Ad Analysis: A Dollar A Person A Year

Let's talk about ad analysis. "Why should I care? I'm the business owner. I’ll leave that to my marketing department." Any home service business, whether you sell HVAC or do plumbing, relies on some form of advertising. Agree? Writing ad copy is more than just promoting your brand. Advertisements have been etched deeply in the culture of society that we've become numb to it. Now, do you want ads that become your market's passing whim or ads that actually shatter the Sea of Sameness? Exactly. That's why ad analysis is essential, to know which works and which doesn't. Ad analysis is a powerful tool to improve your advertising messages and put you at the top. Otherwise, stop wondering why your ads have a negative ROI. Ad analysis is your friend, and it can boost your revenue when implemented correctly. You want that, right? If that's your stand, keep reading.

Saliency (Relevance of an Ad Copy)

In the world of ad analysis, saliency refers to how relevant or appealing an ad is to its intended audience. Writing ad copy is not as easy as it seems. It should be framed from the angle of what your audiences want to hear, not what you want to say. To this end, advertisers often use various tactics, this includes:

• Targeting specific demographics
• Incorporating popular cultural references
• Using persuasive language
• Employing attention-grabbing imagery

All of these techniques are used to increase the saliency of their ads. However, advertisers need to strike a balance. This means using these tactics while ensuring the relevance of the ad with the solution being promoted. Now that we’ve established what saliency is, the deeper question we must answer is: why is learning it important? The answer is simple. Whenever you publish ads, your focus should be making a mark on your audience. This is where ad analysis comes in. If your ads only become static in the background, then you're wasting valuable money. Capturing a space in your customer's long-term memory takes both saliency and repetition. In other words, your need to publish relevant ads that reach your target market repeatedly. That's what Wizard of Ads® aims to bring to the table. When you work with us, you can expect salient advertising that speaks the language of your target audience. If that's what you want, book a call and we'll get you started.

A Dollar A Person A Year

So salience and repetition are the two ingredients you need for successful ads. By success, we mean, the ads actually sink into the psyche and subconscious of your audience. It's easy to wrap our heads around the salience part because that’s the exact reason for ad analysis. But how many repetitions exactly does it take to get a message across? Through his extensive experience in radio advertising, Roy H. Williams has an answer for that. He argues, the entire process takes a person about three times, within seven nights, every seven nights, for a year. That's equivalent to 156 times in 52 weeks. You’re probably thinking about the towering costs to cover your market, but Roy’s computation might surprise you. According to him, it would only cost a dollar per person, per year. Of course, there's a catch. Roy H. Williams emphasizes that the ads have to be well-crafted and audience-focused in order for them to work effectively. This is where ad analysis becomes even more relevant. Analyzing the performance of your ads helps you align the message with your audience. Here are 5 aspects you must keep in mind:

1. You will target the same person 156 times for a year UNLESS the impact quotient of your ads is exemplary. This means that your ads exceed the relevance and credibility of your competitor's ads. Why? Because...
2. Increasing the saliency of your advertisements reduces the number of repetitions it takes to sink in. A healthy dose of ad analysis to see what works and what doesn't help in this regard.
3. Count every person you reach. As residential home service providers, you don't need a tightly targeted demographic. Keep in mind that all households and businesses experience household breakdowns ever so often. That’s why targeting a wide range of people is better – like casting a net for a huge number of fish.
4. This "one dollar one person one year" guideline will be rejected by most advertising professionals. They will crunch the numbers for its absurdity, without considering that it's possible depending on the ad. Ad analysis enables campaigns to become successful – reaching a wide audience and generating sales leads.
5. In TV or radio advertising, never purchase a broad rotator (6 am to 11 pm). In Roy H. Williams' experience, you'll only reach 1/3 or 1/4 of the people you were promised.

A dollar a person a year is not a scientifically proven guideline for sure. However, it's the product of the experience of a radio ad-smith. Certainly, it will be different in the case of Facebook advertising or even PPC ads. The point is that salient ads have the capacity to penetrate your market's psyche with less cost. Ad analysis does that. So, next time you're planning a marketing campaign, consider doing ad analysis. Admittedly, it may not be glamorous or shiny. However, it's a reliable, tried-and-true method to ensure the success of your ad campaign, especially amidst today's number of ads.

How Many Times a Day Do We See TV Ads?

Did you know that most people will have viewed two million TV commercials in a lifetime? That's a lot, those same ads will keep on playing for eternity even when you switch the TV off. Advertisements plague our entire existence. From TV cereals to billboards down to food wrappers, our world is surrounded by ads. Red Crow Marketing says the average American adult is exposed to around 4,000-10,000 advertisements per day. This includes not only TV ads, but also ads on websites, social media, billboards, and so much more. With all those ads constantly bombarding us, standing out and making an impact on viewers is nearly impossible. In fact, among those digits, people only "notice" less than a hundred ads a week. Take note of the keyword: notice. Not remember, not recall, only notice. Only a tiny fraction of these will be remembered in a week. For people in the advertising industry, this is a constant struggle. After all, what sort of ROI do you expect to receive without any sort of impact on the viewer? Advertisements are meant to grab attention, and yet we often don't even notice them. How can an ad stand out in a sea of five thousand others? Improve your advertising through ad analysis. This can help advertisers understand how their ads are being perceived and improve their saliency in a crowded marketplace. Now let's get down to business, how should we analyze ads?

Some Useful Questions When Analyzing Ads

Advertisements are infused into every aspect of our lives. We're so used to advertising that it's no longer viewed today as a means to an end (purchase). Ads are no longer branches of entertainment, rather, we have reached a point where ads became white noise. Ads attempt to become a projection of how our lives ‘should be’. For instance:

• Sexy people in ads represent our sexiness
• Laughing people in ads represent our happiness
• Successful people in ads represent our success

In other words, ads hope to be a seductive mirror for people to view and interpret reality. Ads are a false misrepresentation of our ideal selves. As emphasized by Naomi Klein, a cultural critic: Powerful and influential brands attempt to develop relationships with consumers through advertising. A connection that resonates completely with people's sense of self to the extent of slavery for these brands. Advertising, therefore, is no longer a means to an end but a powerful force that molds our sense of self. That's why having a critical eye is necessary. In our topic’s context, your advertising should be impactful enough that you become the most desired brand in the industry. Pour in as much salience, reliability, and credibility all at once that your ads become irresistible. When people encounter a home service need, you become their gold standard. If your ads are not yet at that level, ad analysis could help. Here are some questions to ask when analyzing your ads:

• Who appears in the ad?

Do you feature a celebrity or the business owner? Featuring well-known personalities that are relevant to your business creates a powerful ripple effect. If unfamiliar, that's okay. Consider also the expressions of the people featured in the ad. Are they smiling, laughing, or expressionless? These dispositions can convey various emotions and either make or break your advertising.

• What is the setting of the ad?

The scene and other peripheral elements must all be coherent with the ad being presented. For instance, fantastical music won't work for a rather somber-themed ad.

• Who is the audience for the ad?

Targeting is always important for business owners because it helps trim down advertising costs and limit the scope to relevant people. However, this is NOT AS IMPORTANT for residential home services.

Why? Because no one has any idea when an AC or a drain pipe will break. Targeting limits your scope to a specific audience. Every other people within your service area may encounter those same problems.

• How language and conversation are used in the ad?

The language used should match the audience being targeted. Advertisements for luxury services like pools or exterior design often use sophisticated and elegant language.

Moreover, is your ads hitting the right spot in your customer's pain and pleasure points? Are your words addressing their underlying felt needs? Consider all of these.

• How is pathos (emotions and desires) used in the ad?

Here's a secret. Every buying decision is made from the part of the brain that exclusively feels and has no faculty for words. Pulling the right emotional levers can get you a sale. Just don’t stray too far from your message and ensure those emotions play significant parts in the ad.

• Is there race, ethnicity, gender, class, and sexuality presented in the ad?

These are powerful elements to insert in advertisements but their relevance should be carefully considered. The last thing your want is to look like a business that virtue signals audiences. It's the message that counts, these are only peripherals you can use to reinforce that message.

Ad analysis is all about refining your advertisements to significantly spike their impact quotient. Salient ads are your best weapons if you want to drive sales and build a strong brand image. While you may not achieve "a dollar a person a year" in advertising, you make sure it's dang near close. The more salient the ads, the less you have to pay before it sinks in. The question is: are you up for analyzing your ads? If not, Wizard of Ads® can help you. We have been a part of refining the ad campaigns of countless residential home service businesses. That means we can also make sure your ads check out. Conversely, if you're entirely dissatisfied with your ads, our team is able to write your killer salient ads for you. All it takes is booking a call.