Any company is formed first with the goal of getting the best ROI, so by streamlining all advertising, the money is invested wisely.
Once the target market has been established, at times ‘helpful information' can become an obstacle for creatives on their path to executing the finest work possible for your client. This is not so much an issue with clients that cater for the higher LSMs, but when you have to ‘speak to the masses', issues arise between client and creatives as to what the market can and cannot understand.
I speak of brands that cater directly to the lower LSMs, whether their goal is to sell a specific product to that LSM or a retailer that targets that market.
First and foremost it seems that clients often don't have a clear indication of literacy levels within their respective markets. We live in the age of information where media such as the Internet, television, films, newspapers and magazines allow consumers who may have not completed a high grade in school to expand their personal vocabulary while even picking up a new English idiom or two.
Another matter to consider is that religion is the opium of the masses. These books have not been written ‘aimed' at a specific market, so your faithful lower LSMs are flocking, Sunday after Sunday, and discussing their respective religious books at length, while continuously improving their literacy.
To allow a client to ascertain their target market's level of education is an exercise that merely reveals their personal opinions more than anything else.
On the one hand, with communication in-store, simplified language is ideal, as you have to get your message across quickly and concisely while simultaneously grabbing attention. On the other hand, when you are conceptualising advertising for magazines, you have to bear in mind that the individual bought that specific medium with the intent of digesting words. When I select magazines to read, I am doing so with the knowledge that I not only want to be entertained or informed, but I would also like to be mentally stimulated, even if it means coming across a word or two that I might have to look up.
Lastly, in this current economic crisis, many consumers are looking for alternative ‘cost-effective' options in terms of their personal spend. If you allow clients to bully you into using condescending or infantile language in your advertising to lower LSMs, you might discourage potential consumers who are looking to trade down. Many brands appear aspirational on TV, radio and other advertising media, yet sometimes fail to communicate to their market in the same manner, in terms of choice of language, in magazine advertorials.
Take a chance on your market - they are more brand savvy than you may think! Give them the benefit of the doubt and, most of all, allow copywriters the opportunity to write the best ads they can, while keeping a target audience that has moved with the times in mind.
