Call to Action buttons and phrases like Buy, Shop, Order, Reserve, save, add to the cart, pick, view, click, try, subscribe, sign up … shout for attention in digital communication. And why not? ‘Call To Action,’ also called CTA in advertising, is the next step or action the marketer wants the consumer to take. It was an integral part of traditional advertising, pushing and nudging customers down the sales funnel by taking the desired action. And the client, in the absence of any other measurement, used calls, walk-ins, and requests as a measurement of the effectiveness of the communication.
Surf ki khareedari mai his samajdhari hai, Joh Biwi se Saachmuh Kare pyaar Woh Prestige Se Kaise Kare inkaar, I love you Rasna, ECE bulb Lana, are some good examples of disguised call for action. The Call To Action can also be a visual device. Like the person drinking Sprite or Katrina licking the aamrass drop, or Pepsi ho abhi. The best example however has been the COINBASE QR code ad during Super Bowl 2022.
Missing Call To Action.
While we see ‘Call To Action’ extensively used in guiding customer reaction and action in digital space, it seems to be losing its appeal in traditional media. Coming from an old school of advertising, the lack of a ‘Call To Action’ does not sit well with me, and not that it needs to be upfront, bold and on the face.
‘Padharo mare desh’, ‘Kuch Din Toh Gujaro Gujrat mai’ – are all-powerful ‘Call To Action’. But even in recent state tourism print ads and posters, the Call To Action is missing- why?
CRED- has spent a large part of its marketing spends with IPL without a ‘Call To Action’. The main communication does not ask you to download, register or subscribe to the app. While the powerplay communication places the possibility of winning the entire credit card payment has some CTA.
Call To action – a dying art.
Earlier writers took pride in writing the perfect ‘Call To Action’. And, yes, it can drastically impact the success of a campaign as it does impact conversion rates. The effectiveness of a CTA drastically improves if there is an apparent reason or emotion attached to it. For example, ‘call today to schedule your free consultation!’ or ‘Sign here never to miss the weekly update’ or ‘order today for 1-day shipping or even a simple- ‘Avail 55% discount on Fresh Stocks- Now’. In digital, they are mostly undifferentiated buttons.
Leaving Too Much For The Consumer.
Have we started believing that advertising may not work that much to nudge? Or do we think that the customer intuitively knows what to do? I am not sure. So, I smile and appreciate the Wimzo ad where Dhoni silently gestures, and you lip-read it to mean, ‘Download Now’. I even think the Dream11 advertisement with, ‘Mai yeh kar leta hu, aap tab tak dream 11 par team banao‘ does a good enough job. And so does ‘Slice the Slow’.
Maybe the overload of information and reviews has democratised product expectations. The advertisers are only interested in making consumers better aware of the proposition through traditional media and nudging them through other channels. As if they would want the potential customer to take an unbiased decision without being pushed and influenced. But, then advertising is about influencing, guiding and nudging the consumer toward the brand goals. And, it better have well crafted ‘Call To Action’ to nudge the consumers.
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