14/10/2025
Message received...?
We had the enjoyment of listening to an event arranged by Marknadsföringen, MIS Stockholm at TV4, where Kantar, Åkestam Holst and Spendrups also contributed to the event. The topic was how to create commercials that stand out and add to the short-term sales & ROI but also to the long-term brand equity. 554 Nordic commercials were tested on a lot of variables and 192 of the commercials were Swedish.
....not so clear!
The ads in Sweden do not perform as good as the other Nordic countries - not by a long shot - and score minus 17% on the short-term effectiveness and minus 13% on the long term-effectiveness. They are too complicated, forget to deliver on the basics – specifically missing that the message should be perceived as intended, this as creators do complicate it a bit sometimes. Sometimes the brand is not clearly displayed in the commercial - or not even possible to decipher, not even in the long run (!).
The people who will view - the real "target" - is not stupid however maybe the ad makers forget that the target is not (that) interested in commercials, they do not try to figure out what the idea behind the story is, they use second screens, walk away, chat with their family/friends, take out the dog, e t c, e t c, when a commercial pops up. After all - they are people. They are human.
KISS – Keep It Simple, Sonny
So, with this said, there is a risk of the classic, well known "marketing myopia" - people in the marketing business are not representative of the primary people targeted. Those that you want to reach are maybe not as interested in trying to figure out the story, wanting to tweak it, dig deeper into the subject and or even thinking that the things advertised are neither that cool nor that clear.
So please, step up, do your homework, pre-test your commercials so the intended message is perceived by the target in the same way as you want to.
Swedish Moderators help many brands to a decision-making basis for your further, own design of your successful campaigns. Just reach out if you need help!
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