Neurologists Reveal The Secrets To Making Ads People Actually Remember

Do you make ads that you think people love and remember but really, let’s face it, you wouldn’t really have a clue but tell the client that anyway?

Well, guess no longer as consumer marketing firm Neuro-Insight has figured out some allegedly surefire tips that guarantees any ad will be remembered.

The study was commissioned by UK TV marketing body ThinkBox and involved Neuro-Insight’s neurologists (they study the brain) analysing people’s reactions to over 150 ads and identifying which ones came out on top for being remembered over time. Or, as Neuro-Insight’s calls it “long-term memory encoding (LTME)”.

According to the findings the more people remember an ad the more impact it has on decision making and ultimately purchase. Put simply, if your creative sticks in people’s brains then it’ll get them to open their wallets.

In short, the study found six ways to make a memorable ad. They included: make it gender and ethnicity neutral, don’t hard-sell, contrast the pace, have a lot of conversations going on, use music, and time the branding with the reveal of the narrative to make a truly great ad.

The major findings included:

• The most memorable ads don’t stereotype male/female roles or ethnicities. When this happens the “the viewing audience’s subconscious is enlightened”.

• Ads where the product is intertwined into the narrative scored a 17 per cent higher memory response than ads that just went for the hard sell.

• The use of plenty of pauses, breaks and changes of pace created a 20 per cent higher recall of the ad.

• And does using celebrities work in ads? Apparently not, according to the study. However, if it’s a celebrity who delivers an ad’s “call to action” then audiences are 13 per cent more likely to remember what was said.

• Always use music in an ad according to the boffins at Neuro-Insight. Ads that are driven by a soundtrack are best at creating long term memories — especially when lyrics match the action. Ads that used music like this were reportedly 14 per cent more efficient than those that use just passive, background music.

• That said, the study found that any ad that used music was more likely to be remembered. Think back to your favourite ads of your youth? No doubt you remember the product because you remember the soundtrack.

• Lastly, time the closure of the ad with mentioning the brand. If the branding in the ad comes too late then audiences will be less receptive the study found. Ads that revealed brand and product too late had 30 per cent less chance of begin remembered. The “reveal” of the ad should be timed to happen only a few seconds before the branding appears at the end. Or for even more effect, make the brand a key part of this “reveal.”

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