Even though traditional advertising is becoming less effective, it can still teach us about timing. The best marketing messages remind the right people about something they already want to do at the right time. So the millinery advert in the fashion magazine reminds women that it’s spring racing season in November. In December we’ll see more ads for cheap flights to get us to family holiday gatherings. By January the billboard outside the gym will be advertising slimming supplements and diet drinks.

People buy products that help them to do the things they want to do and become the kind of people they want to be. Marketers often work against this truth. They try to convince people to do something they don’t want to do or be someone they’re not ready to be.

What’s uppermost in your customer’s mind today?

Image by This is Edinburgh