Advertising made me do it!

Media coverage creates lasting impressions of brands and products, which influence the choices consumers make. Human recall is flawed, so consumers cannot accurately report whether they saw an advert for something or read something interesting about it in media coverage.  All they know is they saw, or read, something persuasive.  While this will most likely be a combination of both advertising and media coverage, advertising has always taken the credit.  This is hardly surprising when we consider the much higher spend on advertising than PR – when you are invested in something, you want to demonstrate results.  The reality, however, is that media coverage will have played a much greater role than has previously been recognised.

What makes media coverage different is that people trust independent comment in media coverage more than they trust advertisers to provide objective reasons why they should or should not select a brand, product or experience. It is the authenticity of media coverage that engages the audience, as well as the level of detail it imparts.  While consumers might have seen an advertisement, data analysis reveals it is media coverage that acts as the tipping point, giving them enough reasons to want to perform a Google search, visit a website, or even watch a television show.

Whether they want to find out more about the specifications and price of car models, choose a holiday destination or consider investing in a new hi-tech household appliance; this is the point where their curiosity has been piqued in a more-than-superficial way. Interestingly, the Google search often throws up additional media coverage, that will inform their final decision about whether to proceed.

If they report that it was advertising that prompted their purchase or similar consumer behaviour, sometimes this must be taken with a pinch of salt. Human memory is not a recording, it reconstructs things, relies on associations and is often unreliable even after a short period of time. That’s why we help clients use reliable data to quantify the impact of media coverage on business outcomes. Often, the extent of its contribution surprises people, even those who instinctively believe media coverage helps move the needle.

PR has typically been the poor relation, unable to prove its contribution to organisational outcomes. Advertising, on the other hand, has mountains of data. Isn’t it time to redress that inequality and give credit where credit is due?

If you want to know more about the attributable impact that media coverage has on influencing consumer behaviour, then please get in touch via the form below or by emailing hello@metricomm.com.