Some good ways of killing a good ad campaign.

You may have read in some of my Blogs in the past about walking the walk when it comes to advertising and how your competitors gain from your advertising. To further explore that idea, I'll start with a book I am reading called "13 Ways to Kill Your Community" authored by Alberta MLA Doug Griffiths and newspaper writer Kelly Clemmer.

In chapter 2, the tongue in cheek approach is "Don't attract Business", which many would say of course a community needs to attract business. But how? What if the Mayor owns the only Gas station in town and someone wants to put in a gas station? It is a real life case study that Griffiths talks about in the book. One of the other ideas presented that business can learn from is the following: (from his speech on the subject) " In touring the province we found that communities of about one thousand people in which there was one grocery store, that grocery store owner barely made enough money to support his or her family. However, in communities of roughly the same size where there were two grocery stores, interestingly enough, both did quite well. Likewise was the case in communities of three to five thousand when it came to restaurants. Where there were only a couple of restaurants both suffered, but where there were many restaurants they all seemed to do well. There are many more examples I could provide but space is limited.

What is more important is why that would occur.  And they like to feel they are purchasing in a competitive environment that assures them the best price. In communities where competition is limited we found that people would chose to drive to another community where there was more choice, more variety, and better prices because of competition. Essentially, their dollars would leave town."

Interestingly enough, through my years as an Advertising Consultant, I have had a number of clients who have had an expectation that they would have exclusivity in their business category in our publications. It was never spoken of prior to placing ads, but when the time came when a competitor advertised with us, they took offense and pulled their ads from our publications. That is one way to kill a good ad campaign.

So did the value of our publication to their ad campaign change? Did their competitive advantage over their competition change? Was their message any less effective with a competing business advertising near them? Simply put, the relationship, the marriage if you will, was lost because they had an unrealistic view that I was offering exclusivity. The relationship between a customer and a business is more like dating than a marriage. Do one thing to upset a customer and they will storm out and never come back, regardless of how many great years your business has been them. Those are the customers that are up for grabs in the competitive business of advertising. The free agents, the single, the recently dumped. Don't lose sight of that when you are putting together your ads. If your customers are not comparing you in our publication, they will compare you with ads in other media. Perhaps the worst is, they may not compare you with anyone at all.


Remember what the book said "People in general like choice and variety". With that in mind, you should be placing ads in places where the competition is, or encourage your competition to place ads where you are. You are more likely to get the response you are hoping for and so will your competition. Until next time, I am Larry "The Ad Man"

Did you run away from this product?

Here is another example (you will see a few in my Blog) of a commercial that takes an awful risk. Dentyne Frost Bites took humor to a new level in this spot. Some might enjoy this humor, those of the Horror Film variety, but many might be repulsed by the product in this classically bad commercial which debuted in September 2004:

 

I'm sure I don't have to tell you the risk Dentyne took with this TV spot? A look at their product list on the website and behold, No Dentyne Frost Bites Gum. I would suspect that this commercial was the reason the product is not listed. It just didn't connect with the end user. I know I saw this hundreds of times, so Dentyne must have spent a small fortune worldwide.

Don't get me wrong, risks can pay off. Just make sure you have enough to fall back on if it doesn't work. Dentyne did. Until next time, I am Larry "The Ad Man"

Subliminal Advertising, creative or immoral ?

Subliminal Ads are generally found in Television or radio ads, but also can be in print ads. They are illegal and many media will pull them if there is an accusation. Defined, subliminal means "existing or operating below the threshold of consciousness; being or employing stimuli insufficiently intense to produce a discrete sensation but often being or designed to be intense enough to influence the mental processes or the behavior of the individual: a subliminal stimulus; subliminal advertising."

Have a look at this KFC commercial. Some nice people on the video will point out a dollar bill hidden in the lettuce of the burger.

Some might argue it's creative, many would argue it's playing mind games. Researchers have said that the affects are neither strong or long lasting, yet it is frowned upon in this industry. Would making this legal open up a slippery slope of brain washing? It was once believed that propaganda movies during the second world war did exactly that, but contemporary research does not back that up.

You will see many claims of print ads and logo's of a sexual nature. Many phallic symbols seem to find their way into relatively benign photographs and drawings. Have a look at this Blog on it (http://www.artistmike.com/Temp/SubliminalAd.html ) . It seems artist Mike had a one track mind in this one? And Sex again takes the front row on this urban legend from Red Dog Beer:

Do we really think the graphic artist that made this logo had intentions on Batman doing this when thinking about how to help sell some beer?

You be the judge... click on the google ads to the right of this Blog.... Subliminal advertising. Creative or Immoral? Would love to heard from you.. until next time, I am "Larry The Ad Man."

Do focus groups give honest answers?

McDonalds is one of the number one advertisers worldwide. You would think that all marketing and advertising would go through a focus group? One wonders if people who are asked to participate in focus groups give honest answers? Most people, are likely to give you the answer they think you want.

I was once asked to be involved in a focus group about cell phones. It was WAY back in the dark ages prior to the advent of the flip phone. Early days. One of the questions centred around my feelings about AT&T. I answered "American". The shocked administrator then probed further to find that I preferred to deal with Canadian companies. Again, this seemed to shock him like he had never heard this or even considered it. It was not long after that, the WWE (Then called WWF) had one of their most popular story lines of Canada Vs. USA. So clearly, many Canadians felt the way I did, but the company came north and clearly others did not voice their opinions. AT&T Canada didn't last long here.

So back to the McDonalds example, which came to my door:

A nicely printed, direct mail piece complete with full colour photo's and money saving coupons. One might say a slick look that should get some play with people in January when dollars are a bit tight after Christmas time. The word Crave is a nice word relating to restaurants and food, descriptive, yet open to interpretation. But one must also consider the impact of the film, "Supersize me" and the healthy eating revolution that has been the theme of media for the last decade. McDonalds themselves have tried to add some healthier options to the menu, at significant cost. Did no one in the focus group, or at the board room table, when considering fonts think about the VERY FIRST impression I got when this came to the door? A little correction tape and 10 seconds later it becomes this:

Did the play on words not come up? or did the yes people decide not to rock the boat? Add to that how quick a photo like this can make it's way around the Internet..... in a heartbeat! One must consider all the ways people have access to, to make a joke. Humor on the world wide web spreads like wildfire.

The lesson, be careful of your perception, be careful of your slogans and make sure that your words and advertising can not be taken the wrong way. Many businesses have learned this the hard way over the years, especially when translating ads into different languages. A bad decision on wording can cost more than the advertising itself and you may never get back to the level you were before the mistake. Until Next time, I am Larry "The Ad Man"

New CBC radio "Under the Influence" a must....

Well I am certainly under the Influence. I am an ardent follower of Canadian Ad Man Terry O'Reilly since discovering his "Age of Persuasion" radio show a few years ago. My regular readers will note my mentions of him from time to time. As I mentioned in my final Blog of 2011, the one thing that is certain in the ad game is uncertainty and in Terry's first show with a new title, the theme is clear. The title of his show needed to change because of the ever changing world of Advertising. If you have not had the pleasure of listening to the show, please do at: http://www.cbc.ca/undertheinfluence/.

A couple of great stories, especially the Standard Vodka ad strategy, but my one takeaway from the first episode says it all about Advertising. This "Contract" needs to be emblazoned on every advertising executives eyelids: "Brazil banned outdoor advertising because that advertising didn't give anything back to the people of Brazil. This echoes a concept I talk about often on the show - which I call "The Contract."

Essentially, advertising has to give something back to the public, in return for the public being exposed to the advertising. In radio and television, for example, the ads underwrite the programs. In newspapers, print ads pay for reporting, bus shelters give you protection from the elements, and so on.

Therefore, the trend coming out of Sao Paulo is a warning bell. Before that outdoor ban extends to other cities and countries, the advertising industry needs to heed this wake-up call, and give back."

"When marketers give back, people reciprocate. A recent global survey found that 33% of consumers are willing to pay a 5% to 10% premium to companies they know are doing good. It's something the advertising industry has to embrace. Sao Paulo is the choking canary in the ad mine" 

Words to live by for advertisers. What are your advertising dollars doing to fulfill your contract with your prospects and customers? Add value in all media and your ads will gain respect. Until next time, I am Larry "The Ad Man". This will be a bonus to my regular Sunday Blog this week!