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Clueless is as clueless does

Tell me you haven’t found yourself at one end or the other of an exchange like this. I’m experiencing it with a company I’ve known for years. It’s a case of how a business’ effort to engage in dialog can be worse than not engaging at all.

Talking too much? Or, saying too little?

“People listen when you have something to say. But, they’ll tune out when you talk too much.” Sage advice for living delivered to me by Stu Roberts, program director at WCFR, Springfield, VT where I worked at in my 20’s. Today his advice has become a life-or-death directive for your advertising.

It’s not about being interesting. You have to be more interesting than what’s going on in your customer’s head already. And, nothing sells like self-interest–your customer’s self-interest.

Here’s an example: At least twice a week (often more) I see Facebook posts by a company I know well. I could care less: every freakin’ post exists to promote a sale item at the store. No tips on using the product. No customers experiences stories. No human element. Come see. Come buy. It’s all shill all the time.

The topper: a post on Christmas eve promoting a sale price on an office product that day only till 3pm–a great deal for Ebenezer Scrooge, maybe.

A double-dipped waste of time

Next to forwarded “send this to ten friends or bad things will happen” emails, nothing irritates me like a self-serving Facebook/Linkedin/Twitter post. The business wastes time sending it. I waste time seeing it. They don’t connect. I don’t come buy. A relationship fades.

No post would be better than an all-about-us post. Same goes for blogging: you do it to create a dialog. You write, they read. They respond, you respond. How meaningfully you respond determines growing life or lingering death for the relationship.

Sit on the other side of the table

I own a fancy schmancy Livescribe Pulse Smartpen. It records what I write and transfers it to my computer. Love it. Think everyone should get one. Just like that other company, I get emails and Facebook posts from them too. Difference is, Livescribe provides updates on new feature upgrades and examples of more effective use of the pen–and only an occasional sale message.

They’ve invested in me: helping me get more out of my purchase. I’ve invested in them: probably selling a dozen of these things when clients see how I use it. That’s a solid social media relationship.

Extend the dialog in your advertising

Apple caught social media whispers about iPod Nano users tuning out of their iPod in favor of the radio. While controlling their music experience was important, core iPod customers were seeking out new music by listening to the radio. So, Apple put an FM radio in the latest iPod Nano.

Social media flagged the interest. Apple tested it, produced the product, advertised it. The dialog circle was complete. Nano sales are up.

Intelligence unused is stupid

Advertising’s two-way dialog means your advertising will work better when you provide for customer interaction. Whether it’s emails, blogging, or a survey, give your customers a way to interact with you beyond the basic buying decision. Then, listen. Address concerns. Apply what you learn.

Customers want to help you improve the buying experience–if you’re willing to listen and respond. Information becomes intelligence only when you apply it.

When reaching the “wrong people” is the right idea

Comcast touts their pending deal, giving them control of NBC/Universal, as good news for advertisers seeking to better target customers. It’s the same argument that no doubt gave birth to All-You-Can-Eat buffets: more is better. Truth is, quantity seldom increases quality. Strategic targeting doesn’t compensate for lack of a compelling message.

Your message is everything

What this ratchet-click of media consolidation means to you: it’s more important than ever to get your message right. Where it runs will matter less. Good ads connect. Get caught up in  targeting and you’ll fall victim to one of the 12 Most Common Mistakes in Advertising. And, here’s Comcast touting it as a primary benefit of their pending union. Go figure.

Test your message: How well do your ads….

  • capture attention by interrupting the expected
  • connect with the felt-need of your customer
  • close loopholes that undermine your credibility
  • communicate an authentic call to action

Run campaigns scoring high on these four points and targeting becomes less critical.

Even if you don’t reach the so-called “target,” a well-crafted message reaches relatives, friends, associates, or others with decision-making influence. Since we tend to trust the word of a friend above advertising, that’s a big win–even bigger than Comcast’s coming one-stop targeting shop

Dark side of Comcast’s NBC deal

Unless there’s been a Saul-to-Paul conversion I’ve not read about, Comcast is a poster child of legacy media-think. That’s bad news for the likes of Hulu.

Comcast’s current online television offering, Fancast, requires you first be a cable subscriber. Unless you’re a Comcast cable subscriber, don’t try popping on Fancast to watch your favorite show. How’s that going to mix with Hulu’s current free advertising-driven model? Not a match made in media heaven. Thankfully we advertise here on earth where results matter more than calculations of consolidated reach.

Whether the consolidation of NBC/Universal content engine with Comcast’s delivery pipeline is an advertising blessing or curse will be revealed over time.  Comcast’s efforts to focus our gaze at the growing platter of targeting options in its right hand leaves me wondering what lurks in their pesky left.

Does your magnetism work both ways?

When did one of your ads last generate a complaint call? If it’s been longer than you can remember, you’re ads are probably bla-bla vanilla and couldn’t move my Maltese off his pillow.

Tough love time, friend.

Effective ads carry a magnetic charge. They attract customers you want. They also repel unwanted customers. As counter-intuitive as it may seem, the better you repel, the better you’ll attract. It’s the nature of magnetism: you only attract to the degree which you repel.

“The Universal Law of Magnetic Attraction states that we attract into our lives people, things and circumstances that correspond with our dominant patterns of emotional thinking”

The opposite is equally true: we repel that which conflicts with our emotional thinking. When an ad conflicts with your patterns, it get a reaction. Burger King ran ads with a rapping SpongeBob that torqued off minivan moms coast-to-coast. Sales went up. They weren’t talking to those moms.

Magnetism generates a choice

Life is a lot of little choices. Yes or no. Now or later. True or baloney. Your ad is just another one of many your customer will make in a day. We want to be with people we like who are like us and like us. A good ad makes that case. Unfortunately, weak-kneed ad writers stop at good. It’s not enough.

Magnetically charged ads make sure those who aren’t “like us” know they won’t like it here. Drawing a repelling distinction reinforces your positive charge with the customers you want to attract. Remember: show-don’t-tell. Being heavy-handed or tangibly overt with the negative charge can turn off even your loyal customers.

Example: How many clock-punching paycheck players will respond to this recruiting video?

Not your cup of tea?

Good. Go find coffee.

People like to be part of the in-crowd. So, create an out-crowd. Perrigo doesn’t want everyone. They want a specific culture. Likewise, aren’t there some customers you’d prefer inflicting on a competitor?

Spotting magnetism

When an idea produces a visceral reaction, you’ve found the pulse. Follow it to the heart of what speaks your essence clearly, specifically to your customer’s felt need. Don’t be surprised when the idea turns off about a third of the people with whom you share it. Powerful ideas have a way of doing that.

Focus on attraction

The first purpose of your ad is to attract. Keep that focus. Be bold with it. When your message communicates clearly and specifically, the rest will take care of itself. When you’re bold enough to say who you are, you’re making a choice that buys credibility with both those you attract and repel.

A client told me he wanted to put up a sign that said, “no wine snobs allowed.” Instead, we created a culture that communicated it. The wine snobs drink and opine elsewhere.

Note: Choosing to communicate reputation and prestige is one of six ways you can buy credibility. Learn more. Read my partner Tom Wanek’s new book, “Currencies that buy Credibility.” It’s a great read. Check it out at Amazon.

[Originally published on 17 November 2009]

Do big budgets beget better ads?

You have no idea how lucky you are to work within a limited advertising budget. More money doesn’t buy a better message. In fact, I’d wager the contrary is more often true: awash with money, the urgency of making each penny count matters less. Seemingly untethered from budgetary limitation, AT&T’s advertising braintrust birthed the following convoluted say-nothing ad:

..

What are they advertising?
What are we supposed to do or believe?

The lockout attempts to mop up the mess by saying, “your windows stuff goes with you.” (I suppose that includes viruses.) I’ve watched it a half-dozen times and still don’t get it. Is it an ad for windows mobile as a platform? Is it an ad for the phone? Is it an ad for AT&T’s mobile service?

Creative’s cardinal rule: one ad, one message.

This one is a train wreck of messages: platform, product, and carrier. The more messages you mash into one ad, the more muddled the message. Instead, keep it clean: Say one thing. Say it well. Shut up.

High-dollar ads like this fail because creativity hijacks the message and focus is lost. Bottom-line sales impact, meanwhile, gets shunted to the back of the bus right next to the customer’s true felt-need.

The ad also fails to show one application that isn’t already mobile without Windows Mobile. Even if you don’t tote a Blackberry, Android (Google), or iPhone, you can twitter, email, surf, etc. on most phones. What’s my plus-up for getting Windows Mobile? Beats me. I only know what the ad told me (or didn’t).

Focus where it matters

Because you probably can’t afford life-sized dancing icons in leotards, you wouldn’t get distracted creating a message like this. You’ll just have to settle for focusing on telling a compelling story based on the genuine felt-need of your customer in a way that more directly leads to a sale.

Those are the breaks when you advertise in the real world with a real budget. And, I’ll bet you didn’t realize it was a lucky break at that.

Grooveyard of posts past