Caught Up in Creativity

As I was driving to an appointment the other day, I passed a billboard which caught my eye. The prominent scene on the billboard was a photo of kids jumping off a rock into water. In large, capital letters “Vacationville” spread across the top. A small logo was tucked in the lower right corner.

“Whose logo is that?” I wondered as I peered back at the billboard, almost driving off the road in the process.

At the last second I thought that I discerned “Johnsonville” on the logo.

“Wow,” I exclaimed out loud. “Why do businesses do that? I can’t believe that a business of Johnsonville’s size would make that mistake.”

What was that mistake? The biggest mistake made on that billboard was making the logo too small. I am always amazed when businesses and advertising agencies add the name of the business onto a billboard, a print ad, a radio spot, or a television commercial in an insignificant manner. The name appears to be an afterthought. It is displayed too small in print, said only once in radio, or shown only at the end of the television commercial.

Isn’t the name of the business the principal reason for the advertising? Isn’t the purpose of most ads to prompt customers to buy from that business? How does minimizing the business’s name promote the business?

It doesn’t. When the business’s name is prominently featured, customers get the message easily. In fact, they get the most important part of the message easily: the business’s name. I recommend that in any print piece, whether billboard, magazine, or newspaper, the business’s name is as large as the headline. The headline and the business’s name together give the message of a print piece. If that’s all a reader sees, you have communicated what you wanted to say.

In radio or any audio communication, say the business’s name at least three times in thirty seconds. Repetition is critical. Merely saying the business’s name at the beginning and/or the end of the spot is not enough. The listener needs to hear the name during the spot, too, in order to absorb the business’s name.

Television commercials are the biggest abusers of minimizing the business’s name. Often, the name of the business is only at the end for three to five seconds. When the business is paying for thirty seconds, why not have the business’s name on the screen for the entire length of time? Why not tell the viewer at every point in the commercial who the commercial is promoting? Why not make a big deal about the business’s name?

Having worked in radio and TV and having created print ads, I can answer those questions. Just like the agency who designed the Johnsonville billboard, copywriters and graphic designers get caught up in creativity. They are so into writing something different and thereby getting the viewer’s, listener’s, or reader’s attention that they forget to promote the business’s name. Pay attention to the national commercials; they are often the most flagrant abusers. Many of the commercials show the name of the product for such a brief time that the viewer must pay very close attention to find it.

Do you think that happens? I don’t, either.

I once read that many writers at large advertising agencies are “wanna be film makers.” If you pay attention to their output, you will see this. I also know from first-hand experience, however, that business people frequently encourage this creativity. As a radio and TV sales rep I often heard a business person say “get me a commercial that is creative and different from my competition.” The business person did not know the unique selling proposition for his or her business and, therefore, could not communicate that information to the copywriter or designer. Instead, the business person hoped that the writer or designer could make the business stand out with creativity.

Creativity is not a substitute for substance. Customers want to know what’s in it for them to do business with your business. Tell them. When you do so, be sure to let them know in a big way who is telling them.