As a writer, I admit that I run most of my texts through the Grammarly app. I have more complaints than compliments for the product. One particular facet that plagues me is that it refuses to learn new usages for existing words. Working in “The Industry” as we call it, I use the terms “film” and “video” more as proper nouns. Yet, every time, Grammarly wants to add an article to it. For example, “Film is a defining aspect of our 20th Century culture.” Now imagine, “The film is a defining aspect of our 20th Century culture.” You see the difference.
Not A Product Review
However, this is not an analysis of what is currently wrong with Grammarly as a product. I want to address their video campaigns and how each ad focusses on a target Audience. Let’s look at three videos from the past year that were probably ordered as a bunch package. The goal was to market the product to a different market viewership in the hopes of wrangling certain demographics for each. The first two will hit upon a specific type of person or personality in laser focus, while the final video will cast a wider net to attract a more general audience. Another fact to observe is how the target ads use various methods of narrative from storytelling to testimonials.
Her First Day
We view a girl in her 20’s starting a new job. Some brief rock music plays with the lyrics that set the tone for a “go-getter” in action. We see a brief setting clip for the city of San Francisco thus relating an interest to professionals in the tech industry (or maybe the Ghirardelli Chocolate factory, fingers crossed). In the second scene, we find out the name of our character and her new position as a “social media manager” and her name, Lily. We see follow her on her first day as she confuses affecting with effecting. Listen, if you don’t know the difference between “there, their, and they’re” then you shouldn’t have a writing job. And you need to watch the movie Henry Fool pronto. In the end, Lily aces her day with some help from Grammarly.
This ad does not appeal to me. Mostly because I am not the target audience. I share a similar job but the personality is different. It is a specific niche in their “Write the Future” series. There is a market that this ad works for. It is the young professional-ish type that wants to make it in the big city. It’s definitely for the cool crowd which I humbly admit I am no part of. I also must mention this is the featured Grammarly ad on there, I mean their YouTube channel.
The Average Joe
Joe is writing a business email for a new job, VP of Analytics, and looks nervous. He’s making a couple rookie mistakes but then real clincher comes. Joe (not his real name) asks his wife “Does this sound like me?” This hits upon a real concern that many potential users may have. They want to have proper grammar and syntax but still remain in their own personal voice.
This ad speaks to a professional non-writing focused audience. They aren’t stupid, they just haven’t refreshed their writing skills since college. We all make errors and Grammarly is there to help. Not a fact, just the message the ad is trying to relay.
The Testimonials Because I Don’t Believe You
You know you can’t believe everything an ad tells you, right. Okay, what’s important is that your message ppermeatesthrough. The message is not so much the words you speak but they way you say it. Posting a slogan on your website that you are “The Best… whatever” does not hold as much weight as actual reviews that say the same thing. This is why advertisers recommend the testimonial format for certain markets. In this video spot, we see several brief interview testimonial clips from a variety of different peoples. They fulfil a slew of demographics from ethnicity, gender, income, and age. We see the student approach as well as the teacher and writer approach. They explain how even language masters can benefit from their services and that must mean that anyone can. The viewer subconsciously read between the lines here. This is how advertising allows the audience to make logical connections that weren’t directly placed.
When your company begins a video campaign, it is crucial to understand your audience. If you want to attract a larger base then you need ads that harness the interests of each of them. A pinpoint video spot for certain markets as well as an overall spot will direct your audience to see your company for the many purposes it may serve them and the people they know.
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