wendy’s ad. Though mainly verbal, that one phrase sold more hamburgers than anyone will ever know.

Rarely will the quantity of words sell an item. Usually it will not be the quantity but the quality that is important. People are busy and always in a hurry. The message of the ad must be succinct and catchy. It must give the message and yet not bore the audience. This is a hard balance.

Humor, when appropriate, is an excellent way to capture the attention of the public. For example, Alaska airlines portrayed their company’s strength through exaggerating the competition’s weaknesses. It was humorous and kept people watching, and flying with them for several years.

Sometimes the ad is only a reminder of what the consumer already knows. A motto, a logo, or a symbol each might associate itself to a particular product. The colors of Pepsi alone will sell the product. In other words, the picture is all the ad needed.

So, we see that the use of visual and audio, of effective words, and of humor make an ad memorable. This takes time and creativity to achieve. Once this is in hand, the advertiser must choose where he will publish this written message. One creative approach is to fly the ad on a banner over a large group of people. Banner ads have been shown to be effective in taking a message to the public in a memorable way. When you consider that the drone of the plane engine adds an audio attention getter, you understand that this method incorporates both sight and sound to effectively drive the message home.

When you have the message perfected, then it is time to call a company that flies aerial banners who can guide you through the process of getting it printed and into the sky. The effort you put into making it just what you want will soon begin to turn into great results.

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