Does your content pass the “anti-dull” test?
There are many great things to learn from 'The Extraordinary Cost of Dull" - but the "anti-dull dial" is our favourite.
“The Extraordinary Cost of Dull” is a fabulous report created by System1, eatbigfish, Jon Evans and Peter Field.
Using the ad testing methodology from System1, there were more than 100,000 ads tested and the main finding was that dullness is the biggest threat facing the advertising industry.
It’s a fascinating read which includes lots of pointers on how to create content that will pass the test – and deliver the results we all hope for when we launch any campaign.
One of the most interesting parts of the report covers the actual pounds and pence, dollars and cents cost of a dull campaign – and some of the numbers are eye watering.
The report reveals that “making interesting, emotional ads saves you money” – lots of money in fact.
Moderately, very or extremely dull ads require an extra £189bn in media spend in the US to have the same effect as an interesting ad and an additional $13.29bn in the UK - that's roughly the GDP of Greece.
While there are lots of other interesting results from the research, we wanted to focus on the “anti-dull dial”.
This presents 5 questions that you should ask in order to help you determine whether you are creating a dull ad or an interesting one.
It’s also worth noting at this point that the research encompasses both B2B ads and B2C ads.
The "anti-dull dial" - 5 questions you need to ask
Question 1: Are you meeting them where they care and speaking their language?
If your ad is full of industry speak and those dreaded 3 letter acronyms that almost every sector has their own collection of, the chances are you’re creating something very very dull.
And you should care – because the overwhelming emotion being experienced by viewers of ads is neutrality.Â
The absence of all emotion.
Emotion is just as important in B2B ads - but most brands play it safe and adopt a tone of voice that leads to a neutral reaction.
The result?
Your campaign now needs more media spend in order to try and ensure that it delivers the results you need – and there’s no guarantee that the additional media spend will have much of an effect – because the ad is still dull.
Question 2: Are you using the real bar to judge what's interesting or an invented one of your own?
You could of course the System1 ad testing methodology – but there are other ways to test how dull your ad is that may be more reachable for SME businesses.
Is your decision on how interesting your ad is, based on the boss’s personal view or have you tried to gather some wider opinion before you launch your campaign?
If an ad makes people feel good, it's more memorable and more effective at building positive associations with a brand.
Talk to your customers
Have you tested your ad creative with some of your existing customers who match the profile of the new customers you are hoping to attract?
The feedback that you can get from this process could provide you with the insight you need in order to turn your ad and your campaign from good to great.
Question 3: Are you showing real distinctiveness and character?
If the basis for your campaign is “I’ve seen this thing that our competitors did and really liked it – can we do the same?” – you should probably stop now.
If you’re trying to cram too much information into your ad – you should probably stop now.
One of the ways ads end up with high neutraility is when a brand tries to cram too much information into a small space - leaving audiences bored or confused.
Be memorable.
Success comes from strong characters and personalities, confidence and clarity in your claims, a compelling argument and a consistent tone of voice that ensures they know it is you.
Question 4: Are you using drama, emotion and storytelling?
The System1 research reveals the creative levers that you have at your disposal to make sure you are giving your ad and campaign the very best chance of success.
Elements that provoke high emotion and attention are:
- Characters with vitality
- Implicit and unspoken communication
- Dialogue
- Spontaneous changes in facial expressions
- Distinctive accents
- People touching
- Music with a discernible melody
- Something out of the ordinary
- One scene unfolding with progression
- A clear sense of place
The problem of dull isn't damage - it's waste. It costs more to get the same business impact with a dull ad as with an interesting one.
To be avoided.
The flip side of the above coin shows the creative elements that should be avoided as they all command lower attention and emotion.
- Freeze frames
- Words on screen
- Rhythmic soundtracks
- Abstract body parts – shapes, lines and textures to represent the human form.
Question 5: Are you denying one of their key assumptions and surprising them?
While making our viewers feel happy has the biggest effect on whether they find our ad interesting, there’s also an opportunity to surprise them.
Are you doing exactly what they’d expect you (or someone in your category) to do or are you doing something different that will stand out – and be interesting?
Happiness isn't the only beneficial emotion for advertising - surprise plays a big part too. So it's worth deliberately going against some audience expectations.
I didn’t expect that.
The very sense that you did something out of the ordinary – one of the creative levers mentioned earlier – will help your ad be more memorable, more interesting and more likely to deliver the business impacts that you are looking for.
Find out more about "The Extraordinary cost of dull"
What we’ve covered here is only a fraction of what’s in the full report and it’s a great read.
There also a video on YouTube where Jon Evans chats with Peter Field and Adam Morgan (eatbigfish) about the report.
Want some help making interesting video content?
If you’ve got a current video project you’d like to talk to us about or would like to have a chat about how we use Video as a Service to embed interesting video content into the everyday marketing communications of our exising customers then please drop us a message.
