By 9 am, you’ve probably scrolled through at least one form of social media, checked your emails, seen a TV commercial or five, heard a radio spot and glanced at an advertisement pasted on a billboard or the side of the semi-truck that passed on your commute. Can you remember a brand that was featured in any of them? Additionally, we’ll bet in the time you’ve read this your Instagram feed has seven new posts for you to see and you’ve overheard a conversation in which someone mentioned a product or service they recently used. All that before your second cup of coffee!
In a world of non-stop buzzes, beeps, likes and swipes, how does a brand stand out and not only get in front of consumers, but give them reason to pause and notice? This is no new challenge, whether you’re selling feed for horses at the town wagon stop or the latest trendy bottle of kombucha, selling is selling and the Number 1 rule? Brand awareness!
The History
In the 1930’s the movie industry started evaluating what marketing strategies actually got people into theater doors and they came up with the genius concept of The Power of 7 (or Rule of 7). It’s the idea that consumers need to be exposed to a message at least 7 times before making a purchase decision. Its success can be credited to a phenomenon called the “mere-exposure effect”, which states that “the more people are exposed to something, the more likely they are to take note of it and develop a preference for it.” This means that our first couple times we are exposed to a brand we may not even notice it. By the fourth and fifth points of exposure, we are likely to become aware of the ad and recognize the message. By the seventh point of exposure, we may begin to show interest in the value presented and take action. Consumers tend to be drawn to things that are familiar, so it’s a marketer’s job to create a sense of familiarity through repetition.
It’s an old concept that some call outdated in our current marketing landscape. “Is seven times even accurate anymore? Do you know how much it costs to get a major ad campaign off the ground? People never even look at our emails, better to focus elsewhere.” Nope. Stop. Don’t listen to those little devils on your shoulder. At LMS we have continuously followed The Power of 7 in our strategies, and find that while the industry changes almost daily, the basic lesson behind this rule still stands true. The Power of 7 is a foundational piece of our business and that’s why we offer a vast roster of services in various marketing mediums. Celebrity partnerships, social media, super and micro-influencer marketing, email campaigns, events, print media exposure (and on and on .. we don’t actually ever sleep!) – all work in unison to form successful marketing campaigns.
Quality, quality, quality
With so much clutter in the marketing industry, consumers can easily get lost in the overload of memes, Facebook ads and never-ending feeds, but we’ve found it simply takes quality, quality, quality, consistency and savvy use of today’s tools to break through. We stand by our old-school practices while bringing fresh, innovative ideas to the table to really make marketing pop! Grab your #2 pencil and take some notes, kids… The success speaks for itself!
Take for example our client, Rao’s Homemade, we have been working with them since January 2017 and have built an encompassing strategy of influencer marketing, social media management, email campaigns, and events to transform their brand’s visibility and help them stand out in the industry! Through micro-influencer activations we’ve secured over 9.6 million impressions, and our social media management has increased their engagement by 8.5%, acquiring over 20,000 new followers! Email campaigns have reached 2.9 million impressions, and our custom events reached 2.2 million. Each of these separate efforts work in unison to saturate various mediums with Rao’s Homemade content, building not only their audience base, but the trust and recognition that brings consumers to action. How did we get these results (and in well under a year)?! Consistency, quality and utilizing valuable touch points to reach consumers. Put thought into every aspect of your marketing and how it can support other efforts. The influencers posting about your product should be researched and meet a specific criteria that well represents your brand. Paying a highly-followed influencer to post once and not truly care about the product may do less for your brands than utilizing smaller, true fans who can provide honest engagement and multiple ‘touches’ to their followers. The social media content you create should drive specific efforts to support influencer marketing campaigns, which in turn can promote a product focus that is mirrored through in-store or online promotions. Have a purpose that leads consumers on a path to all 7+ points of exposure and ultimately, action!
With LMS client, CORE Hydration, we added in a layer of celebrity marketing through a partnership with Ellie Goulding. Coupled with our micro-influencer marketing and event efforts, Ellie’s #TruetotheCore campaign has led the CORE brand to increased sales and helped them snag the #2 premium bottled water spot in the country! (Not too shabby for a young start up in an overcrowded market, eh?) We are strong believers in the value of both influencer and celebrity programs combining to bring maximum exposure. The influencers have an unparalleled trust with their followers that is akin to a friend recommending a brand, while a celebrity brings an air of excitement and credibility to sweeten the pot.
Maximizing exposure
Today, success comes from combining the advantages of social media marketing with traditional promotional strategies to maximize exposure. Billboards and TV commercials aren’t going anywhere, but to keep up with Kardashians, ahem…Jones’, you’ll have to employ a wide breadth of marketing across all mediums. It seems the list of marketing platforms to engage is ever-growing, and believe it or not, that is great news for your brand! ‘Touching’ consumers 7 times is more easily accomplished in our crazy, crowded marketing industry, but don’t forget the POWER piece of that Rule. Remember that the quality of the message you spread is just as important as how often they see it. If you truly lean into the Power of 7, it doesn’t matter your budget or size of your team, to find success. Whether it’s Demi Lovato holding your product, 200 micro-influencers with 5,000 followers each, or both, it’s all about how you combine efforts and consistently share quality content that matters.
We may be in an age where new tech and industry developments change the marketing landscape with every click, but here at LMS, we’ve seen the value in the Rule of 7 since day one, and we aren’t afraid to keep kickin’ it old school.
Interested in how LMS can help your brand? Check us out at www.wearelms.com and contact us at imgame@wearelms.com. Note – We’re a really cool bunch, so you definitely want to work with us.
