The Message vs The Media

This weeks article is from a recent Sound ADvice newsletter that my subscribers received this summer.  If you would like a free weekly subscription, email Scott@WOWO.com.

In the never-ending maze of online media, on-air media, outdoor media, direct mail, and print media, business owners often ask, “Which media works best?” or, “Which media platform will give me the highest return on my investment?”

If you ask an honest and knowledgeable media person, they will tell you that the media isn’t necessarily the most important criterion when it comes to effective marketing. The truth is, there is no media that will not produce results; there are only messages that do not produce results.

The next time you hear about a hugely successful ad campaign, look at the message. I can guarantee you it was profound and something other than the norm.  Seldom will it be the media, but rather the message, that created the results. Of course, the media must be scheduled appropriately, with the right combination of reach and frequency, but it is the relevance of the message that will make consumers respond to a campaign… on any media.

Former Katz Marketing Solutions President and one of America’s smartest marketing minds, the late Bob McCurdy said, “No medium is any more captivating or engaging than any other, as the effectiveness of any medium is largely determined by the quality of its commercial content. If the creative is weak and ineffective, the medium will be thought of as weak and ineffective”.

It’s understood that generating great creative is an art form but there’s some science behind it as well. McCurdy created 14 key creative insights derived from five years of Ipsos Research, spanning dozens of radio commercials and thousands of respondents.