brand marketing blog

Many advertising campaigns based on a message of fear are ineffective. My anecdotal observation of the road safety campaigns run in New Zealand is that TV viewers watch the ads a few times and then tend to switch channels when they repeat. These unpleasant images are intrusive and uncomfortable, so we just switch off mentally to them. This is part of our inbuilt coping mechanism.

Many road safety campaigns target youth drivers, yet we continue to see reports of road deaths of 15 and 16 years olds at an alarming rate. Statistics indicate that for all the good money spent on these campaigns, actual accident rates have not shown a relative improvement within the target market, certainly not the level of return you would expect from a commercial ad campaign.

For these campaigns to be effective they need to be far more interactive and engaging at an emotional level. Transit NZ could do a series of roadshows to schools, displaying actual crashed cars, blood stains and all. Perhaps we are just to PC for this level of 'hard hitting' campaign, but the reality of seeing it in the flesh would be far more emotionally engaging than seeing an accident simulation on TV. I have even seen a campaign overseas where crashed cars were parked at the side of the road at dangerous stretches, creating a hard-hitting static display.

One of the more successful campaigns has been the intersection series, where the wheel of life is spun by the creepy old guy. You're never too sure of the impending result, which I personally find quite compelling. They have supported this suspenseful TV campaign with static displays at many of the dangerous intersections across the country, which brings a certain realism to the message and really makes you think twice about the potential risks.

Interestingly, the horrific images on cigarette packs and stern warnings that they cause cancer and death don't seem to have had any meaningful reduction in cigarette smoking either. And now tobacco marketers use an even more effective promotional method by having actors smoking in movies. (The money previously earmarked for traditional advertising is now funneled to the movie studios). These popular role models that smoke on screen are a powerful and obviously highly effective form of emotional engagement.

For 'fear marketing' to be effective, advertising agencies developing these campaigns need to find ways to engage the target market much more effectively at an emotional level than they have done so far. I suspect that a cross-platform campaign that leverages traditional media combined with a strong social network and new media presence may be more effective. I hope someone can get it right soon.