No, You Don’t Have to Advertise

“You have to advertise!” an advertising salesperson exclaimed.

“No, I don’t,” my client replied.

She was right. 

Businesspeople do not need to advertise.  They need to market.  If they have not created a marketing plan, advertising is likely not productive.  The marketing plan details their objectives, targets their market, and prepares the company for the business advertising is intended to stimulate.

The marketing plan is the foundation and structure of the business’ marketing.  Advertising is the paint job.  To use another analogy, marketing is the cake while advertising is the sprinkles, chips, nuts, or coconut atop the cake.  A paint job or cake toppings are optional.  Similarly, a marketing plan may or may not indicate the use of advertising. 

The advertising salesperson expressed, “You need to advertise!” in desperation.  Sadly, some businesspeople respond to that line by thinking, Yeah, I do, and I don’t know what to buy.  Oh, well, maybe this will work. 

Then they buy the advertising.  They have no plan as to how to use it, what to expect, or what preparations to make in running it.  All this leads to a lack of follow through and disappointment.  The end result is frustration for the businessperson and the advertising salesperson.  The businessperson doesn’t understand why advertising doesn’t work, and the salesperson doesn’t understand why the businessperson doesn’t make the most out of the advertising.

Laying out a marketing plan reveals the opportunities for advertising.  It indicates where advertising money is best spent.  It sets up the best potential to maximize profitable results.

My client didn’t need that advertising because she knows her objectives, has targeted her market, and knows what business she wants to stimulate.  That advertising would not have helped her with any of those. 

It wasn’t the paint job or the sprinkles she wanted. 

This week's marketing trivia challenge is What advertising have you turned down and why?  E-mail me your answer.

Check out my book Mistakes I Made Buying Advertising here.

“I Didn’t Know It Was On.”

Watching a weekly show about the Packers, my roommate noticed an ad from her favorite pizza place, which doesn’t normally advertise on TV. 

“Some TV sales rep talked them into advertising on TV,” I commented.  “The rep probably said that pizza and football are good combinations.”

“That’s a good place for them to advertise,” she replied.  “I would have been watching that show regularly if I’d known it was on.”  She paused briefly and then mumbled, “I didn’t know it was on.”

Here’s the process many small businesspeople go through to advertise on a TV show such as this.  The TV sales rep convinces businessperson of that this show is a good place to advertise and offers an attractive commercial package that centers around the show, likely with substantial savings.  The businessperson agrees with the sales rep’s reasoning and purchases the package.  A commercial is created for the business by the TV station.  The production cost might even be reduced or free as a part of the package.  The businessperson approves the commercial, and it airs during the show and possibly other agreed upon time periods.   

The mistake on the part of the pizza place businessperson and all the other businesspeople who are convinced by a rep to buy is that they fail to ask the right questions.  How is your station promoting this program?  When do the commercials for it air on your station?  How are you promoting it off air?

Businesspeople are wrapped up in their own decisions of whether to buy the package and what to put in the commercial.  They don’t consider if viewers know about the program, what the station is doing to get or retain viewership to it, and how those two factors affect the response to their commercial.  They don’t address these questions either before, during, or after they make the buy.

I agree that football and pizzas do mix well.  Statistics show that the high point of the year for pizza orders is during the Super Bowl.  That does not mean, however, that placing commercials for a pizza place on any football-related show is a wise move.  You need to have asked the right questions and received satisfactory answers before you can judge.  You don’t want people to be saying, “I didn’t know it was on.”

This week's marketing trivia challenge is When have you asked the right questions of a sales rep?  E-mail me your answer.

The Single Biggest Mistake

I had a conversation with a client about the single biggest mistake businesspeople make buying advertising and made a video about it.  Click here to find out what it is.

Answer the question at the end of the video for a chance to win one of my books.  Leave your answer here. 

Spotlight on Super Bowl Ads

Long before the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens were halfway through the 2012 regular football season, companies had committed to ads in next week’s Super Bowl.  Before that, the companies’ management had decided their ads’ content.  Even before that, they had laid out their marketing plans for 2013.  After completing their plans, they selected the Super Bowl as a program in which to run an ad to accomplish a particular objective. 

Management of these companies laid out their marketing plan and message for 2013.  Looking at their objectives, they chose the Super Bowl as an event to reach their target market.  They hired firms to create the ads and to buy the commercial time in the Super Bowl. 

The ads’ messages are part of the companies’ strategy for this year.  They know why they are running the ads and have objectives which they want to reach in doing so.  These include:

• Kick off of a new product,
• Maintain market share of an existing product,
• Revive interest in a product.

They did not buy the commercial time and then decide which ad to run.  Running an ad in the Super Bowl reaches too many people, makes too big an impression, and costs too much for the purchase to be a knee-jerk reaction.  Management realizes that these ads will not only run this year but also be featured again every year at Super Bowl time during newscasts and in special programs.  That intensity prompts management to put its best effort into these ads. 

This is a template for how all advertising ought to be handled.  The marketing plan is first; the objectives, target market, and message are within the plan; deciding what advertising to buy follows; and buying the advertising is last.  Unfortunately, most business owners and managers do just the reverse.  They buy the ads and then at the last minute try to figure out what to say.  They don’t address their message before buying the ad.  They don’t target their market.  They don’t set marketing objectives or objectives for that ad.  They don’t have a marketing plan.   

As you watch the spotlight on Super Bowl ads in the upcoming days, remember that these ads didn’t happen overnight.  Behind these ads is a great deal of thought, preparation, and objectives. 

All business owners and managers could learn this lesson.   

This week's marketing trivia challenge is What was a challenge for you in preparing your 2013 marketing plan? E-mail me your answer.    
     

The Wrong Message

I am excited to share with you that I am finishing my new book, Mistakes I Made Buying Advertising, and hope to have it out in January.  In writing this book, I have been surprised with unexpected insights.  I watched an example of one of them in a local commercial the other day. 

The commercial was beautifully produced for a local winery.  While showing a person walking through rows of lush green vines, the announcer said, “Why travel to Napa when you can enjoy the complete wine experience right here in Wisconsin?  Come enjoy the complete wine experience at our winery.”

The next scene followed a customer walking through a spacious, richly-decorated showroom.  The announcer continued, “Award winning wines, award winning staff, and beautiful views await you.”

True to the announcer’s line, the scene switched to two people sitting outside on a sunny summer day looking out over the vineyard.  The view was so attractive that I wanted to go there.  The scene dissolved into a glass of wine with lush green vines in the background.  The writing on the screen stated:  Tasting room open May - December.  Visit on the web.  The announcer commented, “Come experience Wisconsin wine country at our vineyard.” 

This was an attention-getting, beautifully-produced commercial which delivered its message well.  What is my problem with it?

It’s December!

Looking outside, I know that I cannot see lush greenery now.  I cannot sit outside and experience Wisconsin wine country.  I cannot walk through rows of grape vines.  This commercial is tempting me of summer when the season is on the verge of winter.  The commercial’s message is wrong for this time of year.

I know why the vineyard ran this commercial.  Here is the scenario.  The television sales person offered an irresistible package deal.  The person buying advertising for the vineyard rationalized that the deal fit right in with the business’s push for Christmas sales.  However, that person either did not have time or did not want to pay to produce a new commercial.  After all, why throw out more money in production when the air time was a deal?

In buying the air time, the vineyard person made several mistakes:

• Buying advertising for the wrong reason, a good deal;
• Buying advertising without knowing my message;
• Buying advertising in the wrong sequence;
• Buying advertising without a clue as to the ad’s content;
• And a couple more.

Instead of supporting the push for Christmas sales, the commercial distracted the potential customer and made her wish for summer.  Instead of suggesting the gift of wine, the commercial proposed visiting a vineyard.  Instead of inviting her to an indoor tasting, the commercial had her daydreaming of sitting in the sun and drinking a glass of wine.

The message was completely wrong. 

At this time of year, showing summer does not get viewers’ attention.  For those longing for the summer sun during these gray days, seeing these attractive vineyard scenes may be irritating or depressing.  Worst of all for the vineyard, running this commercial will not contribute toward selling wine for Christmas. 

The vineyard would have been better off saving the dollars spent on this schedule. 

Get the most out of your advertising.  Before you buy advertising, know your message and make it your ad’s content.   

Be Transparent

The commercial opened with two beautiful draft horses pulling a wide, covered wagon through the snow. Santa was seated prominently in the front behind the driver, and wreaths were hung around the wagon, adding color and a festive look. With the snow swirling around, the entire scene was enticing. My interest was piqued. What was this about?

Watching further, I saw Santa and Mrs. Claus, fresh-cut Christmas trees, and kids decorating cookies. The announcer said, “This Christmas, start a new tradition by getting your fresh cut Christmas tree and enjoy horse-drawn sleigh rides, cookie decorating for the kids, and visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus at Vino in the Valley.”

“Nice commercial,” I thought. “It’s very well done. Where is Vino in the Valley?”

The commercial never told me. It’s only information was vinointhevalley.com at the end. “Where is that?” I wondered. “Did I miss the location?”

The next time that the commercial aired, I missed part of it and thought that I must have missed the location once again. The third time that I caught it, I made a point to run it back and watch it all the way through. The only information it contained was vinointhevalley.com.

That’s not enough.

I was reminded of a consumer who told me that she wanted to go to a store, but the store never gave a street address on its commercials. It only stated the two cities where the stores were located. The consumer refused to go the extra step to find the store’s location either online or from a phone book. “I’d like to shop there,” she said, “but if they won’t tell me where they are, I’m not taking the extra time to find out.”

Her reaction surprised me initially. After thinking about it, I realized that she had a point. Why should she have gone to extra effort to find the store? What was in it for her?

As I mulled the Vino in the Valley commercial over, I thought about an ad that I was given recently which completely lacked an address. There was no address, no phone number, and no Web site. I assume that was a mistake.

Was that ad any different from the Vino in the Valley commercial?

Out of curiosity, I finally went online and checked out vinointhevalley.com. I quickly realized why the commercial directed viewers to the Web site. The location was off the beaten path and required lengthy directions. These directions could not be given on a commercial. However, leaving the location off the commercial completely was a mistake. Expecting consumers to take the extra step to find a business likely won’t happen.

As the lady I referenced earlier indicated, people are too busy to investigate. Give them the information that they need to make a decision. Vino in the Valley would have been wise to indicate its general location. By not doing so, I felt that something was wrong. Either they had forgotten or were cloaking it for some reason. The latter made me suspicious. The lack of the location irritated me.

Perhaps the Vino in the Valley people thought that because they couldn’t give all the directions, they should avoid directions entirely. Or, perhaps they thought that telling the general location might be a turnoff for some consumers. If that was their thinking, they were probably correct. However, revealing that information after a consumer has taken extra time to go to a Web site will have the same result. If the consumer wouldn’t be interested by the general location, she won’t be interested by the specific one, either. Having interrupted her schedule to go online, her disinterest may be coupled with irritation.

In your marketing, be transparent. Good marketing piques interest but does not hide or neglect important information. Give consumers what they need to know to find your business.

An Unclear Message

The other day I saw a sign that shocked me. It read “Experience College the Way It Was Meant to Be.”

“What does that mean?” I thought.

According to the movie depiction of college, “College the way it was meant to be” would include drinking, partying, and having a good time. Being a part of a sorority would be more important than studying. Fielding a winning sports program so that the institution receives funding from alumni would be a high priority. Getting away from home and doing your own thing would drive a student.

Was that what the sign meant?

Was it prompting a retro version of college, the way it was? If so, that seems skewed in favor of the institution, not the student. Many students who attend the movie depiction of “College the way it was meant to be” don’t graduate. Others take more than four years to graduate. Some don’t have the grades to graduate. In these cases, the institution wins, but the student does not.

Can today’s student afford “College the way it was meant to be?” Today, college needs to offer students more than a degree. College needs to offer knowledge. A degree might get a student into an interview, but knowledge will get him the job and help him do well at that job. Knowledge has been found to be the most important determiner of the health of a country’s economy. Is knowledge a part of “College the way it was meant to be?”

I don’t know. What do you think?

Whatever any of us thinks and anyone else who reads this sign thinks is all a guess, isn’t it? None of us is absolutely certain that we know what “College the way it was meant to be” means. The only person who knows is the person who thought up the phrase. It made sense to him or her. It was catchy. It clearly stated the reason to attend that school. Unfortunately, we don’t share that thought.

To us it is very unclear. Sadly, this phrase which was deemed worth putting on a sign with the idea of piquing interest in the school did not accomplish its goal. It requires too much interpretation.

Don’t leave your message to interpretation. Test your message on your customers. Ask them “What does this mean to you?” Find out before you use a message that it communicates what you want. Be certain that it clearly tells your customers “What’s in it for them.”

Meaningless Message

A Toyota dealership in my area recently moved into a new facility off the new bypass. As the facility was being constructed, the dealership ran TV ads promoting that the new location was opening soon. The message of one of these ads was “We built it for you.”

The first time that I heard this ad, I responded out loud, “No, you didn’t. You built for yourself.”

I considered writing an Insight about the message. However, I did not, hoping that this was an ad that had been put together quickly and would not continue.

Was I ever wrong!

Evidently, this was the start of their major campaign about the move. I heard the commercial a couple of times, and then it was not on the air for a few weeks. When the new facility opened, however, the commercial aired multiple times a day. During the opening campaign all the business’s TV and newspaper ads used this theme. “We didn’t build it for us. We built it for you. The new facility is everything that you‘ve been looking for.”

Not only was the business continuing the “We built it for you” theme, it had emphasized the theme by adding that “We didn’t build it for us.”

Okay, who buys that? Do you buy it? Do you think any business builds a new facility for its customers first? I don’t. I think that a business builds a facility because management thinks the bottom line will benefit with the new building. In this instance, management wanted to tap into the new bypass, which has an enormous amount of traffic.

What does a customer get from the new facility? I have no idea. I guess “everything that I’ve been looking for.” Well, I have never looked for anything in a car dealership facility. If you asked me what I would want in a car dealership facility, I could not tell you one thing off the top of my head. As most customers, if I thought about it for a while, I probably still couldn’t tell you what I would want in a car dealership facility.

Have you ever bought a vehicle because of the dealership’s facility?

I haven’t. I bet no one has.

The ads did not give me any clues as to what the new facility offered me, either. There were no specifics of what’s in it for me as a customer of the new facility. Backing up this statement with facts would have been more effective. Telling me what the facility offered “that I’ve been looking for” would have been informative and interesting. That would have put meaning into the message.

Advertising messages are effective only if they have meaning to the customer. Otherwise, they are a waste of time and money.

What do your advertising messages mean to your customer?

Timing

Oprah launched her new network, OWN, on New Year’s Day. That was a smart move. While New Year’s Day featured the typical crunch of football games, this year it fell on a Saturday. That meant the normal weekday programming of soaps and talk shows which would be OWN’s competition was not available. In addition, usual Saturday programming does not have broad appeal because people don’t watch much TV during the day on Saturdays.

New Year’s Day Saturday, however, was different. Most people had the day off and, due to the holidays, were around the house, whether their’s or someone else’s. Not all of them wanted to watch football. In fact, OWN’s target market of predominately women were interested in something other than football. They were looking for fresh, interesting programming that they could watch while the guys watched football. The time was ripe to introduce OWN.

A mix of original programs, strips, specials, original documentaries, and acquired movies, OWN was watched in 85 million homes on New Year’s Day. Wow! That’s an impressive number, particularly for a holiday.

When I sold TV, many clients avoided holidays, but those who used them got excellent response. One client who managed a summer music festival took my suggestion and ran a schedule on Thanksgiving Day. “Think about it,” I urged my client. “Families will be mulling around the house with the TV on, discussing what they did last year and what they plan for next year. Your commercial airs and gives them an idea to attend your music festival and have a good time. They may even go as a family. Or, they may think of giving the gift of tickets for Christmas.”

My client had been listening intently. “You’ve got a good point. Let’s try it.”

We did, and he was amazed at the response. Many people saw the commercial because of the holiday. In addition, they had an urgency to call immediately after the holiday due to an early bird ticket price cut off date of December 1.

In both of these instances the timing was right.

Do you have an opportunity which could be advertised on a holiday? Would your target market be watching? Would the timing be right?

Think this through. Don’t dismiss a holiday as a “bad” time to advertise just because it is a holiday. The holiday could actually make it attractive. Consider whether your target market would be watching. Discuss if your target market would notice your commercial. Decide if the timing would be right. Think beyond your normal boundaries.

Remember, timing is critical.

Logistics

In a new advertising campaign, UPS is teaching customers the definition of a word: Logistics. What is logistics? Well, according to UPS, logistics is “When it’s planes in the sky for a chain of supply,” “When the parts for the line come precisely on time,” “A continuous link that is always in sync,” and “There will be no more stress cause you called UPS.”

Looking in Merriam-Webster, logistics is either the aspect of military science dealing with the procurement, maintenance, and transportation of military material, facilities, and personnel or the handling of the details of an operation.

Why do these definitions matter? They demonstrate how the definition of a word can be manipulated to suit the situation. Unfortunately, in this case that will not be helpful to UPS because the word logistics is not clearly understood by the audience. Therefore, UPS must educate the audience as to the meaning of the word. The TV commercial attempts to do this with a jingle that sings the above phrases to the tune of That’s Amore.

Any time that a company uses advertising to educate, a great deal of marketing effort is being wasted. You see, learning happens from repetition. Good education repeats and repeats and repeats so that learning takes place. Learning the meaning of a word requires the receiver to receive, focus, and think.

Today, people don’t think anymore than is necessary, and they certainly don’t do so when mindlessly watching TV. In order to absorb the new UPS message, they would need to pay close attention to the definitions that are sung and think how these definitions apply to their lives. Doing that requires way more attention and thought processes than today’s TV viewers will give.

This commercial caught my attention because That’s Amore is one of those songs that sticks in my mind after I have heard it. However, except for the refrain of “That’s logistics,” I didn’t understand any of the rest of the words. To write this Insight, I went to YouTube, played the commercial, listened carefully, and paused it after each phrase. The commercial is beautifully shot, but, if the audience doesn’t get the message, is it accomplishing its goal?

I think not.

On the contrary, UPS’s former message, what can Brown do for you, was clear and customer-focused. Now, UPS does not like being “brown” anymore. They wanted to change their image so they decided that they heart (love) logistics. Their challenge in this new message is that most people are not certain they understand logistics. “No problem,” the creative people at the agency for UPS said. “We will educate them.”

While much of marketing involves education, advertising does not. Advertising messages must be easily and quickly understood by the receiver. People easily and quickly understood “What can brown do for you” because the UPS trucks and uniforms are brown so UPS is associated with the color brown. With the old commercials, UPS had branded itself with a color, which is quite a feat.

Now they have abandoned brown, which everyone readily understands, with logistics, which everyone does not get.

What can logistics do for you?

A Wise Play

Last Friday my roommate opened the sports section of the newspaper and noticed a two page spread on the paper’s football pick contest. “Look at this,” she urged. “They have listed the advertisers’ picks for the games this weekend.”

Indeed they had.

Below their pictures, eleven advertisers’ picks were listed along with their names and the names of their businesses. These were the advertisers providing the prizes for the contest and advertising in the two-page spread which promoted the contest. Since their picks were in the center of the paper, the picks jumped out at the reader.

“That is smart,” I replied. “The newspaper involved the advertisers by having them make those picks.”

Contests are notorious for getting the involvement of consumers. This time of year, consumers frequently participate in contests which offer the opportunity to pick the winners of football games. Football fans love to guess the winners, don’t they? Melding their interest in picking football game winners with the involvement that consumers have in contests, the local newspaper created the “Click, Pick, and Win” contest. Entrants can sign up and make their picks online. Their results are totaled each week and added into a running total. Weekly prizes as well as a grand prize are awarded.

Tapping into the football hype at the beginning of the season is smart for the newspaper and for the advertisers. Why? First of all, most readers of sports pages are part of a hard-to-find market: men. Guys read the sports pages, especially this time of the year, to keep up with their favorite team and find out what is happening with other teams, too. If men are a business’s target market, this is an excellent vehicle to reach them.

Second, guys who are football fans love to participate in guessing which team will win a game. Setting up a contest in which they can do this on a weekly basis gives them the opportunity to do so and have bragging rights as to their picks for the week.

The newspaper took this a step further, however, with the third reason that this idea is smart. By having the advertisers make their picks every week, the newspaper opened the door for feedback to the advertisers. One of the greatest challenges to selling media is feedback. The advertisers’ weekly picks will prompt unsolicited comments from consumers on a particular game or week’s picks such as “You did okay this week on your picks, didn’t you?” or “I can’t believe that you picked New York in that game!”

These picks give advertisers an opening for conversation with consumers and the opportunity to build a relationship with them. The picks give both the target market and the advertisers a common interest. Rather than being a stranger who wants to take the consumer’s money, the advertisers become people, establishing trust. After all, you can trust another football fanatic, can’t you?

Trust opens the door to building a long term relationship as a customer and a business person. These relationships are profitable for both parties. That is what you want from your marketing.

The next time that you are offered an advertising opportunity, take a careful look at it. Does the offer involve your customer? Does it offer an opportunity for two-way communication with your customer? Will it afford you the chance to lay a foundation of trust and build a relationship with your customer?

If it does, grab it. That is profitable advertising.

Wasted Advertising

Have you seen BP’s commercials about the oil spill? On one, a middle management guy says that he is from the Gulf area, he’s in charge of distributing the clean up funds, and he won’t rest until BP takes care of everyone who deserves to get money. On the other, a senior executive says that he was raised in the Gulf area and will see that everything is put back to where it was before the oil spill. Both commercials have a similar theme of the spokesperson being from the Gulf Coast and assuring the viewer that BP will make it right; he will see to it.

In addition to these commercials, desperate tourism businesses are airing commercials which invite vacationers to come there and play in the warm, white sand. Relax on the beautiful beaches. Enjoy the fresh, delicious seafood. Have fun at the Gulf Coast. I’ve seen these commercials a couple of times in the evening but not on a major network. I suspect the businesses don’t have much budget to air these; I’m surprised that they have any budget at all.

A week ago, I saw one of these commercials in the evening, and the first news story that I saw the next morning was of oil washing up in a new location on a Gulf Coast beach. One or two ads in the evening were easily trumped in the morning with one statement by a news reporter, “Oil is washing up on the Mississippi coast.”

Why is BP running these ads?

Beats me. I am totally perplexed. They appear to think that advertising will restore their good name. They seem to think that commercials will convince viewers that everything is all right in the Gulf. They are certain that if they just run these commercials with enough frequency that they will change Americans’ minds about the tragedy.

Evidently BP management or their marketing team missed the lesson on publicity versus advertising. Of the two, publicity is by far and away more credible, more noticed, and more trusted. When Americans see a report on the news about the oil spill, read an article in the paper, or talk to their friends and relatives about the situation, they internalize and remember what they saw, read, or discussed. That information forms the basis for their opinion on the subject. Their opinion determines if they even notice the commercials. If they do notice them, chances are that they dismiss them as more BP propaganda.

What the public knows that BP doesn’t is that you can’t trump publicity with advertising. It’s a waste of effort and money. Obviously, the desperate Gulf Coast businesses don’t know that, either. However I can understand their advertising. When you are desperate, you are willing to try anything.

I am sharing this with you today to reinforce to you that advertising cannot trump publicity. If your customers have formed an opinion due to news or word of mouth, advertising will not change their opinion. Advertising can maintain their opinion, but it cannot change it. Many businesses use advertising in an attempt to educate or convince customers. That is the wrong use for advertising. Advertising maintains; it does not initiate.

Are you using your advertising to maintain your position with customers?

Three Simple Criteria for a Successful Ad

A rare occurrence happened to me recently. I watched a TV commercial for the first time and remembered it. The commercial was for Frog Tape. (Don't ask me why it is named that!) No, it is not tape for frogs; it is tape that you use to cover adjoining ceilings or walls prior to painting so that your paint does not dribble onto an area which you do not intend to be that color.

Not only did the commercial catch my attention, perhaps due to the name, it also held my attention throughout the entire commercial. I watched it from beginning to end.

Why?

First of all, it was very specific. The commercial used words well. Rather than deal in vague generalities by using words such as quality, best, or value, this commercial explained Frog Tape in very specific wording. "Frog Tape has a backing that works like a laminate, binding to the wall or ceiling and sealing off paint." That was such a powerful statement that I remember it clearly.

Those specific words were coupled with a demonstration of the tape on the wall. When the tape was removed after the painting was complete, no drippage was under the tape. That was compared to "other" tape which did not have Frog Tape's sealing properties. How the laminate bonded was also shown. This was excellent use of television which demonstrates the best of any medium because it uses visual and motion together.

The clincher as to why I remember the commercial is that it gave me a reason to buy. Painting requires a great deal of effort and is not a project that I relish. I like to move my painting process along smoothly so that I save time and stress. If I think that my painting is finished and then remove the tape to discover paint bleed, I am not happy. The commercial showed that happening. Therefore, at the end of the Frog Tape commercial, I said aloud, "I am getting Frog Tape for my next painting project."

This Frog Tape commercial sold me because it satisfied three simple criteria of a successful ad, whatever the medium. First, it used specific wording. Second, it employed the advertising medium well. Third, it gave the customer a reason to buy. The next time that you review an ad, hold it up against these three criteria.

Does your ad have all three?

The Winner

Watching kids dressed in USA Olympic uniforms deplaning amid cheers and then entering the opening ceremonies carrying the American flag, I thought, "What is this?"

The commercial continued with kids at a press conference, a young girl in a sparkling costume about to enter the skating rink, an Apolo Ohno-type boy eyeing his competition at the starting line, four boys grabbing a bobsled for a run, and a kid poised to start the downhill course. As the sound signaled the start, the scene shifted from the child to a mother in the crowd, holding her breath. The commercials ended with this written on the screen: "To their moms, they'll always be kids."

I was choked up, and I'm not a mom. "Wow! What a commercial! Who did this?"

The P & G logo plus those of many of its brands flashed across the screen.

I enjoyed this commercial each time that I saw it in its various forms over the two weeks of the Olympics. The second week, P & G introduced a second commercial, one with moms singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" as they helped their children grow up. That one ended with "Thanks, Mom." That one, too, choked me up.

I was impressed with these commercials for three reasons. First of all, they targeted their market. Their market was moms. These commercials demonstrated that P & G knew what moms wanted, and they communicated that understanding. If these commercials choked up a non-mom such as me, I suspect that they had a huge impact on moms. At the end of each commercial, along with the logos P & G called itself "Proud Sponsor of Moms."

This was giving credit to those in the background behind the athletes, their moms.

The second reason that I was impressed was the emotional connection that these commercials made with the viewer. Eliciting emotion is not easy. Commercials which do so are rare.

They are also very effective.

Taking this emotion and tying it to the event in which the commercials aired, the Olympics, gave the commercials greater attention and memorability. As much as the Super Bowl commercials are touted to be worth watching, I cannot remember any Super Bowl commercial which tied itself to the game and did so as emotionally as these P & G commercials did. Revisiting these commercials on YouTube, I found that I was not alone. The first commercial had had almost 200,000 views.

How do you translate this to your advertising?

I understand that you do not have the budget nor the staff of P & G. However, you can apply what P & G did. First, know your target market. Know what your target market wants. Know what gets your target market's attention. Use that knowledge in your marketing message.

Second, make an emotional connection with your target market. This is tricky and difficult to do. It will require some thought. Perhaps you will not find a way to do so. If not, you can accomplish P & G's third achievement. Connect with an event and tie your advertising into that event. Perhaps in doing so, you will find your emotional connection.

Either way, following P & G's example will get more attention and memorability to your ads.

Brevity

“This is John Smith at 652-3400. Call me back, please.”

I received this message on my voice mail today from a person unknown to me. Although I immediately deleted the message, I have been mulling over its positive and negative aspects.

On the positive side, I am intrigued. Who is John Smith? Why did he call? What did he want? Should I have called him back?

This, of course, was precisely what Mr. Smith wanted me to think. He wanted me to be intrigued. He wanted my curiosity to prompt me to return his call. I have had to restrain myself from calling back. By telling me little, he piqued my interest.

That’s a good lesson to remember; less is more.

On the negative side, this person’s unwillingness to tell me why he called makes me very suspicious. My he’s-trying-to-sell-me-something antenna are waving crazily. Questions plague me. Why wouldn’t he tell me the purpose of his call? Was he calling me in particular or am I merely on his calling list? (I suspect the latter.) Why did he decide to call me?

These thoughts led me to remember a billboard that I drove past recently. The billboard’s message was short: Because stuff happens. In addition to being brief, the message was written upside down and backwards. That grabbed my attention!

Both the billboard and the caller delivered their message with brevity. That’s not easy to do. Distilling your message into a few words is tough. Having those words actually get attention is tougher. Assuring that the words communicate your message is the toughest.

While the caller accomplished two of out of three with a short message that got attention, the billboard achieved all three. Even more, the billboard’s message did not destroy credibility; the caller’s message did.

Do you communicate your message with brevity? If not, doing so will require thought. Brevity is not just a few words. Brevity is a few words that communicate your message well. Sit down and think through your message before you attempt to abbreviate it. Then, run your abbreviated message past a few customers to find out how well the words that you have chosen communicate your message. Apply your customers’ input to tweak and finalize your brief message.

Then use it on everything.

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.

A "Super" Opportunity Missed

During the past few days we have witnessed the one time each year that press and advertising meld. The topic which brings these two normally opposing teams together is the commercials aired during the Super Bowl. To many in marketing, including me, the action of press and advertising joining forces is amazing. However, this has become a cultural phenomenon. The "Super Bowl commercial watch" is as big as the game. To some, the commercials are more important than the game.

What's up with that?

When I sold television advertising, clients often commented to me about the cost of the Super Bowl commercials, which this year was three million for thirty seconds. Unable to grasp paying that much for that little a time, these clients were shocked. They thought that the dollar outlay was foolish. They couldn't believe that a business could reap enough from the ad to make spending three million worthwhile. "Why would someone do that?" they asked.

I replied, "Because they get more than the normal thirty seconds."

First of all, they get thirty seconds to sell to the largest audience of the year. Although some viewers may be taking a break during commercials, with that large an audience you have a good chance to reach more people than at any other time.

Second, before the game the press anticipates the commercials and gives them lots of buildup. Last Friday the Today Show had a significant segment previewing the commercials with two experts commenting on them. "In general," one noted, "this year's commercials are more pragmatic. Many are promoting Web sites, such as monster.com and carrerbuilder.com. Denny's has a surprise, which we cannot disclose, and Pedigree takes a different tack on adopting a dog by never showing one in the commercial."

Although they cannot show more than five seconds of any commercial in their sneak peeks, the attention drawn to the commercials by the news segments feeds the viewers’ desire to see them. No other commercials get this buildup. The buildup permeates all media: online, radio, and print. The commercials may air on one network, but all media cover them.

Third, after the game the talk about these commercials continues. Viewers are able to vote online for their favorite. Coworkers debate which one they liked best. The press spends much of Monday reviewing and discussing the fans' favorites, the critics' favorites, and the anchors' favorites. In fact, once a commercial has aired on the Super Bowl, it has the potential to be forever a part of the media's Super Bowl coverage. A television show, The Greatest Super Bowl Commercials, aired for one hour last Friday. This gives a company with a good commercial an opportunity to get that commercial aired again and again and again several times every year around the Super Bowl for no additional dollar outlay.

Think about it. Can you think of any other commercial which receives this amount of attention from all the press and all the country for that amount of time?

In light of this attention, why don't local businesses prepare special commercials for the Super Bowl and get local press coverage about their commercials? The "Super" opportunity is certainly there. Local press would love to pick up a story about a local business which took the extra effort to prepare a "Super Bowl" caliber commercial.

This doesn't happen because local businesses do not know how to use publicity, much to their detriment. Although this is the only "Super" opportunity, local businesses have many other press opportunities that they miss, too.

Which of them have you missed?

Where Are Your Customers Looking?

As I stared at the screen while checking out at Shopko the other day, I suddenly realized that Shopko was advertising on their checkout screens. The ads were in a slide show format, changing every few seconds. They took up half the screen and were very easy-to-read, attractive, and attention-getting. “Good idea,” I thought.

Later that day, I was checking the weather map online at a regional news site. While I waited for the map to load, I stared at an advertisement for Gold ‘n Plump Chicken. “Click here for coupons” the ad encouraged. I did and found three coupons that I could print out which were good until the end of the month.

Both of these incidents in the same day prompted me to think about where customers are looking. One of the smartest and, initially, the most surprising places to market where customers look was on toilet stall doors. While at one time that was a novelty, now it is common practice and has spread to gas pumps, walls, doors, and windows. One innovative retailer even used the sidewalk just in front of his door.

That is smart marketing.

What the checkout screens, Web sites, toilet stall doors, gas pumps, and the sidewalk all have in common is that they are places your customer is looking. Seizing every opportunity to talk to your customer about your business is smart marketing. Using opportunities when your customer is a captive audience is wise marketing. Placing your message where your customer is looking is profitable marketing.

Doing this requires out-of-the-box thinking. Watch where your customers are looking. Consider when a customer must wait. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and see your business from your customer’s point of view. What does your customer look at while waiting? Where are the natural places in your business that your customer stops and looks?

We all occupy ourselves in some fashion when we are waiting, whether to check out, ask a question, or pick up an item. Often, we occupy ourselves by reading whatever is posted nearby. If we have an opportunity to get information about a product or service, our interest is piqued. We may buy. At the very least, we will have additional information on a product, service, or information for future reference.

Give your customer something to read while he or she is waiting. Do that by assembling your newsletters, press releases, or articles into a binder and offer it as a reading option in your waiting area. Hang your business’s unique selling proposition in a poster form or a nice frame to match your décor. Use your Web site and computer screens that your customer sees to give your customer information about your business and what you offer.

When you do so, you will be using where your customer is looking to market your business. That will benefit both your business and your customer.