There’s no silver bullet.
In the world of advertising, there are very few guarantees. You put together an ad, drive the reader/listener to your website or toll-free number and wait for the sales. If only it were that easy.
In 25 years, I have never been able to give a client a sure-fire media plan. The reason for that has less to do with my counsel and more to do with consumer behavior. Reaching your target consumer is hard—actually motivating that consumer to take action is even more difficult. Doing all these things and staying on or under budget is almost impossible.
If there were a magic advertising pill, I’m certain car dealers, grocery stores and other heavy advertisers would have figured it out already. The reality is there’s no one, perfect media plan. In my experience, it has less to do with what you buy and more to do with what you say.
If money’s no object, I have the perfect advertising strategy. Spend around $5 million in a market about the size of Northeast Wisconsin and you’ll get results—pretty much no matter what you say. If you want an example, just look to the recent congressional and state Supreme Court races. They were knee-deep in mud-slinging TV commercials, spent a ton of money, and motivated the target (the voter) to go out and do something (vote).
If your pockets are not that deep, you’ll have to be more judicious with your media spending and pay very close attention to what you’re saying. To swipe a line from James Carville in the Clinton campaign (It’s the Economy, Stupid), It’s the Message, Silly.
So often, small businesses see no result from their advertising/marketing/PR not because of what they’re buying, but because of what they’re saying. Before you talk to one newspaper rep or consider a TV campaign, do some triage on your message. Here are some simple things you can do to make sure you have a more effective marketing presence and maximize the money you spend in media.
Keep your message simple. The most famous first line in history is only three words: In the beginning… After that, the message gets a little muddy. Figure out what it is that you want to communicate and keep it simple. Believe me this is not easy. The hardest thing for my clients to do is to describe their product/service simply and within the context of the benefit it gives to the consumer.
Be friends with benefits. Everything you communicate should be crafted in terms of the benefit you will bring to the target consumer. Remember, this has more to do with what the consumer wants than what you might think they want. Don’t list product features—but communicate the benefits those features will bring to the target user.
Make your message stick. Create a message that is Velcro for your targets’ brain. Whether that’s through humor, a poignant message, or a personal story, create a message that tells a story and engages your target.
Be different. In most cases, corporate executives and business owners are comfortable with messages/advertising that they have seen before. That just kills differentiation. Obviously your message should be appropriate for your industry, your target, your application—but I encourage you to push the edges of visual and written communications and to flirt with memorable communications.
Be relative. Apple’s TV ads work because they are supremely appropriate to their target. They compare the screamingly dull nerd PC user with the easy-going, hip Mac user and get the message across in a big way. Understand what your target is looking for in your product/service and connect with them on their level, not yours.
Before you write a press release or a radio ad, make sure you can tell your story with these elements in mind. If that fails, you could always spend about $6 million on your next marketing campaign and hope your target consumer casts their vote for you.
Mary Schmidt
Schmidt Communicates
