Are you getting your message right?

With a whole sea of video content being released every day, you have to ask yourself: are you cutting through the noise? One of the most effective ways to ensure that you stand out is through an effective message. An effective message should embody your brands personality AND resonate with viewers. Sounds easy, right? Then why are so many companies getting this wrong?

One of the key things that is frequently overlooked is strong research into target markets. It’s not just about who they are, it’s about what they want. To first discover your target market you should assess who you think the end user of your product/service is, and then see how it aligns with who is actually making the purchases. Are they predominantly one gender? Do they fit into a specific age category? Take the time to explore your consumers, and how do they differ from who you imagined they would be. Once you know this, it’s time to assess what it is that makes them tick. Although this involves generalisation, it doesn’t mean stereotyping – what you’re aiming for is much deeper than that.

For example, if your target audience are impulsive digitally native women aged 25-35 who live in affluent areas, that doesn’t mean you’d create an advert full of cliche “women” things. You’d dig deeper and ask – what do they want from our product AND what other things are they likely to connect with.

A Case Study

To stay neutral from our own campaigns, this advert from Nike, “The Toughest Athlete”, is a good example.

As a first impression it looks like the advert is simply aimed at pregnant women. However, if you delve into the language and the way it’s presented other themes appear. This advert appeals to pregnant women and mothers who are driven, “someone who gets it done no matter what”. This is aimed at women, and to inspire women, who appreciate their pregnancy and motherhood, but also their ambition. Nike could have easily created an advert of women wearing maternity wear, but they didn’t. They created an advert showing the lifestyle of an athletic driven pregnant woman/mother, showing they truly understand their target audience.

We’ve written an article helping you dig deeper into your brands target audience here.

Selling to your target market

Now you’ve thought about your target market and what they want, the next stage is thinking about how to give it to them. A big factor in this is to draw focus to your USP – how does your offering differ from your competitors? Are you doing something that no one else in the industry is doing? Make that a key feature in your narrative.

The next stage in an effective message is being brand confident. If you stand for something, really stand for it. Think of some great campaigns you’ve seen come to life – they shout about what matters to them as a company. This makes viewers feel connected as the brand becomes a lot more personable, this in turn encourages viewers to believe in their message.

Now you have strengthened your message, it’s time to think about distribution. In short, no advert should be just 1 video shown on 1 platform. To be effective, multiple cut-downs and edits from the same campaign should be distributed across multiple platforms. Each piece of content a customer sees shapes their image of you, use your great content to make that image stronger. Moreover, a consistent delivery reasserts yourself, keeping you at the forefront of their mind. In doing this you will engage deeper with your audience and make that lasting impression.