Advertising: Does It Work?

It's been more than a year since I left the kitchen. Three years and a culinary degree, only to realise that I wanted to work with storytelling. I've always been interested in stories. Something about them jsut felt right. Alternatively, something about ads always felt sinister. I grew up smoking weed and immersed in counter culture. Ads were the enemy, along with money in general. The liberal new age hippie wokeism ran rampant through my being like blood in veins. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but Anonymous, Spirit Science, and conspiracy theories just became the day to day for me. 

So it irked me to find out in college that my personality is proably well suited for marketing and human resource in the corporate world. I figured it out myself, using personality tests and shit, and decided that I actually want to become an animation director, or a writer like Niel Gaiman. Unfortunately, my parents had gone broke putting me through college and so, I had to explore other options. I worked in kitchens a few years and then left that behind as well. The next step was to figure out how I can get paid to develop the skills I needed for storytelling. I could save up and sponcer my own education in the visual arts, I figured.

Content Writing, copy writing, and journalism seemed like my best options. So I simple began trying my hand at writing informational blogs. Did a free internship at a scam company, learned the basics of SEO. Worked a friend as a freelancer, writing three articles a month. Eventually I found a guy who wanted a full time content writer for his digital marketing website. I wrote a lot of SEO articles on various things related to the subject. I figured out the business I was really in. The guy was actually very young and inexperienced, so he couldn't make it work long-term, but now It's been more than a year since I started working in digital marketing. 

The past few months, I studied a book on copywriting, watched all of Mad Men, and tried to work with a few different companies as a freelancer. All that to say that all in all, I'm still a bit green. Although I've been following Gary Vee for many years now, and I've learned from a number of other people who specialise in various other components of marketing, I wouldn't say I'm an expert just yet. But I do feel like I've gotten some of the picture. There are some real issues with the world of marketing, and much of it has to do with the follies of capitalism in general. 

It's quite obvious by now that trying to make a business grow forever is more than a little problematic. Yet that seems to be the only way for a business to survive in the long term, isn't it? That's what they tell me anyway. Everyone wants to scale their idea and take it to the Shark Tank to go public. Everyone wants that big executive-level money where you're filthy rich. Seems like that is the only way to not have to worry about money. Seems like the only way to win. With that desparate greed, advertisement becomes an easy sell. It works especially well within a money hungry society. The best advertisement not only increases awareness of the product, it also boosts demand. 

Coke's ads make you thirsty, McD makes you hungry, and Dove makes you feel ugly without the perfect skin. That was all I needed to know as a kid to steer clear of the whole mess. Now I find myself having to carve out a piece of the action for myself, and I'm not quite sure how to feel about it. I thought that I could incorporate ideas from storytelling to my work, and that it'll all be dandy. But it feels more like I'm here to solve problems of communication. As a copywriter, that's my only job. Sure, there are a bunch of things around it, but at its core I have everything I need in front of me, I just need to take it all in, connect the dots, and then put it all on paper. I haven't gotten a lot of experience yet, to be honest, so perhaps I'd like to revisit the topic at another time.

Still, I often land myself in a situation where I have to convince stagnating business owners why they should invest in a better website, a full stack marketing plan, long term strategy etc. So why do they need it? Tell you the truth, I'm not entirely convinced they do. The thing is, I've been heavily into copywriting and content writing, and the pros would have me believe that doing 10+ drafts and painstakingly polishing your words are totally worth it. But I cannot understate the importance of visuals and the technical aspects, like a smooth running website, apps, or things like that. There seems to me that there is visibility on one hand, and connection on the other. Niether of which actually make a difference on the bottom line.

Let's take a moment to unpack. You can run a thousand ads for onions and never make a single sale because everyone gets theirs from the local veggie supplier. The marketer is also generally inept at understanding what really makes a product special for it's right audience. So advertising budgets and investments aren't actually equal to an increase in sales. What I have heard is that it can improve your top line. I see that I had misunderstood. Top Line does refer to sales. Then again, it doesn't make sense to me. So how exactly does advertisement increase the top line? We talk of conversion rates, and judge the performance of an ad based on such metrics, but are they really relevant? Seems to me like there is a severe lack of useful information. 

I think that the limitations of advertisment must be met by much better quality of research. Market research, consumer research, and product research. I find it exceedingly difficult to convince someone that "better" ads work, but I could very easily see myself selling a well-reseached idea that has some real data to back it up. First I thought where I could find all this data, then I realized that we live in the age of information. All it takes is for one to keep an eye out. I suppose only time will tell how effective I am at the job and how much it actually makes a difference. Everyone keeps saying that it does, but damn, I don't really know just yet. 

I suppose it can definitely increase one's chances at success and help gain more attention. Whether it's content creation, running ads, SERP listings, or anything else, visibility should definitely make a difference. At the end of the day, you won't know if you don't try. So I suppose marketing efforts are just that, it's pure hustle. I'd like to believe that I'm capable of getting it done, but I'm not so sure. I've spent all of my time sitting around, consuming content and ruminating. I love to go into rabbit holes, figure things out, and connect the dots. I like to find the best possible idea. Yet ultimately, the more quickly and effectively you pump out the content, the better your actual results. If nothing else, I'd like to remind myself that I take a long time to get in the flow of things, but I'm just as fast as the next guy once I'm there.

It took me 6 to 8 months to get really good in each kitchen I've worked at, but after that, I'm basically a self learner who's constantly improving. I'm sure there's a place for me in this word of advertising somewhere or the other. I need to make some serious bank before I can truly tackle my lifelong love for pure art. I figured the best way for me to earn was to start working on my story immediately, but it turns out that getting into the room demands a premium from me, since I happen to be nowhere near it. I always considered myself an ideas man, and perhaps I am a bit slow, but I look around me and see a lack of talent in my vicinity. I feel compelled to do something about it. My actual capabilities, only a pro could evaluate.

As for advertisement, it feels preemptive to make any claims. It seems like it probably serves an incredibly important purpose, but I find it difficult to preach for it nonetheless. At the end of the day, it's another one of those things you have to take care of, like accountancy, taxes, and optics. I wish I was more enthusiastic about it, but turns out I'm all over the place. I guess for me it's important to truly believe in the company I'm trying to sell. In my head, certain concepts from excellent HR fit right into the ideals of marketing. The aim isn't to reach the biggest number of people, it's about reaching the right people in the right way. There are people that will truly believe in what you do, and those are the people you ulimately want to work with. I suppose the best marketer is also a fan of the business. 

I wonder if I'm naive to think that people who believe in your company are the ones who will buy into it. Most companies don't stand for anything. They offer simple, practical solutions to real-world problems. Still, that is what I've learned and so I must try to apply before I can confirm or deny. I don't recall the last time I said so little in so many words. Just one of those days, I suppose. I guess I'm a little out of sorts. I have to think more and do better research. Actually start making more content. I'm convinced that learning to use that camera of ours is going to be a massive source of leverage. Ultimately, I failed to reach a satisfying conclusion or gain any real insight into the question posed in the title.

I guess the answer has to be yes, not because my livlihood depends on it, but because it seems to make sense. Advertising works if you hit that sweet spot of the right packaging presented to the right people at the right time. Otherwise, it clearly doesn't. What seems clear to me, is that those things are always changing and evolving. So I'm not sure if this is something anyone can just decide to do. Hopefully, I can figure it all out because my livlihood does actually depend on it lol.