[Mick]

The madness behind all this is that the companies paying for these commercials actually believe they are selling product. OK, I can see getting your name out there, but after one commercial, what is the marginal benefit of the second one? I can't believe there is any. My suspicion it is one consultant assuring another consultant this is all a good marketing plan and nobody willing to say the emperor has no cloths. Hopefully some day somebody will and the madness will end.

After 35 years in marketing, I'll say yes, it pays off, and pays off big. Sure, it would be better if all of your friends said to you "buy x type of insurance so when you crash y type of truck after drinking z kind of alcoholic beverage," but that rarely happens.

It's why when a competitor had their big annual three-day event with 800 clients coming in from all around the country, I bought out all the advertising at the local airport for a month (among other things).

It's also helpful for combating negative news, like when Ford is trying to sell electric vehicles and yet another massive price rise becomes the focus of the news:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companie...dfef4311f9

Or when Ford's Timberline package is inferior:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/5-o...dfef4311f9

Customers go through a buying curve and it starts with name recognition.  Starts there. Other things have to happen, sure, but it's useful.

BTW, for an excellent, fun little book on marketing of services, you can read Harry Beckwith's "Selling the Invisible."  Old-timers like me remember Harry's time on Stanford's football team.  He's on this board, too.

[Mick]

The madness behind all this is that the companies paying for these commercials actually believe they are selling product. OK, I can see getting your name out there, but after one commercial, what is the marginal benefit of the second one? I can't believe there is any. My suspicion it is one consultant assuring another consultant this is all a good marketing plan and nobody willing to say the emperor has no cloths. Hopefully some day somebody will and the madness will end.

After 35 years in marketing, I'll say yes, it pays off, and pays off big. Sure, it would be better if all of your friends said to you "buy x type of insurance so when you crash y type of truck after drinking z kind of alcoholic beverage," but that rarely happens.

It's why when a competitor had their big annual three-day event with 800 clients coming in from all around the country, I bought out all the advertising at the local airport for a month (among other things).

It's also helpful for combating negative news, like when Ford is trying to sell electric vehicles and yet another massive price rise becomes the focus of the news:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companie...dfef4311f9

Or when Ford's Timberline package is inferior:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/5-o...dfef4311f9

Customers go through a buying curve and it starts with name recognition.  Starts there. Other things have to happen, sure, but it's useful.

BTW, for an excellent, fun little book on marketing of services, you can read Harry Beckwith's "Selling the Invisible."  Old-timers like me remember Harry's time on Stanford's football team.  He's on this board, too.