1. The desire for instant
gratification. The ad that creates enough urgency to cause people to
respond immediately is the ad most likely to be forgotten immediately once
the offer expires. Such ads are of little use in establishing the
advertiser's identity in the mind of the consumer.
2. Trying to reach more
people than the budget will allow. For a media mix to be effective,
each element in the mix must have enough repetition to establish retention
in the mind of the prospect. Too often, however, the result of a media mix
is too many people reached without enough repetition. Will you reach 100
percent of the people and persuade them 10 percent of the way ? Or will
you reach 10 percent of the people and persuade them 100 percent of the
way ? The cost is the same.
3. Assuming the business
owner knows best. The business owner is uniquely unqualified to see
his company or product objectively. Too much product knowledge leads him
to answer questions no one is asking. He's on the inside looking out,
trying to describe himself to a person on the outside looking in. It's
hard to read the label when you're inside the bottle.
4. Unsubstantiated Claims.
Advertisers often claim to have what the customer wants, such as
"highest quality at the lowest price," but fail to offer any
evidence. An unsubstantiated claim is nothing more than a cliché the
prospect is tired of hearing. You must prove what you say in every ad. Do
your ads give the prospect new information ? Do they provide a new
perspective ? If not, prepare to be disappointed with the results.
5. Improper use of passive
media. Non intrusive media, such as newspapers and yellow pages, tend
to reach only buyers who are actively looking for the product. They are
poor at reaching prospects before their need arises, so they're not much
use for planting a reticular activator or creating a predisposition toward
your company. The patient, consistent use of intrusive media, such as
radio and television, will win the heart of the customer, before she's in
the market for the product. Tell her Why; wait for When.
6. Creating ads instead of
campaigns. It is foolish to believe a single ad can ever tell the
entire story. The most effective, persuasive, and memorable ads are those
most like a rhinoceros: they make a single point, powerfully. An
advertiser with seventeen different things to say should commit to a
campaign of at least seventeen different ads, repeating each ad enough to
stick in the prospects mind.
7. Obedience to unwritten
rules. For some insane reason, advertisers want their ads to look and
sound like ads. Why ?
8. Late-week schedules.
Advertisers justify their obsession with Thursday and Friday advertising
by saying, "We need to reach the customer just before she goes
shopping." Why do these advertisers choose to compete for the
customer's attention each Thursday and Friday when they could have a nice,
quiet chat all alone with her on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday ?
9. Overconfidence in
qualitative targeting. Many advertisers and media professionals
grossly overestimate the importance of quality. In reality, saying the
wrong thing has killed far more ad campaigns than reaching the wrong
people. It's amazing how many people become "the right people"
when you're saying the right thing.
10. Event-driven
marketing. A special event should be judged only by its ability to
help you more clearly define your market position and substantiate your
claims. If one percent of the people who hear your ad for a special event
choose to come, you will be in desperate need of a traffic cop and a bus
shuttle from distant parking lots. Yet your real investment will be in the
99 percent who did not come. What did your ad say to them ?
11. Great production
without great copy. Too many ads today are creative without being
persuasive. Slick, clever, funny, creative, and different are poor
substitutes for informative, believable, memorable, and persuasive.
12. Confusing reactions
with results. The goal of advertising is to create clear awareness of
your company and its unique selling proposition. Unfortunately, most
advertisers evaluate their ads by the comments they hear from people
around them. When we mistake mere response for results, we create
attention-getting ads that say absolutely nothing.
The
Seven Laws of the Advertising Universe -
(Whence Cometh the Power of Ads
to Work Magic)
An Energy of Words has
existed since the day He said "Let there be light." Learn how to
use this energy, you are created in His Image.
Masses of People are
predictable, though an individual person is not. The exception does not
disprove the rule.
Intellect and Emotion
are partners who do not speak the same language. The intellect finds logic
to justify what the emotions have decided. Win the hearts of the people,
their minds will follow.
Time and Money are two
sides of a single coin. No person gives you his money until he has first
given you his time. Win the time of the people, their money will follow.
Sight and Sound
function differently in the mind, with sound being the surer investment.
Win the ears of the people, their eyes will follow.
Opportunity and Security
are inversely proportionate. As one increases, the other must decrease.
High returns are gained from low-risk strategies only through the passage
of time. He who will cheat time must embrace the risk of failure.
Engage the Imagination,
then take it where you will. Where the mind has repeatedly journeyed, the
body will surely follow. People go only to places they have already been
to in their minds.
