Recently, I have been fascinated by the Promotion P of the marketing mix. To me, the price, product, and place Ps are less intriguing as they require a lesser extent of creativity, and it is the creative side of marketing that I am captivated by. Lately, while I was browsing the Digital Buzz Blog, I came across this article on Volkswagen’s take on tackling a large program.
For me, doing these blog posts have led me to discover some modern challenges of advertising. I have since learned the importance of value-added marketing and understand that advertising, to be effective, needs to be a two-way exchange. However, a major issue arises—how does one get the consumer to stop and pay attention to their advertising, especially in commercials? Research shows that 80% of people fast-forward through TV commercials. No matter how amazing the ad is, if the consumer is skipping through it, then it is ineffective.
Volkswagen has taken an innovative approach to this problem and has introduced the “Slowmercial For Fast Forwarders”, where, if you fast-forward through the commercial, it appears as a static print ad. The ad shows nothing more than a Volkswagen Beetle slowly opening its roof, but the idea is that whether you’re watching at normal or fast speed, you can’t escape from it!
Although the commercial does very little to call for action from the consumer, it definitely is making an impact in terms of consumer behaviour. Volkswagen’s “slowmercial” will get the Beetle into their target market’s evoked sets through increased exposure, and thus will raise the likelihood of purchasing. I LOVE how innovative marketers are becoming in order to tackle promotional problems—it makes me excited to see what I could come up with in the future!