Wisdom from 1885

Sorting thru emails last night, I found this from the THINKing Blog:

What’s The Frequency?

The more things change, some say, the more things stay the same. When it comes to marketing, I tend to agree. Consider the following list of how advertising frequency equates to advertising effectiveness. Thomas Smith, a 19th Century London businessman, wrote this in 1885:

* The first time a man looks at an advertisement, he does not see it.

* The second time, he does not notice it.

* The third time, he is conscious of its existence.

* The fourth time, he faintly remembers having seen it before.

* The fifth time, he reads it.

* The sixth time, he turns up his nose at it.

* The seventh time, he reads it through and says, “Oh brother!”

* The eighth time, he says, “Here’s that confounded thing again!”

* The ninth time, he wonders if it amounts to anything.

* The tenth time, he asks his neighbor if he has tried it.

* The eleventh time, he wonders how the advertiser makes it pay.

* The twelfth time, he thinks it must be a good thing.

* The thirteenth time, he thinks perhaps it might be worth something.

* The fourteenth time, he remembers wanting such a thing a long time.

* The fifteenth time, he is tantalized because he cannot afford to buy it.

* The sixteenth time, he thinks he will buy it some day.

* The seventeenth time, he makes a memorandum to buy it.

* The eighteenth time, he swears at his poverty.

* The nineteenth time, he counts his money carefully.

* The twentieth time he sees the ad, he buys what it is offering.

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