You are not the customer, LinkedIn is not reality, and most ads are still crap

"Someone in my workshop spied the chart below from our recent mega-analysis of global campaigns submitted to Effie, noting the steady decline in the industry's ability to create brand effects (awareness, differentiation, distinctiveness, trust, salience, etc.) as well as a drop off in how emotional ads are. I think it is safe to say that these factors are correlated. In fact, I've previously bet my new house upon it: Feel or fail. Why emotional ads will always beat persuasive ones"

"They bask in the brilliance of fantastic work on LinkedIn all the time. Brilliant TV ads as well as viral social campaigns. What people have taken to calling "masterclasses *clap emoji*". So, surely, they thought, we are seeing a brand-building boom. Well, sadly not. Just because marketers rave about an ad online doesn't mean it's effective. Or even seen by enough real people. As Sarah Carter put it perfectly on the Uncensored CMO podcast: you are not the customer."

"Meanwhile, on LinkedIn, there was a stark contrast. Endless posts celebrating viral campaigns with tens of millions of "views" or performative outrage over ads no normal consumer will ever notice. [Editor's note: see American Eagle analysis] Like adult content, perhaps we should require IDs and log-ins to read those flaming hot marketing takes from thought leaders who haven't touched a brand since a 99 Flake actually cost 99p?"

A strategy/data/ads workshop for a senior brand team used global tech, media, and effectiveness research to guide a £100m investment. LinkedIn conversations contrasted sharply, with viral campaigns and performative outrage dominating attention despite limited consumer reach. Mega-analysis of global Effie-submitted campaigns shows a steady decline in the industry's ability to create brand effects (awareness, differentiation, distinctiveness, trust, salience) and a drop in emotional advertising. Emotional intensity and brand effects appear correlated: emotional ads outperform persuasive ones. Viral fame warps reality and praise on social platforms does not guarantee sufficient reach or real-world effectiveness.

Read at The Drum