Did you say or do something twice today? You’ll probably do the same thing — and then do it again on Repeat Day.
Though its origins are obscure, Repeat Day is celebrated every year on June 3, encouraging people to do everything they do or say more than once.
Of course, repetition is also a powerful marketing tool, as long as it’s used properly. Let’s talk about that. How many times to do have to repeat your message to make it stick? How much repetition is too much?
During the FIFA World Cup 2018, people in China complained about a commercial by travel platform Mafengwo. During a 15 second clip an actor in monk costume asks the audience the same question 6 times in a row: “Why should you use Mafengwo?” It was just too much.
One of the most well-known repeat ads is Head On. A woman repeats the tagline “HeadOn. Apply directly to the forehead” over and over again. The odd clip became an Internet phenomenon. But not for the right reasons. So keep in mind that repetition can lead to consumer fatigue — or customer fatigue in a B2B context.
To repeat (sorry), how many times do you have to repeat a message to make it stick? Some say you have to repeat a message 3 times, while many believe in the old marketing adage ‘Rule of 7’ — that people have to come across your message seven times before they really notice it and take action.
Research proves that repetition makes our message stronger. It’s called the illusory truth effect, where humans have the tendency to believe information to be correct after repeated exposure. We rate repeated statements as more truthful than non-repeated ones. In short: repetition breeds belief.
So what does this mean for your e-mail marketing campaign? Research from Mailchimp shows that resending your email campaign to subscribers who didn’t open the first time can increase your open rates by 8.7 per cent.
Don’t send the reminder the next day, though. The result of a study of 1300 e-mail campaigns tells us that it’s best to send a reminder three days after your first e-mail. Opens and click ratios will be higher and the number of unsubscribes will be lower. An easy way to use reminders in your email campaigns is by using drip e-mail marketing.
In summary — or simply to repeat what we’ve said here more succinctly, our brain loves repetition. Repetition creates the comfort of familiarity. When our brains find something easier to process, we like it more than a similar thing that is not as easily processed. So the more you repeat your brand or tagline, at least theoretically, the more likeable it will become. And if not, you can always give it another try — whether you do it on Repeat Day or long afterwards.
