We all have it. You see it in every facet of our lives…Repetition Guilt. You wear the same outfit that people say makes you look good. You cook the same dinners over and over only to have your kids tell you your new recipe sucked and why didn’t you make what you usually do? It happens in your advertising and marketing as well. Creative people try to come up with the next best, more creative, bigger, better, badder branding campaign.
But it’s a delicate balance: fresh and new vs. keeping that message consistent. I remember once how my boss constantly asked me to change our 4 year old jingle because he didn’t like the way it sounded. We went round and round until finally we asked some of our employees to give us their thoughts. I was pleasantly surprised when they told us that customers always made positive comments on the jingle and even could sing it. (He obviously wasn’t so happy with the feedback) We ended up keeping that jingle for another 3 more years.
While we may think something is stale, the general public may just be tuning in to your messages. And unless you are running a time sensitive campaign, sometimes that slow drip of consistency for your branding messages is the answer. Keep that billboard up a little longer. Run that ad another quarter. It is hard to judge a branding campaign’s success at times. When you are running a special on a sale or a specific good or service, you can check the sales results to see where you are and if you need to adjust. But with branding campaigns, sometimes you have to go with your gut. Don’t succumb to the pressure of thinking people are sick and tired of seeing your ads. Chances are, some are just coming around to hearing or reading your message. Take a step back and think about it before you do anything. Ask a few friends or family members what they think. They may just give you the answer you need. And if you don’t like your family’s answer, make a new recipe for dinner just to annoy them.