A Little Insight

Pay attention2attract attention

Executive Summary:

Many advertisers miss the mark with their messaging. Bruce C. Bryan is the president of 5Points Creative, an awardwinning advertising and marketing agency in Roanoke. Contact him at bruce@5PointsCreative.com My friend Bill from Toledo told me a story once and it’s stayed with me for twenty years or more now. At the time, he was in commercial production for a television station and, as a Black man living in America, he had a very different perspective than I did. He recalled being a kid in the early 70’s watching TV and seeing a person of color portrayed in a local television commercial. He raced to the kitchen and shouted excitedly to

A Litt le Ins ight

By Bruce C. Bryan

his mom, “There’s a black man on TV!” The occurrence was pretty rare back then, though in many cities (Toledo included) the African American population was a significant part of the market. Frankly until fairly recently it’s remained uncommon. For a variety of reasons, most likely starting with the fact that most commercial production workers were white men, there was very little diversity on TV. For decades advertisers have been missing the mark with their messages in all sorts of outreach mediums.

Match Your Audience4More Success

Perhaps as a part of the many recent social justice movements or maybe because of the expanding base of talented producers – many of whom are women, Hispanic, or Black – commercials now look different. And they should. It’s way past due and it’s a refreshing change.

It’s not uncommon to see the tapestry of peoples represented in advertising now. If you read magazines, watch enough TV, or glance at billboards while driving down the road, you’ll notice same sex couples, bi-racial families, and all kinds of varieties of people pictured.

It’s almost as if companies have begun to figure it out. It makes for better advertising because people want to see people who relate to them. Incorporating client testimonials, patients, actors, or models that represent your core audience creates a connection. Determine who you are doing business with or what part of the market you’d like to grow to serve and then be intentional in the images and talent you use. Whether it is a print ad, digital billboard, website, social media post, or your new TV commercial, it’s important to have a set of talent who match society. It’s a simple thing, but it’s a very important part of representing your business. Plus, it will help you grow your business successfully.

Bill’s story may be 20 years old, but the lesson is completely relevant in 2020 – and moving forward.