[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/02\/14\/future-of-advertising\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/02\/14\/future-of-advertising\/","headline":"The future of advertising: Tried & tested rules for effective campaigns","name":"The future of advertising: Tried & tested rules for effective campaigns","description":"The future of advertising isn\u2019t that there will be no advertising, as others have suggested. Instead, it's that good and effective advertising will remain the same.","datePublished":"2020-02-14","dateModified":"2023-03-31","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/tracey-wallace\/#Person","name":"Tracey Wallace","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/tracey-wallace\/","identifier":367,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/21377d3250d3cee37a219265f855ca86717424033839661349c4b6845d2250cc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/21377d3250d3cee37a219265f855ca86717424033839661349c4b6845d2250cc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/future-of-advertising.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/future-of-advertising.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/02\/14\/future-of-advertising\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/customer-engagement-marketing\/","name":"Customer Engagement","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_engagement","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q5196451"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/","name":"Marketing","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marketing","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q39809"]}],"wordCount":955,"keywords":["Advertising","Future of Customer Experience"],"articleBody":"Ad formats change, but humans don\u2019t. Sure, different generations may have different preferences for how they gather information about new products, but that’s all just a change in format. The future of advertising and successful campaigns remains rooted in the same core tenants as always.What hasn\u2019t changed every in marketing and advertising is that word of mouth recommendation is the most effective way to convince someone to buy your product.Some may argue that word of mouth is even more important now with influencer advertising so prominent. And sure, influencer advertising certainly has elements of word of mouth, only through a different format and medium, especially when you consider micro-influencer campaigns.The more things change…But all of us mere mortals, we have not changed. How we make up our minds has remained relatively consistent since the birth of humanity.Those ways are thus:Signaling to belong to part of a group or community: Some may call this fear of missing out \u2013 FOMO \u2013 if they *do not* buy the product.Signaling to reinforce our own ideas of our identity: Perhaps we are rebel or an early adopter or a nonconformist (and therefore a devotee to Apple products).Because we actually need it: For instance, I ran out of toilet paper, and therefore, I need more.We humans are a social animal, and how well we fit in with our chosen groups and what others think of us are incredibly important to us \u2013\u2013 and the products we choose to buy help tell that story.The future of advertising in 2020, then, isn\u2019t that there will be no advertising, as others have suggested. Instead, it is that good and effective advertising will remain the same.Let\u2019s recap on some traditional rules to get an understanding of how that will work.Rules for good advertising in 2020David Ogilvy\u2019s books may have particular sections that are outdated \u2013\u2013 like where you put a discount code or our cultural beliefs \/ consumer mindset. But he nailed how to format good campaigns and headlines with rules that do not change because humans do not change.Ogilvy\u2019s rules for writing good ads:The headline is the \u201cticket on the meat.\u201d Use it to flag down the readers who are prospects for the kind of product you are advertising.Every headline should appeal to the reader\u2019s self-interest. It should promise a benefit.Always try to inject news into your headlines because the consumer is always on the lookout for new products, new ways to use an old product, or new improvements in an old product.Headlines can be strengthened by emotional words, even if they are cliches. Don\u2019t turn your nose up at them. There\u2019s a reason you see so many people using them. They work.Five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy, so it is important that these glancers at least be told what brand is advertising.Include your selling promise in the headline, even if it makes the headline long.People are more likely to read your body copy if your headline arouses curiosity.Never write tricky headlines (puns, literary allusions, obscurities). People scan ads. They don\u2019t have time to think on yours.Research shows that it is dangerous to use negatives in headlines. \u201cOur salt contains no arsenic,\u201d is often read the same as, \u201cOur salt contains arsenic.\u201dNow, these rules can be broken (and some of the best advertisements indeed break them), but only when the entire campaign is built around a good idea. Otherwise, these rules stand.Rules for writing good digital ads in 2020In fact, today, with Facebook advertising costs on the rise, they may apply even more. Andrew Faris, a digital marketing expert who has been in the trenches (not just prophesying about them), recently offered up similar Oglivy advice for the social media advertising era:This content is hosted by a third party ( twitter.com ).To view the content, either update your cookie preferences or view it in a new browser window.Cookie PreferencesNew WindowHere are his 3 key takeaways from the thread:The product is the hero in the images.The headline does a ton of work.\u201cGreat advertising starts with the product as the hero and an attention-grabbing headline. When advertisers are producing assets, designing, and writing ads, it starts there: show me the product clearly and give me an enticing headline.\u201dThe long copy sells (Oglivy was a huge believer in this!).\u201cLet me stop you before you ask: no, I’m not saying “long copy sells, so make your copy longer.”What I’m saying is: after the hero product image and the attention-grabbing headline, the advertiser has to sell the product. And here is where social ad formats create options.\u201dFaris\u2019s options for this are:A longform sales landerThe PDPThe copy on the post itselfVideo in the adHere is his example of this:This content is hosted by a third party ( twitter.com ).To view the content, either update your cookie preferences or view it in a new browser window.Cookie PreferencesNew WindowThe future of advertising is the pastBetter stated, the future of advertising is understanding people, and why they buy.Of course you also need to understand the formats you have to work with \u2013\u2013 whether that is a newspaper or a magazine, Facebook, or TikTok. The same rules apply; the format is what has changed.And always remember: \u201cIt is a sin to bore your fellow creatures.\u201d  Every digital moment matters.Are you making the most of them?1,000 business leaders dish on how to stand out from the crowd with a great CX. Get the details\u00a0HERE.\u00a0"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2020","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"02","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/\/02\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"14","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/\/02\/\/14\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"The future of advertising: Tried & tested rules for effective campaigns","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/02\/14\/future-of-advertising\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]