• by David L. Smith , October 6, 2002

Recently we were discussing search with a client. I guess that Google has done a good job in this client's sector, because he opined that he could not imagine anybody in his target audience not using Google. Well, good for Google, but with all due respect, that ain’t the way it is. You’ve probably all got similar stories.

To me, this is a corollary to the “Blue Toyota Syndrome.” The Blue Toyota Syndrome is a function of the conjunct of proximity and synchronicity. You don’t necessarily SEE a lot of blue Toyotas, but if you bought one, you would immediately notice three more just like it in your neighborhood. The same thing happens when you become aware of a new concept or say, a new restaurant. You will invariably encounter the new concept again several times in the ensuing period. And you will notice other connections to the restaurant that have always been there but you were never aware of.

So, the corollary at work with the Google perception is that if you own or do something that you think is really cool or effective, you assume that all others own or do the same thing. This is rarely true. In the media world, it is very hard to find any vehicle in any medium that can cover more than 25% of a single target audience at one time. The Super Bowl, sure. And there are trade pubs and vertical market pubs that is the only one in their field with a controlled circulation that get big reach. But it is not the norm. Even prime time television, the bellwether for big ratings, does well when it gets 10% of the audience these days.

All the same, it is realyl easy to fall victim to the syndrome or the corollary, especially with vertical markets. It often becomes reallyl hard to not buy the vehicle that is the favorite of the person in charge of marketing at the client. But this is not limited to the client. We’ve all done it at one time or another when something we liked a lot “just felt right” for a plan or buy. I’m not saying that buying what your gut tells you is wrong. I’ve always believed that planning or buying outside of the box was the right thing to do, “after you’ve run all of the numbers.” Whether your budget is so big that you have flexible funds (yeah, I know, that’s a dream world that may never be seen again) or your budget is so small that you feel you might as well keep the client happy because you haven’t got enough money to make a major impact anyway, plans and buys need someone with a sense of responsibility or a gatekeeper in charge. Whether that is the planner, supervisor, manager or whoever, every plan and buy needs every ounce of impact squeezed out of it that can be wrought.

So, the next time the syndrome or one of its corollaries strikes, take a deep breath, refer back to your data points and do the right thing. That’s why you get paid the big bucks.