It seems that AIG has gotten of the hook but as far as taking pride in commercials that they let out to support their business venture, they may want to redo them, especially when it comes to their tagline. For sure, they need to work doubly hard to try and get back the loyalty of their market (including their current clients) for them to recover the dent that this has done to their image.
The commercials are cute but as far as believing that they are still reliable and on whether people would still invest in insurance premiums or other related investments, a lot of questions remain in the air for AIG even if they were loaned $85 billion by the US Federal Reserve.
The key for measuring advertising through commercials is creativity and the impact it can have on the target market. Apparently these two things were present as Bridgestone commercials “Scream” and “Lucky Dog” made the final list of possible winners at the Cannes Lion International Advertising Festival.
So the Super Bowl was kinda boring. The Patriots are the greatest team ever. Blah. Blah, blah.
But at least the commercials were good. Did you see the Pepsi commercial in sign language? Pretty cool, right? In fact, in recent years many viewers look forward more to the ultra-creative 30-second spots more than the big game itself.
Should you consider a television-based marketing approach for your business in 2008?
Wait, you don’t have $3 million dollars to burn or a fancy Chicago ad agency in your corner. Don’t worry. You should still consider using commercials as a tool to brand your product or service.
Here are a few tips for creative an effective television presence:
Consider your local cable provider first – Many stations will at no cost allow you to use their production facilities to cut and edit your commercial, … assuming you agree to buy a certain number of ads. Your customers won’t know how much you spent on these ads (which can be as little as $1 apiece in smaller markets), but will be duly impressed by your effort
Don’t star in your own commercial – It may seem like it makes sense to be the main character in your own commercial, but often these low-quality homemade commercials come across as cheesy and aggressively self-serving. Check out some of these tacky ( and funny) local spots collected on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean.
Don’t reinvent the wheel – There are hundreds of companies (like Spot Runner) that offer a library of pre-packaged tv ads to fit any number of business models. They’re pretty affordable and will save you loads of time.
Tell your customers what you’re doing – That is, if they don’t tell you first. With so many other advertising techniques, it’s very difficult to track the effectiveness of your marketing. Despite what you may hear, people watch television now more than ever. Including the commercials. A lot of times, people will have a soft spot in their heart for a local company on tv. Tap in to that feel-good local pride by making an ad that celebrates your product and your community.
What do well-known celebrities such as Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Lebron James and John Cena have in common? Well for one, they are more inclined in the area of sports. But the one key aspect that people and organizations have found useful from them is the fact that their popularity are marketing opportunities to which products and services can jump on and get that attention and niche to help them advance beyond their competitors.
Indeed, such practice has cost companies in the process. These people do not come cheap. Million dollar endorsement deals are in the offing each time they are tapped to do certain commercials or ads for selected companies. If only all organizations had the necessary budget to support all of them, then perhaps we would see a tumultuous run in the world of healthy business competition.
The rate of returns when it comes towards these million dollar investments is indeed costly. Many companies defy acknowledging this feasibility while others have bitten the bullet. This practice has worked both ways. Depending on the endorsement deal and the level of exposure for such advertising and promotional investment, the whole effort’s value can only be seen if they are properly planned and executed according to what has been initially mapped out.
