Testimonial background
In advertising campaigns, the term "testimonials" is used for people who report on their experience with a product or service provider. They testify to the value, benefit or quality of a product. In advertising films, interview scenes are usually re-enacted. In this way, Fielmann stages customers wearing glasses or Knoppers interviews people in pedestrian zones for its "Half past ten in Germany" campaign. Famous examples with cult status are "Klementine", who makes every wash clean, or "Herr Kaiser", who stands for solid insurance. In print, a person is usually depicted and an enthusiastic comment about the product is placed next to it in quotation marks. The goal here is to give the product a story and appeal to the emotional level of the target group. Testimonial campaigns are less about specific details and more about creating a desired image. Whether hip-cool or serious-conservative, the testimonials have to be chosen according to the target group. In the meantime, celebrities are preferably booked as testimonials in the advertising landscape to vouch for a product. Fictional figures or characters, such as the HB man or Master Propper, can also vouch for products. These can then usually be found in the logo or serve as a merchandising product.
When celebrities are used as testimonials, the current image of the product depends heavily on that of the celebrity.
Every scandal rubs off on the product or company.
And if the same celebrity also advertises for other companies, this creates astonishment and feeds the suspicion that the person is advertising arbitrarily and not exclusively and convincingly for something.
Unknown models from casting agencies, on the other hand, have little relation to the product.
More and more people in the target groups know this. Younger people in particular quickly recognize what is artificially staged.
On the other hand: an advertisement with testimonials has to be very well done to still appear credible. With the media competence within society, the proportion of those who are no longer convinced by testimonial campaigns is also increasing.
Especially in print, testimonial ads are becoming less and less noticeable.
A person with a quote printed next to them is now a common image motif.
The image thus stands out less from the mass of ads. Here, a creative graphic with eye-catching visuals must generate attention, otherwise the ad will go down.
Mixed project groups open up an interesting new approach: Marketing and sales employees work together as partners on the marketing of certain products - from the development of the strategy and suitable measures to acquire new customers to the implementation in sales and the associated information feedback.
Since both partners are paid at least partially based on sales, not only are the otherwise widely divergent prerequisites evened out, but also the motivation: If the marketing experts otherwise prefer to act from the green table, they now find themselves just as exposed to the topic of customer acquisition as sales.
Advantages of testimonials
With testimonials, it is possible to increase the credibility of advertising.
For this, authenticity is the highest advertising goal: From the language to the overall appearance, the person who is used as a testimonial must appear authentic.
If it is possible to convince the viewers of the advertisement that a credible, likeable person is talking about a product, the image is strengthened in the long term and the likelihood of purchase is increased.
Celebrities can increase the intensity of the credibility because they are personally known and then vouch with their name as a brand personality. Generally known personalities are particularly suitable if they are role models or trendsetters. Especially in a video production, testimonials can increase a positive resonance with the target group.
In moving images, a lot of information can be transported and a testimonial can convey even more authenticity through natural language and gestures.
In this way, a very direct target group approach succeeds and the unique selling points of a product can be well packaged as quotes.
The convincing effect can also be strengthened when experts appear, such as dentists, who then advertise a type of toothpaste.
