Direct Response v Brand Advertising

"the only way to be heard is to speak"

There are two types of advertising – direct response advertising and brand advertising.

Brand advertising is used by companies to build and increase awareness of their brand i.e. MacDonalds. Unless you have huge amounts of money which you are happy to lose, you should avoid brand advertising at all costs. For a small business it is a complete waste of money.

The only type of advertising you ever want to consider is direct response advertising. The purpose of direct response advertising is to produce a clear response.The type of response may vary depending on the type of business you are in and your overall marketing strategy. You can choose the response you want. You may want the response to be an immediate purchase. You may want the response to be for someone to contact you to ask for a brochure so you can get their contact details to add to your mailing list.

The great thing about direct response advertising is that you can instantly tell whether it is working. It either produces a response or it doesn’t. One of the reasons that most small business advertising does not work is that it’s a combination of half hearted direct response and highly ineffective brand advertising.

In the land of the small business, direct response is KING!

Here is an example of great brand advertising:
As a coeliac (no wheat, no gluten) I have listened to MacDonalds ads for years, I know the "I'm lovin' it" strapline, identify with the Golden Arches (BRAND ADVERTISING) but always thought that it was beyond my reach as burgers contain wheat. After 5 years of no MacDonalds an ad campaign hit this year promoting 100% meat burgers and no additives. It caught my attention, it served a purpose, it told me how that would benefit me, what I could gain from purchasing.

The 'DIRECT RESPONSE ADVERTISISNG' worked a treat, I knew the brand off by heart, then the direct response advert caused me to purchase.....and why, because I would be 'lovin' it'. MacDonalds direct response advertising probably won't tell them whether this ad has worked, I had my BIG MAC, wasn't that tasty without the bun and went back to good food again. An example of direct response advertising not doing so well, for coeliacs, but promoting the brand... fantastic!