6 reasons why people are smart

One of the most difficult tasks you will have in your advertising campaign is getting a handle on how you speak to your audience. Here’s the weird little twist. You usually want to speak to one person. But, this is mass media. So, you’re actually speaking to tens of thousands of people.

It’s a tight wire walk. It’s the root of many fundamental problems. It’s deep stuff, but it shows us just why people are smart.

#1 – We can all sniff out a phoney – I don’t think most people realize why they can point out a fake. But, it’s incredibly easy to do.

• When a commercial sounds too good to be true, people know that it is.
• When a commercial is anything other than genuine, it’s discredited immediately.
• When we hear clichés, we eliminate them as white noise. Which leads me to #2.

#2 – We can eliminate the ordinary - People have a profound ability to eliminate excess noise. We learn from being exposed to constant stimuli. We don’t even need to consciously do this. It just happens. It’s second nature to us. That means you’re in a hole before you even broadcast a word, print a letter, or post a tweet. If you don’t make yourself extraordinary, people won’t even realize you’re there.

#3 - We embrace the extraordinary – This is a converse point to #1 & #2. We are smart enough to spot a phoney and eliminate unwanted distractions. But, we ultimately buy with our hearts. When people are truly presented with a brand new way of thinking (whether that be about a product, ideology, or service) we let the idea in. Often the most outlandish new thoughts are consumed with rabid fervor. People love big ideas, and they know how to recognize them when they’re offered.

#4 – We’re inquisitive – Some of the most effective commercials out there don’t mention the businesses name. Teaser campaigns pray on one simple human necessity; the thirst for knowledge. We need to know what’s going on. A commercial that only tells half of an interesting story provokes a huge response.

#5 – We retain brands – If you run great commercials, every day, on a consistent basis, people will remember who you are. They may actually remember who you are without actually knowing who you are. We hang on to a lot of information in our subconscious. We absolutely make buying decisions without realizing we were influenced by advertising. We’re smarter than we think.

#6 - We remember - When you teach people how you sell, they'll keep track. That means if you offer a huge sale once a year, you'll train your clients to only purchase from you when you're on sale. It's a vicious cycle.

I thought I’d start with the positive. Next week, let’s discuss five reasons why people are stupid. Because oh man, people are soooooooo stupid.