What Is Advertising Awareness?

The term advertising awareness refers to how well a target market remembers a company's product or service from its messaging. It's a quality to test the effectiveness of advertising since people may find certain ads entertaining, yet can't remember the name of the product. From a marketing standpoint, this type of advertising fails since no awareness of the brand from competing brands has occurred.

Market research shows that most consumers need to watch, hear or read the ad messages about a product that is unfamiliar to them several times before they feel ready to purchase it. This eventual purchasing decision isn't usually a calculated or planned one, but one made after a consumer feels like he "knows" a product enough to consider it an option. A consumer may not pay much attention to the advertising message for the first few times he views ads for a new product. Typically, something about the product needs to be communicated in a way that reaches out to get his attention. If this occurs, a consumer may pay more attention to messaging and start the process of advertising awareness.

It typically will take at least a few more times of seeing either the same ads or additional ads before members of the targeted audience think that the product is right for them and make a point to write its name on their shopping list. Coupons and special offers may speed up the advertising awareness process, but strong branding is still usually necessary to get consumers to try a product. One reason it may take a lot of exposure to try a new brand is that many people are loyal to old favorites.

For example, a person may have bought the same brand of soup for many years and be extremely satisfied with the product. Seeing commercials and ads for the favored product tend to create more advertising awareness and a confirmation of how great the brand is. When he comes in contact with advertising for a new soup, even if the ingredients, packaging, price or other components of it seem appealing, there may likely be a hesitation to try the product because of his satisfaction with the usual brand. If there's something in the messaging, such as the description of a new, interesting flavor that the old brand doesn't have, the consumer may eventually become intrigued enough to want to try the product.