Sight vs. Sound: Comparing Auditory and Visual Advertising

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Every advertising technique has its own unique set of advantages and disadvantages. The great thing about custom clothing is that the highly visible graphic can be seen by a lot of different people. Unfortunately, you miss out on the auditory component that you get with radio and TV ads. So, how do auditory and visual advertisement methods compare? Let's take a look!  

Advantages of Visual Advertisements

Print advertisements in all of its forms (billboards, magazine ads, custom t-shirts, etc) are by far the most widely used advertising medium, and for good reason. Print advertisements offer pictures of products, text-based content, and tantalizing imagery that can catch the eyes of consumers.  

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One of the biggest advantages of visual advertisements is that they can have an ongoing impression on consumers. Unlike auditory messages, which are there one moment and gone the next, visual advertisements can be viewed over and over again. Consumers can come back and re-read an advertisement or see it every day on the morning commute. This allows for long-lasting impressions that will encourage consumers to remember the message.   This is particularly useful with custom clothing because companies can use custom clothing options to reinforce a logo or brand image.  

Disadvantages of Visual Advertisements

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Print advertisements are easily ignored, as they rely on consumers to actively engage with a message in order to understand its content. A billboard that isn't read is a useless billboard. That's why visual advertisements often compete with each other in a visual arms race to see who can create the most eye-catching advertisement. If you want your customized clothing to make an impression, then you have to make sure that the clothing stands out against the crowd.  

Advantages of Auditory Advertisements

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Advertisers often say that auditory messages develop in the theater of the mind because it's up to the consumer to interpret an auditory message. This is particularly effective for establishing a certain mood or tone for your brand. The other great thing about auditory advertisements is that they're hard to ignore. If an advertisement is the dominant sound in an area, they everybody will necessarily have to hear the message.  

Disadvantages of Auditory Advertisements

Auditory advertisements can be drowned out by other noises, especially over a large area. In busy areas like Las Vegas or Times Square, visual advertisements dominate because the noise of the city cripples the advertisements. Auditory advertisements generally work best if you have an audience that is specifically paying attention to your message, like a bored commuter driving to work or a person watching television.   Image source: Varley.net

Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of marketing through custom clothing will allow you to create a more effective marketing campaign. In general, custom clothing is the perfect marketing option if you want to share your brand with consumers when their attention might be engaged elsewhere. The passive, always-present features of custom clothing allow you to constantly reinforce a brand message regardless of how busy or noisy an area is.  

Stick with your strengths! Custom clothing is great in crowded area like stores or festivals where distracted audiences won't have the opportunity or interest to listen to an auditory sales pitch. A customized article of clothing may have to compete with all of the other visual stimuli in the area, but visual marketing is the only effective way to share your message in busy settings.