Advertising has become part of everyday life and is more widespread than ever, from outdoor billboards to television screens and digital platforms. Brands, government entities, and private organizations use advertising to persuade audiences or raise awareness around important issues.
An advertising campaign is therefore more likely to succeed when it feels relevant to people, connects with their emotions, and understands how they express themselves. But what happens after a campaign succeeds? How does its impact move beyond capturing attention to building a relationship with the audience, making the brand feel closer, more memorable, and perhaps even the preferred choice?
How Does the Consumer See Advertising?
In a competitive market, most brands offer products or services of comparable quality and value. Yet one brand may still appear better and more appealing than another. This does not necessarily mean it offers a fundamentally different product. Sometimes, the reason for its success is simply that it presented itself differently.
The advertisements that stay in people’s minds are often the ones that stand out. Deemah, for example, filled the streets of Riyadh with blue billboards carrying only one message: “Come back, Deemah.”
The brand then reintroduced itself through childhood memories deeply connected to people’s culture and experiences. The campaign quickly created momentum across social media, sparking questions and speculation about who Deemah was and where she had disappeared to.
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This is where creativity in advertising plays its role. It gives the brand an idea that distinguishes it, captures attention, and opens a space for conversation between the brand and its audience. When an idea succeeds in doing that, the conversation grows and becomes part of what people talk about, creating an impact that can continue for years.
The Advertising Campaign in the Hands of the Creative Writer
Many brands believe they can create impact through promotional campaigns alone. But audiences have developed a strong resistance to repetitive advertising and increasingly respond to content that delivers an idea intelligently. Creativity is what makes a message attract attention, hold interest, and ultimately sell.
When a brand wants to persuade its audience or raise awareness, it also needs to speak their language, the language people actually use in their everyday lives and conversations. From that language, simple phrases can emerge and become creative ideas with the potential to spread.
For example:
Your car broke down? You’re standing there waiting for someone to come help, while already calculating how much the repair is going to cost. Open the app and apply for financing.
Advertising That Sells Through Persuasion
People often want to buy, yet they ignore advertisements because the way brands ask them to do so has become predictable.
Phrases such as “Subscribe now,” “Don’t miss your chance,” and “Offer available for a limited time” may function as direct calls to action, but they often lack meaningful value. Even when paired with an eye-catching design, they do not necessarily sell.
In many cases, this type of advertising feels like an interruption. It tells people what they should do before giving them a reason to care about what is being said. The message then becomes:
- Easy to ignore: Once people recognize it as a direct sales attempt, it becomes easier to scroll past or dismiss.
- Easy to forget: It disappears from memory within seconds because it has not created an emotional connection.
- Easy to replace: The same language can be used by dozens of other brands, giving the brand no distinctive voice of its own.
This advertising model gradually loses its effectiveness. It chases the customer without delivering results because, quite simply, it was never interesting enough to them and did not respond to a genuine desire or need.
Advertising That Knows How to Influence
An advertising idea may be strong and creatively written, yet still fail to create the desired impact. Capturing attention is one thing. Influencing people’s behavior is another.
This is particularly clear in awareness campaigns, which we encounter everywhere, from outdoor advertising to digital platforms. We may see them repeatedly, understand their messages, and even remember their slogans, yet still return to the same behaviors because the message fails to address what truly drives people.
We know the dangers of using a phone while driving. We read messages telling us not to speed. We know the health consequences of smoking. Yet these behaviors continue.
People already know, so why do they not change?
Influence does not always begin by giving people new information. It begins by understanding the reasons and motivations behind their behavior. Habits, circumstances, and immediate needs can sometimes be stronger than the consequences a person knows may happen later.
Advertising That Appears at the Right Moment
Where and when an advertisement appears can be just as important to a campaign’s success as the idea itself. The more closely a message connects with what the audience is experiencing at that exact moment, the more relevant and engaging it becomes.
One example is The Real Hydration Break, a campaign launched by the Saudi Tourism Authority during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The campaign used the hydration break during matches and transformed its three-minute window into a live Instagram competition during the semifinal and final matches, allowing the message to reach audiences while they were experiencing the event itself.
The campaign generated more than 3 million views and over 3,000 competition entries, demonstrating how choosing the right moment can transform an advertisement from a message people simply watch into an experience they actively participate in.
Advertising That Takes a Campaign to Its Highest Level of Engagement
A single idea can turn a billboard into the starting point for an entire chain of interactions, particularly when the campaign leaves room for competitors, audiences, and the media to respond, allowing the idea to evolve with every new reaction.
That is what happened between Thndr and Telda.
The campaign began with a short teaser message: “Don’t download Thndr.” Telda then joined the conversation, using the same location to say: “Download Telda,” almost as if it were completing its competitor’s message.Thndr responded by completing its original line: “If you don’t want more money, don’t download Thndr.”
This sequence transformed the advertisements into a story unfolding in front of the audience and gave both brands a larger space for conversation and exposure. After the billboards appeared, the exchange became a subject of discussion and sharing across digital platforms, extending the campaign far beyond its paid media space.
That alone increased the brands’ visibility in the market, pushed their names to the forefront of digital conversations, and differentiated them from competitors. These are gains that can continue long after the advertisement itself disappears.
Conclusion
What we have learned at Lahameem Creative Communication Agency through working with clients is that what remains after a campaign stops running is the conversation people continue to have about it, how easily they remember it, and the way it has shaped their perception of the brand.
This is where the true value of a successful campaign becomes clear. Its impact moves beyond a moment of attention and turns into trust, stronger awareness of what the brand offers, and a more powerful presence for its name in the market.