Just read Seth Stevenson’s Slate review of the book What Sticks: Why Most Advertising Fails and How to Guarantee Yours Succeeds. Sounds like an welcome take on what works in advertising, focusing on numbers instead of the usual anecodotes.
Two quick takeaways that are immediately relevant to online politics: first, an ad message seen three times in three different media is much more effective than one seen three times in a single medium. So, an ad seen in print, online and tv is generally going to work better than one just seen on tv or online. Once again, integration is key!. Also, the book apparently claims that the numbers show that online advertising is much more effective than generally realized. I think I’m going to have to go pick up a copy.
– cpd