Paid Attention summary

The modern consumer is overwhelmed by choice. So how does anyone decide what to buy? The truth is, most of us make purchasing decisions according to brands.

At heart, a brand is an emotional link between the customer and the company. Ultimately, brands help people build their identities around products. In other words, you are what you buy!

Has a market researcher ever stopped you in the street, asking about your purchasing habits?

Although market research is an $11 billion industry in the United States, it’s actually a massive waste, because asking people what affects their shopping behavior is pointless. Most of our purchasing decisions happen on an unconscious, emotional level.

In earlier blinks, we’ve discussed the importance of connecting with consumers to understand their needs. Well, it’s equally important to transmit your own message to customers. In other words, good communication is at the heart of advertising.

But what does that actually entail? Some marketers approach the question of good communication from a rational framework. They believe that giving people a simple choice between two (or more) items and arguing for the advantages of their own superior product is the simplest way of effectively transmitting their message.

Surely you’ve heard this famous motto of media theory: “the medium is the message.” Hmmm...does the medium really count more than the content? Well, maybe in the past. But certainly not in today’s world.

Decades ago, it didn’t matter what your advert said – all that mattered was how it was delivered to consumers. If you had an advertising slot on one of the few TV stations, your advertising message was likely to succeed regardless of content.

Now that we understand some of the media shifts underway, we can figure out how to develop an advertising strategy to reflect those changes.

So instead of launching huge campaigns, go for social copying instead. Even if you don’t know that exact term, you’ve seen this phenomenon in action: whenever people yell “Wassssup” at each other, they’re copying a Budweiser ad – and ultimately spreading the beer company’s message far beyond the initial audience. The big advantage of social copying? It’s much more authentic than a standard TV commercial.