Many advertisers use campaign continuity or re-edition to, according to experts, generate spontaneous memories
Repeat a story a few times and it can become the absolute truth. This is the motto of marketers. It is the same with communication strategies. There is even a saying that goes “Repetition is the mother of retention”. There! This concept is the weapon that many brands use to always be present in the mind and heart of the consumer.
Examples abound: Itaú (with Fernanda Montenegro), Bradesco (with the fireflies), Disney (with a sequence of the video Lola, from 2020) and, now, Trident (with the mascational coach Maximus M. Maxwell). All make use of this expedient.
Turntable banks re-edit characters and concepts. Itaú, for example, returned with actress Fernanda Montenegro in its 2021 end-of-year campaign. This time, “playing” with the charming girl Alice, who rocks the internet with her peculiar language, full of grace. Experts say that repeating ideas and concepts strategically makes the message more powerful and persuasive.
For Flávio Waiteman, founding partner of Tech and Soul, it is necessary to repeat to establish the brand, when it is a newcomer to the market. According to him, hitting the same key helps people to incorporate the brand into their lives, especially nowadays, with the immense variety of media and social networks.
But, he warns, giving continuity is an important resource to consolidate the brand, however, it is also important to take risks and create new things.
Genaro Galli, professor of branding at ESPM’s Prime MBA, believes that the main reason for repeating or continuing a campaign is to generate awareness and spontaneous brand recall. “We, as consumers, in the purchase decision process, usually choose products and services from brands that we remember. This is one of the goals of communication, to make the brand known, to lead to spontaneous recall”.
He also recalls that the actions of a brand generate familiarity for the consumer and, he says, everything that is familiar is more comfortable. “This also works for brands.”
For Karina Corchs, executive director of strategy at R/GA, in a universe where consumers are bombarded with entertainment, entertainment and information content, brands need to be present in a more relevant way so that they really stand out. “Faced with this challenge, one of the keywords is consistency”, she highlights.
According to her, the way is to create a formula to communicate, varying the content, to become efficient to bring frequency to elements such as branding, main message, signature, visual and audible elements that generate an immediate identification. “Consistency is the way to stand out in the sea of information consumers are exposed to today,” she explains.
YOUNG
When a brand is still “young” in the market, it makes sense to insist on a concept, on a footprint, but when it is mature, the strategy must “systematize the storytelling”, that is, “a strong formula is created that varies the filling”, in Karen’s words. For her, in addition to bringing production agility, through frequency, brands are ensuring their own language, causing immediate recognition.
“This allows the exploration of various short content, both digitally and offline. It’s like a puzzle: a vignette/entry is fixed, then content is always presented in the same production style, colors, sound elements and always ends with a call to action and signature/branding. To produce it is agile. And to recognize and impact is easy”, argues the executive.
For the teacher, a “young” brand needs to be known and needs to hit the same key for some time. “It is one of the roles of communication: to generate knowledge”. The more traditional brands, according to him, have to remain active, such as Coca-Cola, which does not leave the media and, therefore, does not leave the consumer’s memory.
Galli also states that brands with a certain path explore more conceptual campaigns, because they are at another stage of their trajectory, such as Itaú and Bradesco, they are already more comfortable to establish a more emotional and affective bond, to touch the “consumer’s heart” .
In this regard, Karina recalls that Itaú has been bringing strong elements for a long time to systematize the stories they tell.
“Currently, he always explores the formula ‘openness + a more intimate conversation (which is part of people’s daily lives) + call to action with the final message’. All this packed in colors and branding elements. We have long recognized a communication from the bank from afar. It was no different with Fernandona’s films [a atriz Fernanda Montenegro] at the end of the year”, he analyzes, adding: “If we look closely, they follow the same intimate structure of all the films that the brand has been creating over time, generating identification and empathy. The ultimate feeling is ‘I could be in this conversation’ or ‘this is what I’m feeling’”.
According to her, Bradesco created a successful formula with its own language that always celebrates the end of the year. “Something that refers to playfulness and more, brings a feeling that everyone wants at the end of the year: a relief. Always with relevant themes, the brand also systematized how to position itself at the end of the year. The two explore empathy as the main means of connecting with people and have created interesting formulas for it”, she evaluates.
Eduardo Tracanella, marketing director at Itaú, said when the film was released in December 2021 that the last two years have been quite challenging, requiring resilience, empathy and adaptation. “With the film by the duo Fernanda and Alice, we wanted to bring people a light and fun moment, also inviting them to reflect on what they want for 2022”.
RUBBER
Another brand that uses continuity is Trident, from Mondelez Brasil, which, in September last year, launched the Max version of its product and, together with Leo Burnett Tailor Made, created the Max platform, the Motivational Coach.
Trident Max is a chewing gum that is twice the size and twice the flavor and durability. Therefore, the strategic character emerged, full of good humor, to #unlock (brand concept) more positive attitudes of its consumers.
Reinforcing the Chew and Unlock positioning, Chewing Coach Maximus M. Maxwell, who also serves as Max, was on the campaign to ensure people succeed in all approaches to their lives, showing how chewing gum, in the Max version, can relieve everyday tensions, unlocking confidence and more authentic attitudes.
This month, Trident invests in a continuity of the campaign. According to the agency, after the great acceptance by the public, Max, the Mascational Coach, returns in a new phase of communication of the Max version. Carnival, for example (just like a coach should do: first he unlocks and then maximizes).
