Is Exposure for the Sake of Exposure Okay?

I’ve just come home from a great 3-day Mindset Retreat from Client Attractions to refine, define and reset your mindset to be more productive, positive and receptive to success.

After being immersed and focused for 3 days and nights, I thrust myself back into reality at 6:00 am as I entered the Fort Lauderdale airport.

Noise, hustle and bustle, rushing and brands all around. Look at this – buy this – everywhere you look. Not the peaceful self-focused days of earlier in the week.

But this is normal stuff. Once on the plane I thought, “Okay – relax and refocus. Then I opened the menu on my Jet Blue flight.

EVERYTHING was branded down to the Claritin brand headrest pillow and Arm & Hammer blanket. WOW! This was crazy! Will a Claratin pillow really help me with my allergies? I don’t think so.

With the proliferation of DVR’s, Netflix and Amazon video, and online news and magazines, advertisers are really trying to get our attention and get their brands back in our faces – everywhere… even without full thought.

Captive audiences, whether in a movie theatre or on a plane, are great places to expose people to brands, but advertisers need to make sure the brand makes sense in the environment where it’s being pitched. Exposure for the sake of exposure – is NOT okay.

This is something I focus on with my clients as we look at appropriate brand extensions, brand growth and breadth. Does it make sense? Does the brand resonate? Does it make the brand message stronger or dilute it? As I stare at the Claritin pillow and Arm & Hammer blanket, I ask myself if this exposure strengthens their brands, and I say, “No.”