Oops, I Did It Again…
Britney Spears. Remember the tune? Good. Humming it? Even better.
Have you had a song stuck in your head and couldn’t seem to get it out no matter how hard you tried? You have? Turns out you’ve had worms. Or to be more precise, you’ve experienced a condition that clever people in white lab coats call Earworms.
Before you run to the doctor, an earworm is a catchy piece of music that continually repeats itself in your head; long after it has stopped playing. This is a common phenomenon that happens to an estimated 98% of people and which has been known to last anything from a couple of seconds to a few days.
So what do earworms have to do with advertising? Quite a lot actually, when you think about it.
“I’m with the brand, baby.”
There are many similarities in the way that our brains interact with the music of our favourite (or not so favourite) bands and the advertising of our favourite brands.
Scientists have found that the reason why some songs seem to linger in our subconscious for days boils down to three simple factors, namely:
- Repetition
- Simplicity
- Incongruity
These are the same attributes that are found in advertising that leave a lasting and memorable impact. And no, I am not referring to a series of ads featuring a certain cellular network’s dancing rodent. Or am I?
Let’s take a look at how these elements apply to, and improve, advertising in the 21st century:
- Repetition – The more you focus and repeat what sets your brand apart from the rest, the bigger your stage becomes.
- Simplicity – Don’t be clever for clever’s sake. Rather have a message that is clear, honest and easy to understand.
- Incongruity – Stand out from the crowd. Don’t do what everyone else is doing. Create memorable brand communications that get people rocking.
From bland to rock brand
The fact is that in today’s advertising climate, everyone is marching to the beat of their own drum, while forgetting that consumers are looking for brands who hit the right notes, not brands who are trying to recompose Beethoven’s 5th.
If you know your audience, give a genuine and heartfelt performance and connect with them in a way that they understand, your brand will get stuck in their heads faster than you can say “Oops, I did it again…” Sorry. Good luck with that earworm.