Why are some advertising campaigns more successful?
In an article published by The Straits Times, Why Some Causes Resonate, Ms. Carol Soon, Senior Research Fellow in the Arts, Culture and Media Research Group at the Institute for Policy Studies, sheds light on the success of Pink Dot.
A highly controversial event that began in 2009 with the goal of promoting understanding and acceptance of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, Pink Dot increased its attendance from 2,500 people in 2009 to an estimated 28,000 in 2015, according to the media. reports.
Publicity for the event has been done largely on social media, and in recent years religious conservatives have come out to campaign against it online. With amendments to the Public Order Act prohibiting foreigners from using assemblies and processions in Singapore to promote political causes, Pink Dot faced greater challenges than before, but managed to gain the support of 50 Singaporean patrons and reportedly raised 70 percent of the 2016 sponsorship amount even before official fundraising began.
According to Soon, messaging and targeting are the two main reasons for Pink Dot’s success. This is no surprise. Events that enjoy the most success, usually measured by the number of participants, tend to have varied but aligned messages that their target audience can relate to.
As the PR agency behind 5 installations of Southeast Asia’s largest and highest quality whiskey and spirits show, Whiskey Live Singapore, our work behind the success of these events was not considered a piece of cake. How did publicity and active involvement in conceptualizing the event take Whiskey Live Singapore’s inaugural guest count from 800 in 2010 to 3,000 in 2016? Here are our learning points:
Strategic communications is largely about crafting varied messages that resonate with a diverse target audience at the right times on different platforms. The ability to grab attention and communicate with different audiences is key. – Built-in brand director
Different platforms speak to different audiences in different ways. The assumption of homogeneity in the target audience and the inability to frame and align diversified messages are the Achilles heel of many organizers.
Gone are the days when one size fits all. Even high-budget communications can fail and backfire if social trends and information consumption patterns are not thoroughly analyzed. Take Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad as an example. Isn’t there such a thing as bad publicity? Think again.
The trick is to get an idea of how the target audience receives the information and the relevance of the content. From there, formulate the communication strategy.
A press release may seem archaic to the uninitiated. However, it certainly hasn’t outlived its usefulness. It is an essential tool that describes and puts into perspective the highlights of an event.
Think of it like a cheat sheet. You must cut through the clutter, and get to the point. If you have a seven-page press release (trust us, we’ve seen it before), we suggest you go through it again and craft a succinct story.
Here are our tips:
1. Develop an aligned communication framework.
2. Create different specific messages for different audiences.
3. Use a press release to share information and brief insights with the media and influencers.
4. Use social media to reach end consumers directly.
Many inexperienced advertisers also overlook the importance of images. Pictures speak more than a thousand words. Social media has published data over and over again on how relevant images grab attention and increase traction. On the same note, videos are on an upward trend. Our data shows that videos between 20 and 30 years old have the highest audience. And nothing beats capturing the atmosphere of a successful event than real footage.