Longevity can bring success to marketing campaigns

by Joe Swatek

Two farmers are standing in a cranberry bog…

Sounds like the start of a joke, but it’s an example of how a consistent message wins over consumers and boosts brand recognition.

I see marketers abandon new advertising without knowing whether or not it’s effective. If it is, why would you throw away a successful campaign for something unknown?

Well, actually, I know the reason. You or your company’s executives are tired of seeing it. What you don’t realize — you’ve seen the campaign materials far longer than any of your prospects.

Two marketing campaigns prompted this post’s idea. First, last week a client asked for a slight revision to a sports program ad they’ve used since 2009. The ad has a narrow focus. It’s seen by sports fans who buy the game program, but the financial institution gets repeated ad exposure throughout the basketball season. Year after year. (It runs a similar ad in the university’s football program.)

The next day, I read an interview with the new global CMO at Ocean Spray, the cranberry products company.

Ocean Spray uses a well-known series of TV commercials that feature two actors portraying cranberry farmers who stand in a bog and make a folksy sales pitch for the company’s various products. The characters have become so recognizable that they make public appearances at company promotions.

The series of commercials has run for eight years.

The interview with Thano Chaltas, the Ocean Spray Global CMO, appeared in the latestAdvertisingAge. One of his comments applies here.

Asked if he’d continue to use the cranberry farmer ads, Chaltas said he would, citing the rationale, “We tire of campaigns far before consumers do. Look at Maxwell House. It’s been ‘good to the last drop’ for years and consumers get it immediately. When consumers see the farmers in the bog, they get that connection immediately.”

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