Advertising: Keep It Consistent

One of the issues that plague many ad creators is the inability to keep an advertising campaign consistent. Have you ever watched a series of ads from a company and felt like each ad was for different company or that the company was going in too many directions?

It’s no secret that consumer retention is boosted when a campaign is consistent rather than being a series of one-off ads.

Consumers are bombarded with ads of all types daily. And Americans are perhaps the most marketed-to consumers ever. Still, there is a way to keep advertising fresh with consumers while building top-of-mind awareness.

And that’s where consistency comes into play. An advertising campaign that keeps building off of itself by making sure new ads reference and support old ads will be more memorable with consumers.

Consumers who feel a sense of continuity with an advertisement are more likely to “pay attention.”

One of my current favorite examples is Apple’s campaign for the Mac. Every ad builds on the previous one. They keep the same two main characters and the same general setting and format. While I love them all, here’s a clip from one of my favorites.

As you can see, Apple introduces two characters, “Mac” and “PC.” As the campaign progresses, a feeling of bonding and evolution is formed.

If you’d like to see the entire “Get a Mac” series: http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

And the brilliant part about the campaign is that the consumer is being educated about the product in a fun way, which opens up the door for sales.

What somewhat recent ads do you think reflect consistency? What doesn’t? I’d love to know.