Complex ads heavy with metaphors are likely lost on rural buyers, Kantar’s study showed. According to the study, ad makers need to go easy on these metaphors and instead use clear and simple messages so that the product takes centrestage and not the ad.
The study drew insights from over 1,400 creatives across categories, markets, and media formats in 2022. The aim of the study is to help FMCG and consumer-centric companies make sure that their ad spends are impactful and give them more bang from the buck.
Indian businesses need to adopt different approaches for urban and rural markets and position their products accordingly, Kantar’s Creative Effective Study said.
This would be in contrast to international markets where complex techniques like hyperbole, mood, and imagery are deployed, a ToI report said citing the study.
“Our data tells us that for rural advertising, cultural context and familiarity is very important for the audience. Also, companies should make the product visible up front, so that the consumer is able to remember, and it doesn’t get lost,” ToI’s report said quoting Soumya Mohanty, MD & chief client officer, south Asia, insights division, Kantar.Companies should not cut marketing budgets in a sluggish economic environment such as now, Mohanty suggested. Instead, their ads need to “convince and compel” consumers to buy, he said.“During a slowdown and when inflation bites, companies should actually put out ads that compel consumers to step out and buy. This is a wrong time (to curtail spending),” Mohanty told TOI.
It may be noted here that there has lately been a pressure on marketing budgets with a number of companies reducing spends.
The study underlined the increasing relevance of short-format ads on TV, an outcome of viewers’ ever-shorter attention spans. This, together with budget cuts, is making more and more companies take to 15-second ads. Getting the same impact from shortened ads as the regular 30-second ones is becoming quite a task, the study notes.
“The increasing exposure and time that consumers have with ads on digital platforms and short-form video content on social platforms are setting high benchmarks for TV ads. The codes of crafting an impactful 15 seconds or shorter ad are very different from that of the familiar 30 seconds, though the objective is the same — get the attention of consumers and leave behind impressions about the brand that would make it more desirable,” the ToI report quoted Prasanna Kumar, executive VP, south Asia, insights division, Kantar, as saying.
“In terms of scripting and visualisation it calls for a lot more sharpness and singularity without sacrificing consumer engagement,” he told ToI.
