Research bears out that in Broadcast we have a bit more time but the premise remains the same, you have to catch the attention of your audience to draw them into your message and the article "You Have 1.5 Seconds To Live" worked on me with just the title...
"One-point-five seconds. If you believe neuroscientists, that's all the time we have to get someone's attention with our marketing messages. In little more than the blink of an eye, each of our targeted customers plays judge and jury to our marketing handiwork and decides whether to pay attention to us or banish us to the ash heap of misspent marketing dollars.
Fickle? I can see how you might think so. But really, it comes down to the idea. The creative. (And yes, "creative" is the word, not the more ubiquitous "content.") What are you putting out there for prospects to respond to? Is it something that entertains them, or solves a problem for them or somehow adds value? Or is it essentially an attempt at showing you're "down" with the 2.0 platform?
These days, as we salivate over the multitude of new technologies, new metrics, new platforms and new ways to reach out and touch customers, it's much sexier to focus on the "how" rather than the "what." But without the "what," our audience has no reason to react to us."
I think we can all make the argument that you need to be in front of the right prospect at the right time, the offer has to be intriquing and compelling, but you still have to make the most of that first 1.5 seconds as the article goes on to say. I also think it is just as important to make sure our client understand that less than 1% of any given audience at any given time is in the buying cycle for a particular good or service. Depending on that good or service, Prophet Research states that cyles can last for as little as .8 of a month for women's clothes or as long as 21 months on New Homes. I personally have been in the buying cycle for a travel trailer for over 5 years and I probably will be there for a couple more until I actually make a purchase. Every day people enter and exit the buying cycle, sometimes those cycles get interupted or delayed, you never know what stage a consumer is when they see your message. Can you engage them in 1.5 seconds?