Back to the basics: Health Care Marketing Revisited

Why seven is an unlucky number.

Those of us involved in advertising see a lot of it.

We’re there from the very beginning when, say, an online ad isn’t even an idea. We watch it grow from a communication strategy into a creative concept, into copy and art direction, into layout and visuals.

By the time it is actually posted in places likely to be seen by our target audiences, we’re tired of looking at it. And every time it pops up on our screens—and part of our job is to go find it, so it pops up a lot—it seems like old hat.

This is true whether you’re part of a marketing department or an ad agency, or anyone else involved in the creation of marketing communications materials.

The upshot of all this is that it tempts us to change our advertising too often. About the time our prospects are just barely—or just about—noticing our ad, we pull it for want of something “fresh.”

For decades, conventional wisdom had it that a prospect must be exposed to an ad seven times before it has any discernible effect. In our ever-more crowded and congested world today, that number is likely higher. Much higher.

Let it ride. Seven is just the beginning. It’s a start. And if you don’t allow an ad a chance to multiply, seven won’t be enough to change your luck.

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Next time: The more things change.