Nigel Hollis, chief global analyst at Millward Brown, writing in The Atlantic, argues that people are moved by the power of advertising, regardless of claims to the contrary.
Successful advertising rarely succeeds through argument or calls to action. Instead, it creates positive memories and feelings that influence our behavior over time to encourage us to buy something at a later date.
Hollis is not a direct marketer. Rather he believes, as I do, in the power of engagement and the act of seeding positive ideas and memories that will attract you to the brand.
Few brands in history have made advertising as compelling as Apple. In fact, one might argue that Apple’s ads drive purchase and build the brand over the long haul, which is Adlandia’s Holy Grail.
Speaking of Apple, my friend Bob Hoffman is pessimistic about Apple’s continued dominance, now that Steve Jobs is no longer CEO.
The product pipeline will take years to screw up. But the ad pipeline can be screwed up in no time.
That may be, but Apple has one hell of a lot of good will stashed in our collective memories. It’s going to take more than a few goofballs to mess it up.
Back to Hollis for a second. He argues that American companies wouldn’t spend $70 billion a year on TV advertising, if it didn’t work.
In Apple’s case, we know it works. In fact, Apple just surpassed Exxon Mobile to become the world’s most valuable company with a market value of $337.2 billion (more money than many nations have).
