The Eleventh Day of Christmas
Because things have been a little crazy-busy around these parts ... and in the spirit of the Christmas season ... here's a repeat of a post worth repeating from last year.
Still not convinced that repetition matters in communication?
Okay fine. Here's proof that it does.
You know that song, The Twelve Days of Christmas? My neighbor-friend called me Friday night to help her family solve a mystery. They could not recall the last several verses of The Twelve Days of Christmas.
So c'mon smartypants ... what was the gift on the eleventh day of Christmas? Don't know do you?
What about the gift on the twelfth day of Christmas? It's a blank, isn't it.
Hey, at least you are in good company.
Think about the song for a minute. Take it apart.
The lyric about the partridge in a pear tree is repeated 12 times. It's drilled into our brains.
Two turtle doves (repeats 11 times)
Three French hens (repeats 10 times)
Four calling birds (repeats 9 times)
FIVE ......... GOLD ........ RINGS (is repeated in dramatic fashion 8 times)
I can even remember (without cheating)-- six geese a laying; seven swans a swimming. At least I think these are correct, with respect to the actual song lyrics.
Beyond that seventh verse, things get very hazy, very fast in my memory.
The reason? Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.
Every time I hear or sing (sure, go ahead and cringe now ... plug your ears) The Twelve Days of Christmas several of those verses become etched into my memory banks by way of repetition. The rest of them never make it into my memory because those verses are never repeated with enough frequency.
Does your important sales or marketing message make it into your target audience's memory bank? Do you use the power of repetition to your advantage?
I encourage you to utilize repetition to get your message (your point, your brand, your benefit) remembered. Do so, and you may just be on the receiving end of those gold rings. However, if you choose to ignore the importance of repetition, you may wind up like so many of those not-so-memorable pipers or drummers.
posted by Skip Lineberg at 8:45 PM
2 Comments:
I enjoy seeing my favorite ads frequently and sometimes I will "sing along". However, I hate hearing the same ad over and over if it is a horrible one, but whether I like it or not, I can't help but getting the jingle or song or part of the message stuck in my head.
Some of the ads that I always enjoy hearing include: Oscar Mayer bologna commercials (an oldie but a goodie), the new Nissan Z commercial (the song playing on the ad is outstanding and fun!), the list goes on and on.... I have always enjoyed Gap commercials...because they are so unique!
One that I can think of off the top of my head that I HATE (and I hate it even more when it gets stuck in my head) is the ad for a dealership in St. Albans that runs on WV radio. It is a poor attempt of making an ad into a rap. I enjoy hip hop music, but this ad isn't music...its just horrbile. But the point is still made....I know that when I hear the song start in the ad, I know that it is for XXXX Dealership. So, as awful as it is, they are getting their money's worth. It's a poor attempt of attracting a new demographic, but I guess it's not my place to say....
9:25 AM
An update for the Maple Team...
REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT - I know that is the name of the game....Get the message out there as much as possible. I think that a study that I read said that it takes at least 3 times for a message to register with a person. So, we are working on a variety of mediums to get our message out. Where we have so many programs/initiatives, sometimes our overall organization name gets lost...so a new "repeatitive message" that we are going for now is to include our main organization's name every time we mention the program/initiative to external contacts. (We don't do it internally because it would take forever to have a conversation, obviously.) We are working hard to get our name out there...our 'brand recognition' has vastly improved over the past 8 months. Our media coverage has also increased within the year. People are beginning to learn what we do...who we are.
A special thanks to the Maple Team for all of your help! You are all outstanding! :)
9:32 AM
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