Today for the first time since I can remember I saw a commerical for Charles Schwab. Surprisingly the commerical made a lasting impression on me. Not only was the message powerful, but the medium used in the commerical was not typical of the average commercial.Since 2005 Charles Schwab has used animation in commericals. Although I vaguely remember discussing this campaign a few years back, the campaign stood out to me as impactful and new after 4 years of using animation in their commercials.
Ben Stuart the VP of Brand Strategy and Advertising believes the cartoons force us to focus on what we're hearing. Seth Stevenson comments saying, "I think he's right. Somehow, washing out the real-world details present in a live actor's face, and in an actual background set, lets us move past what we're seeing and shifts our attention onto the dialogue."
My experience was very similar to Stevenson. I was first caught by the medium used, and then hooked to the message. The current messages in the animated campaign are messages of "starting over" and "moving on," following the financial crisis in the US. In a bizarre way, they had a somber yet hopeful message for those who have lost their retirement savings and net worth.
For marketers it is important to note that medium matters. New technologies have given way to new mediums available for advertising. Animation, for example, has allowed Charles Schwab to break through the clutter of commericials, as well as clutter in the financial services industry. In addition to the choice of medium, this campaign shows fellow marketers how important content is to the campaign. The campaign caught the attention of the consumer through the animation, but were able to keep their attention through the message. In order for a company to maximize the potential of the campaign the foundation or key messaging must be top notch. The medium has the potential to be "icing on the cake" or disastrous thanks to the messaging.
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