The prevailing barriers to entry (why we don't buy):
1. Fear of the unknown
2. Resistance to change
3. Insufficient proof of performance
4. Risk
And here is how you overcome them:
1. Become known. Advertise, promote, get known and involved
2. Position your option as easy to use, greater benefits and rewards
3. Provide evidence of testimonials, endorsements, awards, user reviews, case studies, certifications, 3rd party reviews
4. Offer a solid guarantee, warranty, free trial
People will buy more if you remove the natural barriers they have.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
How to Use Radio Effectively
Radio is a very effective advertising medium when used properly. And based on 16 years of buying and creating very successful radio campaigns all over the country, here is my theory on how to use radio effectively:
1. Use a jingle, stinger or music bed. The power of music in radio advertising is a key factor to understand and harness. Please read my blog post on this site on “The Power of Sound in Advertising” July 20th, or click the title to this post.
2. Buy as much frequency against a targeted audience as you can afford.
3. If you are building a brand and want long-term growth, stay consistent on the air and make radio a long-term strategy. The longer you use it, the better it works.
4. Leverage the unique assets of radio when possible and appropriate: live remotes, live reads, contesting, sponsorships, sampling, promotions, giveaways, and online ads.
5. Find a good rep and help them help you by explaining your objectives, and how you will be measuring your success. Get the station sales, production, web and promotional managers involved. They have a lot of insights and ideas. Think long-term and build win-win relationships.
6. Don’t buy stations you like, buy stations your customers and prospects like.
7. To gain frequency, buy :15s and :30s instead of just :60s. Frequency is king. Buy more spots on fewer stations. Buy enough spots to get a 3 frequency per week.
The benefits of radio:
• Radio can be used very effectively to create or strengthen a brand name and image.
• Radio can be used for targeting a particular demographic or lifestyle group
• To build campaign frequency
• As a promotional tool using live remote broadcasts, program or segment sponsorships, and live-read announcements using the station on-air personalities, and contesting and give-a-ways.
• An excellent medium for building frequency and momentum fast for sale events, grand openings, concerts, shows and other special events or limited time announcements.
• Radio is a logical and effective choice to add to your media mix to support a campaign when you are using direct mail, print, outdoor, transit, cable or broadcast TV. And radio can also support an online campaign to increase pay per click advertising effectiveness, banner ads, and drive traffic directly to your URL.
As an advertising professional, I personally love the power and flexibility of radio advertising for many reasons, and I have used it very successfully for my clients. Unfortunately, I see too many people using radio ineffectively, and wasting their money.
If you are considering radio, or already using radio, think about the points and case studies discussed in this post to maximize its impact for you.
Radio is a targeted medium because each radio station attracts a specific demographic group based on the station format, which means that every station has a “best demo”. For example, an Album Oriented Rock station is dominated by males 18-34 years of age. A Big Band/Nostalgia station is dominated by adults 65+. A Classical station reaches upscale adults 35-54, and a News/Talk format is dominated by males 45+.
Because everyone has a favorite radio format, they also have a favorite station. And because “birds of a feather flock together,” any given format will attract a certain and predictable audience who share a similar demographic profile. A typical person has one favorite station, and two others they listen to less frequently. By knowing the demographic cell in which your target audience falls, and if your target demo is narrowly defined, you can hit many of them with a one or two radio station buy in many instances. However, it is best to hit both your primary and secondary demo for maximum reach and effectiveness in any given media buy.
Each station also has a best time slot or day part where rating points and audience listenership are the highest, making your spot more effective. Some stations have more listeners in morning drive (Monday-Friday 6am-10am in major metros, and 7am-9am in smaller metros), and others have more listeners during mid-day (Monday-Friday 10am-3pm) as they are the listen at work format or talk radio.
As a general rule, you want to buy only the radio stations that deliver the highest number of your primary and secondary demos. And of those stations, you only want to buy the best day parts that deliver the highest number of these target listeners. But don’t forget, that people are creatures of habit, and they have listening patters that are nearly set in stone. Which means that in order to reach the entire target audience of any one station, you will want to run your spots Monday - Friday in the morning drive, mid day, evening drive, and Saturday and Sunday 10 am - 3 pm. With the majority of your spots running in the morning and evening drive times, unless the station programming and audience listening curve tell you otherwise.
When looking at the Arbitron data, be aware, that you must compare the audience share (the % of people listening to that station in that day part out of all people listening to all radio stations in the market in that day part) AND the total number of people listening in that day part (given in quarter hour averages). A station may have a very high audience share in a particular day part, but only 1,200 people are listening.
Next time we will discuss case studies of successful radio campaigns.
1. Use a jingle, stinger or music bed. The power of music in radio advertising is a key factor to understand and harness. Please read my blog post on this site on “The Power of Sound in Advertising” July 20th, or click the title to this post.
2. Buy as much frequency against a targeted audience as you can afford.
3. If you are building a brand and want long-term growth, stay consistent on the air and make radio a long-term strategy. The longer you use it, the better it works.
4. Leverage the unique assets of radio when possible and appropriate: live remotes, live reads, contesting, sponsorships, sampling, promotions, giveaways, and online ads.
5. Find a good rep and help them help you by explaining your objectives, and how you will be measuring your success. Get the station sales, production, web and promotional managers involved. They have a lot of insights and ideas. Think long-term and build win-win relationships.
6. Don’t buy stations you like, buy stations your customers and prospects like.
7. To gain frequency, buy :15s and :30s instead of just :60s. Frequency is king. Buy more spots on fewer stations. Buy enough spots to get a 3 frequency per week.
The benefits of radio:
• Radio can be used very effectively to create or strengthen a brand name and image.
• Radio can be used for targeting a particular demographic or lifestyle group
• To build campaign frequency
• As a promotional tool using live remote broadcasts, program or segment sponsorships, and live-read announcements using the station on-air personalities, and contesting and give-a-ways.
• An excellent medium for building frequency and momentum fast for sale events, grand openings, concerts, shows and other special events or limited time announcements.
• Radio is a logical and effective choice to add to your media mix to support a campaign when you are using direct mail, print, outdoor, transit, cable or broadcast TV. And radio can also support an online campaign to increase pay per click advertising effectiveness, banner ads, and drive traffic directly to your URL.
As an advertising professional, I personally love the power and flexibility of radio advertising for many reasons, and I have used it very successfully for my clients. Unfortunately, I see too many people using radio ineffectively, and wasting their money.
If you are considering radio, or already using radio, think about the points and case studies discussed in this post to maximize its impact for you.
Radio is a targeted medium because each radio station attracts a specific demographic group based on the station format, which means that every station has a “best demo”. For example, an Album Oriented Rock station is dominated by males 18-34 years of age. A Big Band/Nostalgia station is dominated by adults 65+. A Classical station reaches upscale adults 35-54, and a News/Talk format is dominated by males 45+.
Because everyone has a favorite radio format, they also have a favorite station. And because “birds of a feather flock together,” any given format will attract a certain and predictable audience who share a similar demographic profile. A typical person has one favorite station, and two others they listen to less frequently. By knowing the demographic cell in which your target audience falls, and if your target demo is narrowly defined, you can hit many of them with a one or two radio station buy in many instances. However, it is best to hit both your primary and secondary demo for maximum reach and effectiveness in any given media buy.
Each station also has a best time slot or day part where rating points and audience listenership are the highest, making your spot more effective. Some stations have more listeners in morning drive (Monday-Friday 6am-10am in major metros, and 7am-9am in smaller metros), and others have more listeners during mid-day (Monday-Friday 10am-3pm) as they are the listen at work format or talk radio.
As a general rule, you want to buy only the radio stations that deliver the highest number of your primary and secondary demos. And of those stations, you only want to buy the best day parts that deliver the highest number of these target listeners. But don’t forget, that people are creatures of habit, and they have listening patters that are nearly set in stone. Which means that in order to reach the entire target audience of any one station, you will want to run your spots Monday - Friday in the morning drive, mid day, evening drive, and Saturday and Sunday 10 am - 3 pm. With the majority of your spots running in the morning and evening drive times, unless the station programming and audience listening curve tell you otherwise.
When looking at the Arbitron data, be aware, that you must compare the audience share (the % of people listening to that station in that day part out of all people listening to all radio stations in the market in that day part) AND the total number of people listening in that day part (given in quarter hour averages). A station may have a very high audience share in a particular day part, but only 1,200 people are listening.
Next time we will discuss case studies of successful radio campaigns.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Avoid Drive-Thru Advertising
In advertising and marketing, there are few "quick fixes" that have long-term benefits or growth potential.
Sale events and promotions can drive immediate business, but watch your net profits, and make sure you are doing everything possible to turn that one-time sampling or purchase into long-term repeat business.
Build a database of your customers, or at least an email list. Profile them as best you can to better understand their needs and wants, as well as demographic, geographic and psychographic profile so you can better target them in the future using appropriate copy, offers and communication channels.
Provide excellent quality and service with a smile and stand out every way you can, so they remember you in a positive light.
There are no real quick fixes; it still comes down to the basics:
• Great service
• Product or brand differentiation
• Value
• Consistent advertising to create awareness, credibility, comfort and confidence in your brand
Remember the old rule in advertising that says "anything that works quickly will work less and less in the long-term." This rule is speaking to the never ending continuous stream of sale events. The more you do them, the less they work over time, and the less successful you will become.
As a general rule, you should spend 20% of your ad budget on sales and promotions, and 80% on building a solid and attractive brand image that has meaning and differentiation with emotional impact. Think of Victoria’s Secret and Harley-Davidson, or Disney and Apple.
However, in a difficult economy you will certainly need to emphasize more value, service, quality, benefits and savings than ever before. People simply want more for less right now, and they also expect better service, and they want to do business with a company that will be around. They can't afford to take chances, so they want a better guarantee and they want confidence in you and your product.
Bottom line: today you are selling peace of mind. Peace of mind that they are getting the best deal, quality and service for the dollar, and peace of mind that you will be there to service them if they need it.
Sale events and promotions can drive immediate business, but watch your net profits, and make sure you are doing everything possible to turn that one-time sampling or purchase into long-term repeat business.
Build a database of your customers, or at least an email list. Profile them as best you can to better understand their needs and wants, as well as demographic, geographic and psychographic profile so you can better target them in the future using appropriate copy, offers and communication channels.
Provide excellent quality and service with a smile and stand out every way you can, so they remember you in a positive light.
There are no real quick fixes; it still comes down to the basics:
• Great service
• Product or brand differentiation
• Value
• Consistent advertising to create awareness, credibility, comfort and confidence in your brand
Remember the old rule in advertising that says "anything that works quickly will work less and less in the long-term." This rule is speaking to the never ending continuous stream of sale events. The more you do them, the less they work over time, and the less successful you will become.
As a general rule, you should spend 20% of your ad budget on sales and promotions, and 80% on building a solid and attractive brand image that has meaning and differentiation with emotional impact. Think of Victoria’s Secret and Harley-Davidson, or Disney and Apple.
However, in a difficult economy you will certainly need to emphasize more value, service, quality, benefits and savings than ever before. People simply want more for less right now, and they also expect better service, and they want to do business with a company that will be around. They can't afford to take chances, so they want a better guarantee and they want confidence in you and your product.
Bottom line: today you are selling peace of mind. Peace of mind that they are getting the best deal, quality and service for the dollar, and peace of mind that you will be there to service them if they need it.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Blast Your Way In
In order to win in today’s over-crowded and ultra competitive marketplace, you must blast your way into the minds of your target audience.
You must blast your way in to create the desired perception of who you are and the benefits that you and only you can offer. You must create familiarity and top of mind awareness with your company name and brand. Which in-turn creates comfort and confidence in the consumers mind. Nobody feels confident buying from an unknown stranger.
Some blasting tips:
• Seize a single compelling attribute about your product or service and dramatize its value, over and over and over again.
• Develop a powerful statement of purpose.
• Be bold and different.
• Eliminate from your message the noise and clutter of ambiguity, vagueness and industry jargon.
• Own a single word or a concept in the consumer mind.
• Remember that name familiarity beats product performance. People usually associate the biggest or most familiar name with the best performance.
• Electronic media (TV and radio) are the best blasting tools because they are the only intrusive media (you subconsciously hear the message whether you want to or not).
• Keep your marketing, your people and your organization moving at all times. Motion begets motion.
Design a better message:
• Keep your message simple, visual and different.
• Simplify everything. Pricing, processes, options, ordering, message.
Make them feel comfortable once they are aware of who you are and why they should buy from you:
• Show humility to appear real and credible. Admit to a negative (like you may not be the cheapest in town) and they will automatically give you a positive (like you must be better, and more honest).
• Become more warm, real and personal in your advertising, approach and interactions.
• Customers buy from people, not from companies. Sell them on you and your people.
• Focus on people skills and building relationships. If they like the service provider they will like the company.
• Manage your selling and retail environment. Clean, comfortable, professional and always a bit nicer than her own home. Make them feel a little special. People also buy the experience and ambiance.
Great people attract more and better customers:
• Create a dynamic environment to attract dynamic people. The best people are drawn to the best companies.
• Offer the best training, the best support and the best opportunity for income and growth.
Destroy your competition:
• Hone in on one of your competitors known weaknesses that your customers will quickly acknowledge.
• Attack with a single bold stroke that is focused and consistent.
• Attack where your competitor is most vulnerable and concentrate your entire force at their weakest point.
Understand people:
• Think like your prospects and walk in their shoes.
• Offer what people love. The products, the service and the experience.
If you cannot be the first in the market, try to be first in the media. If you cannot be the first in the media be the best in the media with the most focused and compelling message. If the market is over-crowded already, create a new category and be the first in the market, first in the media and first in the mind.
You must blast your way in to create the desired perception of who you are and the benefits that you and only you can offer. You must create familiarity and top of mind awareness with your company name and brand. Which in-turn creates comfort and confidence in the consumers mind. Nobody feels confident buying from an unknown stranger.
Some blasting tips:
• Seize a single compelling attribute about your product or service and dramatize its value, over and over and over again.
• Develop a powerful statement of purpose.
• Be bold and different.
• Eliminate from your message the noise and clutter of ambiguity, vagueness and industry jargon.
• Own a single word or a concept in the consumer mind.
• Remember that name familiarity beats product performance. People usually associate the biggest or most familiar name with the best performance.
• Electronic media (TV and radio) are the best blasting tools because they are the only intrusive media (you subconsciously hear the message whether you want to or not).
• Keep your marketing, your people and your organization moving at all times. Motion begets motion.
Design a better message:
• Keep your message simple, visual and different.
• Simplify everything. Pricing, processes, options, ordering, message.
Make them feel comfortable once they are aware of who you are and why they should buy from you:
• Show humility to appear real and credible. Admit to a negative (like you may not be the cheapest in town) and they will automatically give you a positive (like you must be better, and more honest).
• Become more warm, real and personal in your advertising, approach and interactions.
• Customers buy from people, not from companies. Sell them on you and your people.
• Focus on people skills and building relationships. If they like the service provider they will like the company.
• Manage your selling and retail environment. Clean, comfortable, professional and always a bit nicer than her own home. Make them feel a little special. People also buy the experience and ambiance.
Great people attract more and better customers:
• Create a dynamic environment to attract dynamic people. The best people are drawn to the best companies.
• Offer the best training, the best support and the best opportunity for income and growth.
Destroy your competition:
• Hone in on one of your competitors known weaknesses that your customers will quickly acknowledge.
• Attack with a single bold stroke that is focused and consistent.
• Attack where your competitor is most vulnerable and concentrate your entire force at their weakest point.
Understand people:
• Think like your prospects and walk in their shoes.
• Offer what people love. The products, the service and the experience.
If you cannot be the first in the market, try to be first in the media. If you cannot be the first in the media be the best in the media with the most focused and compelling message. If the market is over-crowded already, create a new category and be the first in the market, first in the media and first in the mind.
Friday, July 24, 2009
The Emotional Drivers of Advertising Effectiveness
You’ve heard it before, but here it is again…All buying decisions are made based on the desire to satisfy one or more emotional needs, real or perceived. And those emotional purchasing decisions are then justified based on logical reasons for the purchase, either verbally and consciously, or subconsciously.
Here is a simple breakdown and example.
Situation: A fashionable designer article of clothing is on sale.
Possible Emotional Need Fulfillment: If I wear this I will feel:
• Younger
• More attractive
• More successful
• Smarter
• Worthy of respect
• Special and above average
Possible Logical Justifications:
• It’s on sale and I will save money (the logical side of the “greed” emotion)
• It’s limited in quantity and/or sizes so I better get it while I can (the logical side of the “fear of loss” emotion)
• I deserve this after all the extra time I have put in (the logical side of the “status,” “vanity,” or “ego” emotion)
• Everybody has one in my department, trade, profession, group, school, etc. (the logical side of the “status”, “need for approval”, or “fear of embarrassment” emotion)
And the best advertisers, retailers, merchandisers, brand managers and sales people will tap into these emotions and support them with these quasi logical justifications at every opportunity.
Just listen to the top sales people at cosmetic counters, jewelry stores, wedding dress boutiques and men’s’ suit stores. They are well trained to balance every presentation, feature-benefit analysis and close with emotional appeal and logical justifications. It’s what makes the retail world go round and the cash register ring.
So what are the emotional drivers? There have been three primary lists tested and published by various credible sources, including behavioral psychologists, sociologists, cultural anthropologists, advertising experts and the like. Here are the three primary groupings:
1.
• Love
• Fear of loss
• Ego
• Status
• Fear of embarrassment
• Vanity
• Power
• Respect
2.
• To be wealthy and powerful
• To be attractive and desirable
• To be youthful and healthy
3.
• Fear
• Exclusivity
• Guilt
• Greed
• Need for approval
As you study these different lists, you will see that many of the emotions are the same, just worded differently, so you can make a single list of five groupings that encompasses all of the identified and recognized emotional drivers. You will also notice that many of the emotional drivers are shared among groups or strings of emotions as they may share common feelings.
In other words the human subconscious mind may not clearly distinguish between the feeling of a “fear of loss” vs. “fear of embarrassment” they simply feel “fear”. And do we seek “wealth” in terms of piles of cash for its own sake, or do we really seek “power”, “respect” and “status”?
The human emotions have a lot of gray area, and they share components and attributes one with another. There is much overlap and cross fertilization in the human mind when it comes to emotions, which is why we often can’t explain why we feel a certain way, or even what exactly we are feeling. Hence the often confused state of mind.
I have grouped the primary needs emotions into these “five emotional strings” to allow the advertising creative and copy the flexibility to hit on the emotions, while allowing the individual to define and feel the emotion as it pertains to them and their needs:
• Wealth, power, greed, respect, status
• Exclusivity, ego, vanity, need for approval, respect, status
• Attractive, desirable, need for approval, love, fear of embarrassment
• Fear, fear of embarrassment, fear of loss
• Youthful, healthy, attractive, desirable, need for approval, love, fear of embarrassment, fear of loss
I believe that "greed" is not really a stand-alone emotion at all, but rather a mix of emotions, including "fear of loss" and the desire to be "attractive" or "desirable" through "wealth", "status" and "power". Greed and the accumulation of stuff and/or wealth may also be a primary driver to be worthy of "love" in a rather round-about way.
Also note, that the emotion of "fear of the unknown" is one of the top reasons to create a powerful name and brand recognition in the mind of the market. People are almost always fearful of the unknown product or brand, and therefore buy what they are familiar with. So use consistent and regular advertising and branding to make yours a familiar name, and a comfortable choice. That is what it all boils down to.
Have fun with this, and if you need any help or have question, contact Duane Sprague at duanesprague@gmail.com
Here is a simple breakdown and example.
Situation: A fashionable designer article of clothing is on sale.
Possible Emotional Need Fulfillment: If I wear this I will feel:
• Younger
• More attractive
• More successful
• Smarter
• Worthy of respect
• Special and above average
Possible Logical Justifications:
• It’s on sale and I will save money (the logical side of the “greed” emotion)
• It’s limited in quantity and/or sizes so I better get it while I can (the logical side of the “fear of loss” emotion)
• I deserve this after all the extra time I have put in (the logical side of the “status,” “vanity,” or “ego” emotion)
• Everybody has one in my department, trade, profession, group, school, etc. (the logical side of the “status”, “need for approval”, or “fear of embarrassment” emotion)
And the best advertisers, retailers, merchandisers, brand managers and sales people will tap into these emotions and support them with these quasi logical justifications at every opportunity.
Just listen to the top sales people at cosmetic counters, jewelry stores, wedding dress boutiques and men’s’ suit stores. They are well trained to balance every presentation, feature-benefit analysis and close with emotional appeal and logical justifications. It’s what makes the retail world go round and the cash register ring.
So what are the emotional drivers? There have been three primary lists tested and published by various credible sources, including behavioral psychologists, sociologists, cultural anthropologists, advertising experts and the like. Here are the three primary groupings:
1.
• Love
• Fear of loss
• Ego
• Status
• Fear of embarrassment
• Vanity
• Power
• Respect
2.
• To be wealthy and powerful
• To be attractive and desirable
• To be youthful and healthy
3.
• Fear
• Exclusivity
• Guilt
• Greed
• Need for approval
As you study these different lists, you will see that many of the emotions are the same, just worded differently, so you can make a single list of five groupings that encompasses all of the identified and recognized emotional drivers. You will also notice that many of the emotional drivers are shared among groups or strings of emotions as they may share common feelings.
In other words the human subconscious mind may not clearly distinguish between the feeling of a “fear of loss” vs. “fear of embarrassment” they simply feel “fear”. And do we seek “wealth” in terms of piles of cash for its own sake, or do we really seek “power”, “respect” and “status”?
The human emotions have a lot of gray area, and they share components and attributes one with another. There is much overlap and cross fertilization in the human mind when it comes to emotions, which is why we often can’t explain why we feel a certain way, or even what exactly we are feeling. Hence the often confused state of mind.
I have grouped the primary needs emotions into these “five emotional strings” to allow the advertising creative and copy the flexibility to hit on the emotions, while allowing the individual to define and feel the emotion as it pertains to them and their needs:
• Wealth, power, greed, respect, status
• Exclusivity, ego, vanity, need for approval, respect, status
• Attractive, desirable, need for approval, love, fear of embarrassment
• Fear, fear of embarrassment, fear of loss
• Youthful, healthy, attractive, desirable, need for approval, love, fear of embarrassment, fear of loss
I believe that "greed" is not really a stand-alone emotion at all, but rather a mix of emotions, including "fear of loss" and the desire to be "attractive" or "desirable" through "wealth", "status" and "power". Greed and the accumulation of stuff and/or wealth may also be a primary driver to be worthy of "love" in a rather round-about way.
Also note, that the emotion of "fear of the unknown" is one of the top reasons to create a powerful name and brand recognition in the mind of the market. People are almost always fearful of the unknown product or brand, and therefore buy what they are familiar with. So use consistent and regular advertising and branding to make yours a familiar name, and a comfortable choice. That is what it all boils down to.
Have fun with this, and if you need any help or have question, contact Duane Sprague at duanesprague@gmail.com
Is Your Advertising Deep?
Is your advertising a mile-wide and an inch-deep?
Does your advertising reach a lot of people with very little repetition or frequency?
The idea behind effective advertising is to create a fjord in the mind of the target market, not a shallow lake. In other words:
• Focus your attack on a narrow market that is big enough to make you wealthy, but small enough to dominate.
• Reach that smaller and narrowly defined market with at least three impressions each and every week.
• Create an ad campaign that is totally unique and different from your competitors. Never allow your message to be confused with your competition.
• Create a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that offers a strong benefit or advantage over your competition. Give them a real reason to buy from you. A reason that allows them to justify and rationalize the decision.
• Create a slogan or tagline that builds and explains your USP. And one that people can remember easily. A slogan with rhyme and rhythm works well, and even better if it’s written to music.
• Emotion always outsells logic. What emotional strings can you pull? If your advertising message consists of price alone, you’ll always have to be the lowest. If you’re selling the solution to a problem, price is not the issue.
• If you want results from your ads, you need a response mechanism, a free offer and a reason to respond now built into every ad.
• Effective advertising is recognized for its consistency, continuity, focus and repetition. Don’t change it from one medium to another or from one week or month to another. Stay the course and etch an indelible impression on the minds of your target market. Maintain a look, theme and message that become uniquely yours.
Does your advertising reach a lot of people with very little repetition or frequency?
The idea behind effective advertising is to create a fjord in the mind of the target market, not a shallow lake. In other words:
• Focus your attack on a narrow market that is big enough to make you wealthy, but small enough to dominate.
• Reach that smaller and narrowly defined market with at least three impressions each and every week.
• Create an ad campaign that is totally unique and different from your competitors. Never allow your message to be confused with your competition.
• Create a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that offers a strong benefit or advantage over your competition. Give them a real reason to buy from you. A reason that allows them to justify and rationalize the decision.
• Create a slogan or tagline that builds and explains your USP. And one that people can remember easily. A slogan with rhyme and rhythm works well, and even better if it’s written to music.
• Emotion always outsells logic. What emotional strings can you pull? If your advertising message consists of price alone, you’ll always have to be the lowest. If you’re selling the solution to a problem, price is not the issue.
• If you want results from your ads, you need a response mechanism, a free offer and a reason to respond now built into every ad.
• Effective advertising is recognized for its consistency, continuity, focus and repetition. Don’t change it from one medium to another or from one week or month to another. Stay the course and etch an indelible impression on the minds of your target market. Maintain a look, theme and message that become uniquely yours.
My Marketing Philosophy
1. Understand the prospect and customer. Find out what the customer wants… and give it to them as best you can.
2. Create brands and campaigns that are memorable, and ideally charged with emotion.
3. Build trust, credibility and rapport with your customers and clients, and be worthy of it. Be honest and don’t create false brand performance expectations.
4. Integrate your message and brand personality across all customer contact points to gain credibility, frequency and brand continuity.
5. Understand the pros and cons of each and every communication channel, and how to best use and leverage them for optimal impact, and for the right strategic reasons.
6. Use personalized channels whenever possible (variable data personalized direct mail, email, SMS texting, social media channels and micro sites).
7. Negotiate the best possible win-win contracts, rates and terms with every vendor for long-term strategic partnerships.
8. Seek innovation and new and better methods of marketing communications.
9. Never assume you know everything or have all the answers. Be humble enough to always learn, listen, experiment and grow.
10. Do your market research constantly, and stay close to the market.
11. Use creativity to accomplish specific marketing objectives and ROI, and not to win awards.
12. Track and analyze everything.
13. Establish and monitor key performance indicators for everything you can.
14. Research, execute and monitor best practices and industry benchmarks.
15. Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
16. Study the history of advertising, business and sociology as much as the current fads and trends.
17. Remember that top-line sales revenue drive every business.
18. Work to understand, support and collaborate with your clients, team and vendors, and always seek win-win solutions for long-term relationships.
19. On landing pages, clarity and simplicity usually trump persuasion.
20. Never fall in love with any one channel or platform so that you become biased and blind to other channels and opportunities. There is never just one tool, answer or solution when it comes to communications. An integrated marketing approach means that you use the best set of tools for the job. This requires a communications generalist to see and understand the intricacies of the entire communications landscape, and how each piece works with, builds on and supports the next.
2. Create brands and campaigns that are memorable, and ideally charged with emotion.
3. Build trust, credibility and rapport with your customers and clients, and be worthy of it. Be honest and don’t create false brand performance expectations.
4. Integrate your message and brand personality across all customer contact points to gain credibility, frequency and brand continuity.
5. Understand the pros and cons of each and every communication channel, and how to best use and leverage them for optimal impact, and for the right strategic reasons.
6. Use personalized channels whenever possible (variable data personalized direct mail, email, SMS texting, social media channels and micro sites).
7. Negotiate the best possible win-win contracts, rates and terms with every vendor for long-term strategic partnerships.
8. Seek innovation and new and better methods of marketing communications.
9. Never assume you know everything or have all the answers. Be humble enough to always learn, listen, experiment and grow.
10. Do your market research constantly, and stay close to the market.
11. Use creativity to accomplish specific marketing objectives and ROI, and not to win awards.
12. Track and analyze everything.
13. Establish and monitor key performance indicators for everything you can.
14. Research, execute and monitor best practices and industry benchmarks.
15. Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
16. Study the history of advertising, business and sociology as much as the current fads and trends.
17. Remember that top-line sales revenue drive every business.
18. Work to understand, support and collaborate with your clients, team and vendors, and always seek win-win solutions for long-term relationships.
19. On landing pages, clarity and simplicity usually trump persuasion.
20. Never fall in love with any one channel or platform so that you become biased and blind to other channels and opportunities. There is never just one tool, answer or solution when it comes to communications. An integrated marketing approach means that you use the best set of tools for the job. This requires a communications generalist to see and understand the intricacies of the entire communications landscape, and how each piece works with, builds on and supports the next.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The 12 C's of Advertising
You have no doubt heard of the 4 C’s of selecting a diamond (Cut, Clarity, Color, and Carrot). In light of the 4 C's I have created the 12 C’s of advertising. And when these 12 elements are used together, you will have effective and efficient advertising that works every time!
Cut: First and foremost, you need to cut through the competitive clutter and get noticed and remembered in a positive way. Your copy, offer and creative execution must be enticing, exciting, moving, and believable. You need to stand out, and offer something stunning that people want. Like exceptionally friendly and personable service, super convenient location, huge variety and product selection, value-added services, etc.
Clarity: Your message, offer, and Unique Selling Proposition (USP) must be clear, concise and easy to understand quickly. Keep it simple, powerful and clean, both in design execution and message.
Color: Use only full color ads. Much research indicates that color increases credibility, enhances communication, and cuts through a sea of non-color ads. Use colors in your logo and color schemes that fit your image and message. Use them consistently. Use color pictures, graphics, charts, or any imagery that will enhance and communicate your message and offer. In a two color ad, the most powerful attention grabbing color combinations are red copy on a solid yellow background (Kodak logo), yellow copy on a red background (McDonald’s logo), or black copy on a yellow background.
Carrot: You need a hook, a carrot or an offer that is going to motivate the viewer to act now. You need a call to action, like “come in today and receive a free_______”. Or a self-liquidator, which is a popular item that you can buy in bulk at a huge discount, and sell them for what you paid, just to get people into your dealership. Self-liquidators work great as traffic builders, as long as what you are offering is clearly in demand, you can sell it for less than what the retail market price is, and you advertise it so that people know about it.
Communication: You need to establish a dialog with your prospects, which requires a response device (phone, self addressed and stamped reply card, e-mail, etc.), a database of responders, and a timely follow-up system.
Commitment: You must stay committed to your advertising, your schedule, your look, and your branding message. Otherwise you lose the equity position you created.
Consistency: There are two conflicting theories in advertising. One is the theory of “frequency,” which is based on the theory that people must see or hear an ad at least three times before they will take notice and act upon it. The other theory is “recency.” The recency theory claims that only one impression is required, if it is made upon a person that is actually in the market to buy today. It assumes that if you are in the market to buy a DVD player for example, and you see an ad with a good price on a quality name brand that you like, with the features and specs you are looking for, at a store convenient to you, why do you need to see that same ad 3 times before you will act on it? As the theory goes, you see it once, and if all the elements make sense, you act.
Recency theory then, simply states that it is far more important to cast a wide net to reach that small percentage of people that are ready to buy today, than to keep beating your message over the heads of a smaller audience with frequency, because statistically, you will be talking to fewer people who are in the market. The recency theory is precisely why classified newspaper advertising works so well for dealers. Despite the fact that newspapers are losing readers and market share every year, and the average age of the daily subscribers is going up each year, outpacing the average age of the population. And the fact that people spend less time reading the paper than ever before, the fact is that the few people who are reading the automotive classifieds are those who actually in the market. And they only need to see your ad once before they act.
The recency theory hinges on the idea that is far more important to cast a wide net using mass media, and be seen or heard by those people who are in the market, just before they are ready to buy.
However, the recency theory is only applicable for price and product sale event advertising, and it does not work at all for branding. Branding is not to be confused with “name awareness” or “institutional” advertising. Which I personally believe is a complete waste of money in most situations. To understand what I mean by a true branding campaign, see my post “When Branding Works”.
Combination: In order to capitalize on the recency theory, you need to get in front of as many potential buyers as possible on a regular basis. This requires a media mix, consisting of a 7x15 full color ad in the automotive classified section of the major daily newspaper every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a regular broadcast TV schedule (not cable), consisting of at least 100 Household Gross Rating Points per week, and a radio schedule on the top 4-5 stations, with at least 4 spots per day, Monday through Friday, with an equal rotation from 6AM-7PM.. As well as 2 spots per day Saturday and Sunday, 10AM-4PM.
Cost: Your media schedule must be professionally planned and negotiated. An expert professional approach will take into account strict cost efficiency objectives of buying the schedule at the lowest Cost Per Point (CPP) and Cost Per Thousand (CPM). As well as generate more reach and more frequency than a media schedule that is placed by a layman. More money is wasted in advertising than you can ever imagine, simply by paying too much, buying the wrong media outlets, the wrong schedules, and the wrong programs. There are specific methods, strategies, and formulas to buying and negotiating media at rates 30-70% less than you are paying currently. You can learn them, or hire someone who has the training, and the proven and documented ability to do so.
Caliber: Your ad must be of a high caliber that will reflect positively on your dealership. The only thing that the prospect knows or sees about your company, is the image that you portray in your ads. If your ads are a cheap, slapped together low quality production, what does that say about your company, your image and your product? The quality of your advertising production, like your clothes, your house and your car, are a direct reflection on who you are, the types of customers you attract and serve, and where you are going in the future. Advertising is the same as courting a beautiful lady. You absolutely must put your best foot forward in order to win the hand of that lovely lady. Don’t skimp on production if you can at all help it. In fact, reserve about 15-20% of your entire monthly advertising budget for print and electronic media production.
Copy: Use advertising copy that entices, describes the benefits in word pictures, stirs the emotions, justifies the decision on logic, and SELLS! Make every single word count. No fluff, no filler, no waste. Your job is to capture their attention, peak their interest, motivate and sell in only a few seconds. Again, the caliber of production is critical. If you don’t have a really good copy writer who can write to sell, you’re sunk. Budget for quality production and quality copy writing.
Cute: Avoid cute kids, pets, models, jingles or jokes if they are not absolutely critical to the selling message and motivation to buy. These are known as “attention vampires” and they actually rob from your advertising impact by taking the focus off of your critical selling message and offer. There is a time and place, and a very effective way to use them, but only when they are essential to the very message itself. Michelin Tires does a wonderful job of the proper usage of cute babies and animals in their ads. Simply because their entire message is the safety and protection of your most precious cargo. If the message were anything different, it would not have worked for a tire company.
Caution: There is an overwhelming tendency to oversimplify, undervalue, and gloss-over the very complex world of advertising. Everyone is looking for the easy to understand, easy to implement, and low-budget solution to advertising. They want a quick decision, quick production, a quick fix, and a quick response. And that is why we see so many shot-in-arm, flash-in-the-pan events like the “$5 Sale,” the “Slasher Sale,” and all the other short-term sale events that have no long-term benefits or real growth strategies behind them.
These short articles are dangerous, in that they oversimplify the complexities of advertising, and they give the appearance of a “one-size-fits-all” approach.
I strongly recommend that you implement a real strategy for market dominance and long-term growth, by using a combination of 20% of your ad budget on customer retention and follow-up, 30% of your budget on sale events, and 50% of your budget on a real branding campaign that causes people to buy from you regardless of the sale events, the blow-outs, the liquidation sales, the rebates, and the inflatable gorilla on the roof.
These "event" tactics work for about 30% of the population, but they do not generally work for the remaining 70% of the population who see through all the hype. Why not capture 100% of the market, instead of competing for the same 30% everybody else is attracting.
Cut: First and foremost, you need to cut through the competitive clutter and get noticed and remembered in a positive way. Your copy, offer and creative execution must be enticing, exciting, moving, and believable. You need to stand out, and offer something stunning that people want. Like exceptionally friendly and personable service, super convenient location, huge variety and product selection, value-added services, etc.
Clarity: Your message, offer, and Unique Selling Proposition (USP) must be clear, concise and easy to understand quickly. Keep it simple, powerful and clean, both in design execution and message.
Color: Use only full color ads. Much research indicates that color increases credibility, enhances communication, and cuts through a sea of non-color ads. Use colors in your logo and color schemes that fit your image and message. Use them consistently. Use color pictures, graphics, charts, or any imagery that will enhance and communicate your message and offer. In a two color ad, the most powerful attention grabbing color combinations are red copy on a solid yellow background (Kodak logo), yellow copy on a red background (McDonald’s logo), or black copy on a yellow background.
Carrot: You need a hook, a carrot or an offer that is going to motivate the viewer to act now. You need a call to action, like “come in today and receive a free_______”. Or a self-liquidator, which is a popular item that you can buy in bulk at a huge discount, and sell them for what you paid, just to get people into your dealership. Self-liquidators work great as traffic builders, as long as what you are offering is clearly in demand, you can sell it for less than what the retail market price is, and you advertise it so that people know about it.
Communication: You need to establish a dialog with your prospects, which requires a response device (phone, self addressed and stamped reply card, e-mail, etc.), a database of responders, and a timely follow-up system.
Commitment: You must stay committed to your advertising, your schedule, your look, and your branding message. Otherwise you lose the equity position you created.
Consistency: There are two conflicting theories in advertising. One is the theory of “frequency,” which is based on the theory that people must see or hear an ad at least three times before they will take notice and act upon it. The other theory is “recency.” The recency theory claims that only one impression is required, if it is made upon a person that is actually in the market to buy today. It assumes that if you are in the market to buy a DVD player for example, and you see an ad with a good price on a quality name brand that you like, with the features and specs you are looking for, at a store convenient to you, why do you need to see that same ad 3 times before you will act on it? As the theory goes, you see it once, and if all the elements make sense, you act.
Recency theory then, simply states that it is far more important to cast a wide net to reach that small percentage of people that are ready to buy today, than to keep beating your message over the heads of a smaller audience with frequency, because statistically, you will be talking to fewer people who are in the market. The recency theory is precisely why classified newspaper advertising works so well for dealers. Despite the fact that newspapers are losing readers and market share every year, and the average age of the daily subscribers is going up each year, outpacing the average age of the population. And the fact that people spend less time reading the paper than ever before, the fact is that the few people who are reading the automotive classifieds are those who actually in the market. And they only need to see your ad once before they act.
The recency theory hinges on the idea that is far more important to cast a wide net using mass media, and be seen or heard by those people who are in the market, just before they are ready to buy.
However, the recency theory is only applicable for price and product sale event advertising, and it does not work at all for branding. Branding is not to be confused with “name awareness” or “institutional” advertising. Which I personally believe is a complete waste of money in most situations. To understand what I mean by a true branding campaign, see my post “When Branding Works”.
Combination: In order to capitalize on the recency theory, you need to get in front of as many potential buyers as possible on a regular basis. This requires a media mix, consisting of a 7x15 full color ad in the automotive classified section of the major daily newspaper every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a regular broadcast TV schedule (not cable), consisting of at least 100 Household Gross Rating Points per week, and a radio schedule on the top 4-5 stations, with at least 4 spots per day, Monday through Friday, with an equal rotation from 6AM-7PM.. As well as 2 spots per day Saturday and Sunday, 10AM-4PM.
Cost: Your media schedule must be professionally planned and negotiated. An expert professional approach will take into account strict cost efficiency objectives of buying the schedule at the lowest Cost Per Point (CPP) and Cost Per Thousand (CPM). As well as generate more reach and more frequency than a media schedule that is placed by a layman. More money is wasted in advertising than you can ever imagine, simply by paying too much, buying the wrong media outlets, the wrong schedules, and the wrong programs. There are specific methods, strategies, and formulas to buying and negotiating media at rates 30-70% less than you are paying currently. You can learn them, or hire someone who has the training, and the proven and documented ability to do so.
Caliber: Your ad must be of a high caliber that will reflect positively on your dealership. The only thing that the prospect knows or sees about your company, is the image that you portray in your ads. If your ads are a cheap, slapped together low quality production, what does that say about your company, your image and your product? The quality of your advertising production, like your clothes, your house and your car, are a direct reflection on who you are, the types of customers you attract and serve, and where you are going in the future. Advertising is the same as courting a beautiful lady. You absolutely must put your best foot forward in order to win the hand of that lovely lady. Don’t skimp on production if you can at all help it. In fact, reserve about 15-20% of your entire monthly advertising budget for print and electronic media production.
Copy: Use advertising copy that entices, describes the benefits in word pictures, stirs the emotions, justifies the decision on logic, and SELLS! Make every single word count. No fluff, no filler, no waste. Your job is to capture their attention, peak their interest, motivate and sell in only a few seconds. Again, the caliber of production is critical. If you don’t have a really good copy writer who can write to sell, you’re sunk. Budget for quality production and quality copy writing.
Cute: Avoid cute kids, pets, models, jingles or jokes if they are not absolutely critical to the selling message and motivation to buy. These are known as “attention vampires” and they actually rob from your advertising impact by taking the focus off of your critical selling message and offer. There is a time and place, and a very effective way to use them, but only when they are essential to the very message itself. Michelin Tires does a wonderful job of the proper usage of cute babies and animals in their ads. Simply because their entire message is the safety and protection of your most precious cargo. If the message were anything different, it would not have worked for a tire company.
Caution: There is an overwhelming tendency to oversimplify, undervalue, and gloss-over the very complex world of advertising. Everyone is looking for the easy to understand, easy to implement, and low-budget solution to advertising. They want a quick decision, quick production, a quick fix, and a quick response. And that is why we see so many shot-in-arm, flash-in-the-pan events like the “$5 Sale,” the “Slasher Sale,” and all the other short-term sale events that have no long-term benefits or real growth strategies behind them.
These short articles are dangerous, in that they oversimplify the complexities of advertising, and they give the appearance of a “one-size-fits-all” approach.
I strongly recommend that you implement a real strategy for market dominance and long-term growth, by using a combination of 20% of your ad budget on customer retention and follow-up, 30% of your budget on sale events, and 50% of your budget on a real branding campaign that causes people to buy from you regardless of the sale events, the blow-outs, the liquidation sales, the rebates, and the inflatable gorilla on the roof.
These "event" tactics work for about 30% of the population, but they do not generally work for the remaining 70% of the population who see through all the hype. Why not capture 100% of the market, instead of competing for the same 30% everybody else is attracting.
Monday, July 20, 2009
The Power of Sound in Advertising
I have been conducting seminars and writing about the power of sound/echoic impact in advertising for years. Especially when combined with rhyme, rhythm and melody found in music. There is little in advertising that’s more memorable, impactful or emotional than a good song.
An example of emotion in music…Amazing Grace on the bag pipes at funerals gets me every time. And just look at young women screaming and balling their eyes out at concerts. The emotion of music is more important than we often think as logical businesspeople.
But where has the good music and jingles in advertising gone? It’s almost a lost art. When I conduct my seminars on “The Power of Sound in Advertising” I quiz the audience on a series of 20 different slogans that were embedded in jingles and stingers of famous brands for years, but grace the airwaves no more. In fact one of them went off the air on December 31st, 1971. And yet, everyone in the audience over 45 remembers the jingle, and can finish the song.
That my friends is the power of sound and repetition that creates permanent brand recall. And brand recall leads to brand preference, which leads to brand confidence, which leads to sales, and so on and so on.
And how do you suppose we have learned to recite the alphabet from age 6? We learned the ABCs by singing them. In fact we learned the states, the capitols, and religion through rhyme, rhythm and melody. Religion you say? In the early days most people could not read, so songs or hymns were written to teach the congregations the principles and concepts of the church through music, knowing that words, concepts and emotions sung to music are remembered and recalled easily. Not to mention that words written to music carry far more emotional weight than words alone.
So I was driving home just today, and this old Uncle Cracker song comes on called “Drift Away” and the lyrics just nailed it. I have bolded the lyrics that I feel have particular meaning and connection with people right now, with so much uncertainty and financial crisis. The lyrics first pinpoint the near universal state of mind, and then the real genius; they nail exactly what people are looking for: Escapism, freedom, security, someone to save them and someone to lean-on.
I stress that people seek and pursue freedom and escapism on a regular basis, and they are willing to pay for it. Think vacations, theme parks, cruise ships, movies, books, games, TV, music, sports, the Internet, drugs, alcohol, parties, walks on the beach, you name it, we want to surround ourselves with escapism. And this song is loaded with powerful advertising messages of hope, escapism, freedom, someone or something to believe in, and someone to lean-on. That's advertising.
"Day after day I'm more confused
So I look for the light in the pouring rain
You know that's a game that I hate to lose
I'm feelin' the strain, ain't it a shame
Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away
Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away
Beginning to think that I'm wastin' time
I don't understand the things I do
The world outside looks so unkind
I'm countin' on you to carry me through
And when my mind is free
You know a melody can move me
And when I'm feelin' blue
The guitar's comin' through to soothe me
Thanks for the joy that you've given me
I want you to know I believe in your song
Rhythm and rhyme and harmony
You help me along makin' me strong
An example of emotion in music…Amazing Grace on the bag pipes at funerals gets me every time. And just look at young women screaming and balling their eyes out at concerts. The emotion of music is more important than we often think as logical businesspeople.
But where has the good music and jingles in advertising gone? It’s almost a lost art. When I conduct my seminars on “The Power of Sound in Advertising” I quiz the audience on a series of 20 different slogans that were embedded in jingles and stingers of famous brands for years, but grace the airwaves no more. In fact one of them went off the air on December 31st, 1971. And yet, everyone in the audience over 45 remembers the jingle, and can finish the song.
That my friends is the power of sound and repetition that creates permanent brand recall. And brand recall leads to brand preference, which leads to brand confidence, which leads to sales, and so on and so on.
And how do you suppose we have learned to recite the alphabet from age 6? We learned the ABCs by singing them. In fact we learned the states, the capitols, and religion through rhyme, rhythm and melody. Religion you say? In the early days most people could not read, so songs or hymns were written to teach the congregations the principles and concepts of the church through music, knowing that words, concepts and emotions sung to music are remembered and recalled easily. Not to mention that words written to music carry far more emotional weight than words alone.
So I was driving home just today, and this old Uncle Cracker song comes on called “Drift Away” and the lyrics just nailed it. I have bolded the lyrics that I feel have particular meaning and connection with people right now, with so much uncertainty and financial crisis. The lyrics first pinpoint the near universal state of mind, and then the real genius; they nail exactly what people are looking for: Escapism, freedom, security, someone to save them and someone to lean-on.
I stress that people seek and pursue freedom and escapism on a regular basis, and they are willing to pay for it. Think vacations, theme parks, cruise ships, movies, books, games, TV, music, sports, the Internet, drugs, alcohol, parties, walks on the beach, you name it, we want to surround ourselves with escapism. And this song is loaded with powerful advertising messages of hope, escapism, freedom, someone or something to believe in, and someone to lean-on. That's advertising.
"Day after day I'm more confused
So I look for the light in the pouring rain
You know that's a game that I hate to lose
I'm feelin' the strain, ain't it a shame
Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away
Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away
Beginning to think that I'm wastin' time
I don't understand the things I do
The world outside looks so unkind
I'm countin' on you to carry me through
And when my mind is free
You know a melody can move me
And when I'm feelin' blue
The guitar's comin' through to soothe me
Thanks for the joy that you've given me
I want you to know I believe in your song
Rhythm and rhyme and harmony
You help me along makin' me strong
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