Have you ever experienced “the movie was not as good as the book?” Often, even when the movie is great, key characters or scenes are not exactly what you pictured.
The fundamental difference between print and broadcast media is the involvement of the consumer’s imagination. Words can be sufficiently descriptive to get our imagination going, but ultimately we are the ones who complete the picture or the story. Broadcast media can work in a similar way— by inviting us to anticipate behavior of key characters based on our own experiences.
The Mastercard “Priceless” campaign is a great example of story completion in broadcast media. This classic campaign did not score well in traditional ad tests. However, when evaluated using neuroscience diagnostics measuring emotional engagement, the commercials received very high scores. The reason? The campaign provides the viewer a story outline to be completed with personal experiences. Commercials that featured “father and son at a baseball game” and “dogs” did a great job of inviting us into the story and enabling us to assign emotional meaning to the brand based on our personal experiences.
Print can be used in the same way. The reader is prompted to recall a relevant event. Once emotionally engaged by story context, the brand benefits can be viewed in a more meaningful light.
The recent print campaign created by Radii Latin America for the Rheem Triton water heater is a good example. Triton is a smart water heater that notifies a facility manager or plumber when it detects a problem. To dramatize this benefit, the ads remind the audience of the emotional “pain” incurred when a water heater fails unexpectedly. The emotional meaning associated with the context acts as foil for establishing the value of Triton’s brand benefits.
If you are looking to improve your brand’s relevance, let the storytellers at Radii Latin America help you complete your story.
Credit to Jim Cobb (The Bloodhound Group)
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