Goafest 2012: Prof Jones: To increase weight, brands should first add weeks

Prof John Philip Jones, author and brand guru, presented on 'Adding Drive to Magical Ideas.

On the second day of Goafest 2012, Prof John Philip Jones conducted a session titled 'Adding Drive to Magical Ideas'. The author and brand guru claimed that advertising effectiveness is no more than 41 per cent. "About 41 per cent produces sales, 28 per cent pays its way and 14 per cent produces sales but does not pay its way," he stated.

Citing the line 'Good Cook Makes Biryani', Prof Jones described the importance of Gatekeeping, continuity, medium term effect and brand building in advertising and media buying.

According to Prof Jones, one of the few problems that marketers face is caused by restricted coverage of buyers - due to concentration on heavy buyers, marketers cover light buyers inadequately.

Speaking about the internet, Prof Jones emphasised that internet as a medium is ubiquitous, albeit with a slight tilt towards the young and affluent. He explained how this medium is a complementary fit with direct mail. "Both direct mail and internet are high involvement media," he noted.

Internet advertising, which primarily consists of banners, sponsor ads, keyword advertising and classifieds, will soon witness a strong growth, he predicted. "Maybe, internet will be the third medium by 2015," he stated.

Speaking about increasing exposure for brands, Prof Jones said that brands need to spread out their communication over longer periods. "Brands that plan to increase weight should first consider adding weeks instead of adding weight," he said.

He mentioned that there are six measurable things that will help a marketer detect the long term effects of advertising. These are penetration, purchase frequency, advertising elasticity, advertising intensiveness, consumer price and price elasticity, where advertising elasticity is the percentage by which sales for a brand will increase immediately as a result of a percentage advertising uplift.

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