Emotion is the key to the power of persuasion. Emotion in the form of passion is the key to excellence as Winston Churchill defines it. Both the power of persuasion and excellence are certainly important in making effective advertisements. The Dawn liquid advocacy advertising strategy certainly has figured this out.
We recently viewed a Dawn Liquid Detergent advertisement that caught our eye for several reasons we will discuss. An effective TV ad that combined traditional advertising with advocacy advertising. Something you don’t see very often, do you?
Have you seen any of the recent Dawn TV commercials? They started as YouTube videos and grew out of the success on that platform.
If not, you should invest 1 minute now and check it out. It will prove beneficial in reviewing our ad analysis.
Marketing or advertising, you need to create information that your customers find interesting and worth talking about and remembering.
At the end of this article, please comment on whether this advertisement achieves this goal. Let this community know what you think.
Let’s evaluate whether we believe this is such an effective advertising campaign and why:
Define your positioning
Your frame of reference. Make comparisons to your competitors if you can. No comparisons made in this commercial. With the emphasis on advocacy of saving wildlife, it wouldn’t make sense here. A good move we believe.
If you have a product that truly discriminates you from your competition, build your messages on these discriminators. Two of the most effective value propositions we have seen in a while are shared in 10 seconds.
As the volunteers are cleaning oil off the ducks, they state that Dawn Liquid effectively cuts grease and is gentle. Don’t need to say much as the video does the talking.
Powerful, isn’t it?
Does the ad model have a future? Many think not.
The arguments are twofold: one based on supply and one based on demand. On the supply side, pundits say that consumers have grown tired of having their media experience interrupted and will increasingly avoid ads. On the demand side, they say that marketers are becoming savvier and are learning that advertising never worked anyway.
Both arguments don’t hold up to scrutiny.
As long as brands need to promote themselves and content need to be financed, the ad model will continue to prosper.
Be relevant to your target market
Keep in mind that one message does not fit all. It starts with knowing your target market. Here the target markets are families, housewives, and nature lovers (and obvious combinations of these). Certainly very relevant to our discussion.
Dawn Liquid advocacy advertising … grabbing attention
Interesting information, well presented, showing emotion, always holds attention, yes? Keep in mind that people don’t watch ads … they watch what interests them. Your ad messages must be interesting to your target communities. This message certainly grabs and holds attention based on emotion, superb visuals, and great issue advocacy.
Letting the visuals be the best influencer.
People will watch, remember and most likely talk about, won’t they?
Dawn saves wildlife commercial … simple messages
Superb visuals are so simple that you quickly grasp them and don’t lose interest. Keep in mind that pictures and videos are far more valuable than words. And the advocacy message discussion has a way to keep you tied in. Creating customer interest does get any simpler than this, does it? A very simple, yet effective design, don’t you think?
Make your ad a component
Always make your ad part of an integrated marketing campaign. There are a series of similar ads in this campaign … all geared to address the Dawn Liquid target customers. All follow the same theme … simply shine a light on the value of the product. Well integrated with several YouTube videos.
Customers and particularly the target customers are looking for supporting products that add value to the environment and nature.
This marketing strategy certainly is addressing this end state in our opinion.
The most important value points.
Influence and persuasion
There are no better means of influence or persuasion than emotion. Hands down the best, in our opinion. This commercial focuses on emotional appeal in grand fashion.
It is the secret of this commercial’s success. The focus of the advocacy helps create emotional support, doesn’t it?
Remember, stop interrupting what people interested in, and be what people are interested in.
We believe the Dawn marketing strategy is a winner. Simple, yet interesting. Not selling. What do you think?
What are some of your experiences with advertising as a component of an integrated marketing campaign?
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Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he writes about topics that relate to improving the performance of a business. Go to Amazon to obtain a copy of his latest book, Exploring New Age Marketing. It focuses on using the best examples to teach new age marketing … lots to learn. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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