Psychology, Applied

By Jake McKenzie, CEO

When I’m asked what we do at Intermark, I often reply “Advertising.” It’s an easy answer that most everyone has a schema for – they get what it means.

But it took my three-year-old daughter’s innocence to delve deeper.  She asked, simply, “What does ‘advertising’ mean?” I explained that we get people to buy things from other people. 

Then she asked the best of all questions – “How?”

“How” is really the question that advertising textbooks are written about, but it’s the one that doesn’t get asked very often…because everyone assumes we just create big TV ads and that’s the sum total of our business. 

But the question should actually translate into “how do you get people to change what they were going to do and engage in business with your clients?” That’s the true heart of advertising.

It starts with changing beliefs – about a product, service, and/or company. And we do it by applying psychology – fundamental truths about people that are ingrained in each of us – into brilliant, creative concepts.

It sounds simple, but it isn’t. And it’s certainly more complex than the notion that agencies only create “ideas” or “ads.” Getting people to change their behaviors is infinitely more challenging than the notion of just “advertising.”

So, the next time someone asks what we do, I’m going to take a cue from my daughter and give a more respectful answer. We change beliefs and behaviors. In short, we apply psychology.