Boring and look-alike communication is expensive. Research shows that powerful creative communication can be 10 to 20 times more sales effective than mediocre communication. So, the question really is: Can you afford to be boring and look like everyone else?
The challenge of looking the same as everyone else is not new. It’s a proven psychological phenomenon known as the Von Restorff effect, or the isolation effect. German psychiatrist Hedwig von Restorff identified this in her 1933 study, where she discovered that participants were more likely to remember a distinctive item when it was presented alongside categorically similar items.
Unfortunately, distinctiveness is rare in B2B marketing. Most B2B companies are drowning in a sea of sameness because their brands all look the same. Their ads, their websites and even their products look similar. This may be because of risk averse professionals ridden with fear of failure, or maybe it’s because we’ve held onto the misconception that marketing to businesses needs to be all “business.” Regardless of the reason, B2B companies more often blend in than stand out.
Standing out in an interesting right way has a positive effect only that. But there is more to gain by thinking differently.
One of the best-replicated ideas in advertising research is advertising intensity. It reveals that for every 10 points of ESOV (Extra Share Of Voice), a company can expect, on average, 0.5% points of market share gain. But this is only half-true since the ESOV rule treats all creative as equal, which is not true.
To define the difference between good and bad communication, the pre-testing company System1 has researched the quality of creative in addition to the quantity of spend. System1 asks a consumer panel a series of questions about emotional valence, emotional intensity, and brand recall while watching an ad. The panel responses then allow System1 to rate each ad on a 1-5 star scale. To date, System1 has rated 40,000+ ads and found the below correlations between “star score” and share growth, assuming 10% ESOV in a category:
- 1 star rating ads drive 0% market share growth
- 2 star rating ads drive 0.5% market share growth
- 3 star rating ads drive 1.0% market share growth
- 4 star rating ads drive 2.0% market share growth
- 5 star rating ads drive 3.0% market share growth
So far, so good. The scaring result when testing 1,700 B2B ads was that 76.7% of the ads scored 1 star, ie the investment in advertising basically gave not return at all.
The sales effect of “powerful creative” does offer companies a 10-20x sales multiplier. The data shows that “mediocre creative” generates roughly 0.25% market share growth, while “powerful creative” generates roughly 2.5% market share growth – or 10x more market share growth.
The simple conclusion: It’s worth a lot to put effort into creativity, and not be afraid to stand out from the competitors.
And if you want to discuss communication, you are always welcome to contact ulf@sfinxconsulting.se
