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Three steps to advertising clarity

An Orange Creamsicle cake. The perfect end to my perfect meal at Geronimo in Santa Fe. Good enough for the kid in me to wish I’d had it first – and that’s when it dawned on me why so many advertising dollars are wasted.

Instead of starting with the meat of a marketing strategy, businesses jump to the “dessert” of media selection. That’s why the typical marketing meeting quickly devolves into:

“I want to do some TV. Let’s do some billboards. Do some radio and we’ll see traffic.”

This kind of do this and do that discussion leads to nothing but advertising do-do.

Seeing before doing

Before actually doing anything, we normally have a goal and a larger strategy, even on the mundane, day-to-day level. Most of us don’t just get up from our chairs and then wonder why; we decide we need to perk up and the best way to accomplish that would be another cup of coffee. In other words, we start with why, then we picture ourselves getting the coffee and perking up, and only then do we get up.

People who don’t do that – guys who just get up and wander around are usually patients in some kind of institution. The very aimlessness and irrationality of their behavior is characteristic of the mentally unbalanced. If only we had that same clarity in business!

What’s your WHY?

Before DOing takes control of your next project, look at the bigger picture and ask yourself: Why are you in business? Is what you’re considering leading there? What are the alternatives? What’s your timetable? Keep going until you see it specifically. Write it down.

Be prepared: this will take more than a one-time five-minute sit-down. I work on mine at night before turning in. Then, look at it briefly in the morning.

Expressing your WHY in a dozen words or less helps you understand where you are now, what you want to be in the future. It clarifies what you need to DO. There’s one more step to getting the most from WHY:

Ask the compass question

Get a piece of paper and a marker. Write WHY? in big letters. Hang it above your computer monitor. Next time you’re moved to DO something, look up and see through this lens of purpose.

Are you jumping on twitter? Why? What’s the purpose and goal? Are you writing a bog post? What’s the objective and how does it fit in with your brand’s reason for being?

WHY? is the one word compass question. Follow where it leads.

WHY gives you three choices about what to DO:

If it leads you away from what you’ve envisioned, stop. Abandon it.

If it doesn’t move you one way or the other, set it aside.

If it sparks acceleration toward your vision, pour gasoline on it.

The best dessert is success

Let your WHY be your guide. Once you codify the Purpose – or the WHY – of your company, you’ll be delighted at how much less do-do you have to wade through.

It’s not easy. Few will do it. No worries. That just leaves more Orange Creamsicle cake for us.

Does having a split brand personality pay?

Marketing success demands branding focus: the more focused your brand personality, the more effective your marketing. Then again, one flavor appeals to one segment. What if you want to aim your brand at multiple markets. Old Spice has that challenge and solves it by having a split brand personality.

Hacking away fragmented branding elements to zero in on one core message is a fundamental early step in building a marketing strategy. Being one thing consistently is pretty basic stuff. Doing that alone will net results. Doing it and successfully reaching multiple markets is tricky.

I’m on a horse

Actor Isaiah Mustafa’s Old Spice body wash ads are the stuff of legend. Ask anyone about seeing the guy saying, “I’m on a horse,” and they know ad what you’re talking about. It’s especially good because people remember what was advertised. We’ll talk more about that another time.

Old Spice chose to target women because women buy body wash for men. It’s a 180-degrees opposite angle of approach than the conventional it’s soap for men, market to men approach used by others in the category. It was a huge success by every measure. Almost.

Men buy soap too

Fragmenting markets have taken the mass out media. More channels, remote controls, and DVR’s have freed people to shape their viewing experiences. The net result: huge audiences have become rare. There’s more viewing, but it’s more spread out. That’s actually good news. It makes segmenting markets easier.

That’s exactly what Old Spice has done. While the Mustafa ads are reaching women, there’s an entirely different campaign reaching out to young men in terms they can understand. Here’s an example:

Chances of the women who like “I’m on a horse,” seeing these ads is small. It’s partially because of placement. It’s also a matter of viral connectedness.

Paid impressions on both these campaigns pales in comparison to the earned impressions. That is, the number of people who’s seen it because a friend has sent them a link, or prompted a search to see them.

Not really so split after all

Take a minute. Watch both ads. Listen to what they’re selling. They speak the same truth using different languages. Both ads deliver the same message, but each speaks to different customers in their respective language; different words, same message.

While focus still determines success, delivering the message sometimes requires different routes. That’s what Old Spice has done. You can do it too. Here’s how:

Define your core message: Speak it in seven to ten words max. What is it people buy from you? (Hint: it’s what they buy, NOT what you sell.)
Segment the target customers: Determine where different customer groups don’t overlap. Mature homeowners and first-time home buyers are different customers. Both have similar needs, but express them differently.
Identify each segment’s terms of satisfaction: What matters most about your core message to each segment. Using the homeowner example: mature homeowners may want fast service while first-timers may value trust more.
Speak your core message in each one’s terms: Think about how each segment speaks. What do they say when they call? Frame your message in their words.

It’s a matter of choosing appropriate angles of approach to the same destination. Once you undestand angle of approach, you can not only segment markets, but you can sell the unsalable. I’ll show you how that’s being done right now in my next post.

Remember when?

In the meantime, enjoy this spicy-scented blast from Old Spice’s marketing past.

Yeah, those were the days.

[Originally published on 9 September 2010]

Who’s thumb do we trust as a rule of thumb?

When you’re right you’re right. When you’re wrong, you might be right. Trust a rule of thumb and you’re more likely wrong. The fact is, there’s only one measure that matters and it has nothing at all to do with thumbs.

If a book of hard-fast rules of marketing and advertising existed, don’t you think everyone would be using it by now? One book. Every answer. Take the Bible. It’s a widely trusted source of principled thought. But, not everyone trusts it. David Ogilvy’s timeless Ogilvy on Advertising is about as close as you’ll come to an advertising bible. But, even he says says don’t always follow the rules.

The simple rule is, there are no rules. But, that’s too big to accept or comprehend. So, instead, we seek out some pattern that gives us a sense order or reason for why things are as they are. Then, brilliant marketing experts use those made-up rules to make up reasons for why we should do this or that in advertising. It’s a train wreck of thought in the making because it lacks the right tracks.

It’s more of a guideline, really

When I hear someone starts spouting off a hard-fast advertising rule of this or that, I wanna slug them. It’s only worse when that voice is my own. Rules are for schools, governments, and bureaucracies. The only reason I can think of for a rule of thumb is to establish a baseline which advertising defies in order to become effective.

Defying rules makes advertising better because it surprises Broca–the gatekeeper of our conscious thought, as my partner Roy H. Williams explains in his book, The Wizard of Ads: Turning Words into Magic and Dreamers into Millionaires. Ideas that upset patterns of thinking elicit a response in our mind that, if spoken, would sound like this: “huh?” Lighting fast our logical left brain laterals the idea over to the abstract right to make sense of it. And, just like that, what was unknown penetrates conscious thought. Bam: your idea is on the radar.

Mission accomplished. Almost.

Showing up on radar is one thing. It’s not even a particularly difficult accomplishment. Showing up and staying on gets tricky. It’s where those rules-driven trains of thought run out of track.

How much what you’re saying matters to the person hearing it determines your staying power. Be compelling, be remembered. Prompt an emotional response, prompt action. The idea is the train. How much it matters is the track.

Internet videos can’t be longer than 2:00

It’s our internet video rule of thumb around here. After years of watching viewing metrics, I’ve noticed attention spans drop off at about two minutes; by three you’re talking to yourself. So, we keep them shorter.

Then, I saw this:

Moments from Everynone on Vimeo.

4:12 is longer than 2:00

Moments is twice the length viewers typically sit through. But, it’s setting view records because it’s compelling. It’s relatable. It touches you. It moves you. The touchy-feelies among us shed a tear. If it ended with a Kodak logo, you’d think of similar pictures in your life. If it ended with an insurance logo, you’d think about everyone you love.

Whatever came at the end would have enormous attached meaning because here’s what happens in your head: the left brain sees it and says, “huh?” The right sees it and says, “oh wow man–that means THIS.” And, the Left says “oh, I get it.” Because it mattered, meaning is attached.

Therein lies your advertising challenge: does it matter? Does it lay tracks for a train your mind can’t miss? Or, does it stick to rules of thumb that matter only to you and the ad guy who made them up? Advertising only gets a thumbs-up only when it matters to your customers.

Tell your story in a way that matters. Get measurable results every time. No thumbs about it.

How effective are your ads at chasing off customers?

Good advertising chases off customers. How much do you care if penny-pinching, nit-picking, deal-shoppers are offended by your message? Inflict them on your competitors. Your core customers, the ones who stick with you, will love you sending the weasels packing.

“This is Alabama. We speak English,” says the tv ad for gubernatorial candidate Tim James. “If you want to live here, learn it.”

Predictable shock waves rolled across the national consciousness when his ad first ran. How dare he say that? How narrow-minded. How exclusionary! How brilliant.

Discrimination is the mark of good advertising

Shock and awe is political advertising’s stock and trade. A deeper look reveals a profitable lesson for you: political advertising is to marketing what poetry is to literature: it evokes a response, inspires action, and does so with the greatest possible economy. It has to.

Mr. James is talking about more than language. He’s evoking an attitude of “them” and “us,” of “in” and “out.” He’s hoisting a banner to rally voters who prize Alabama’s culture. Isn’t he being discriminatory? You bet. That’s the point. If you don’t like what he’s selling, you’re not his voter. You probably wouldn’t be anyway.

Good advertising disqualify the unqualified. The slight downside: most people don’t like being disqualified. But, those who do qualify will find greater affinity with you. Congratulations. You’ve created an in-group.

Taking a stand demands nerve and backbone

I’m not saying Tim James is right or wrong. Voters will make that determination. Advertising isn’t a forum for debate any more than it’s a tool for education. It’s a mix of carrot and stick created for one purpose: move you into action.

James has nothing to lose. The June 1st runoff is coming fast. Bradley Byrne, a former State Senator, is the front runner among all candidates–on both sides. It’s put up or shut up time in the race. And, James has gone all-in on a message that’s generated over a million YouTube views its first week. Want to see it?

Profit from these political ad principles

Before you watch his ad at the bottom of this story, consider how these five principles of political advertising would impact your marketing:

It’s not what they’re selling, it’s how they’re doing it

Political ads take a stand, build a case, call for choice. What part of that is bad? If you can’t describe in five words or less why you’re running an ad, don’t. Case in point: Martha Coakley’s horrible everything-for-everyone ad. Running ads without a clear purpose is like taking a road trip without a map. Burn gas. Get nowhere.
Speak in plain language your answer to questions asked

Politicians speak to what voters care about. James Carville’s “it’s the economy, stupid” credo echoed in every Clinton ad, making Bush’s bland message of consistency and experience look flaccid by comparison. Forget what’s important to you. Advertise what matters to customers.
Express what you oppose in balance with what you support

Polite doesn’t sell. Don’t be rude. Be direct. Draw the line. “We’re not the cheapest. Neither are our customers,” draws a line. “Our customers appreciate our work. They know how expensive cheap service can be.” Say it with swagger and be noticed. It worked for Scott Brown. Even more so for LBJ. His Daisy spot crushed Goldwater in one minute.
Keep it fresh, but keep on message: be one thing

What is the one thing that draws customers to you? Promote that. Put it in every ad. The family occupying The White House rode there on one word. A campaign uses many messages, but it revolves around one idea. What’s yours?
When an ad breaks from the pack, ride it hard and far

Create multiple ads, variations on your theme. Rotate them. But, when one really rings the bell, ring it loudly. Reagan’s Morning in America still resonates today. When you land on something that moves people, stay with it.

Political advertising has to move the needle quickly. Shouldn’t yours? You can’t charge half a magnet any more than you can create ads that please everyone. Magnets can only attract to the extent they repel. Same goes for your ads. Say who you are. Say it shamelessly. You’ll offend countless people who wouldn’t have done business with you anyway. But, the ones who do will love you for it.

You can’t win big without first taking risks

Will you offend someone? Hope so. Will you get calls complaining about your ads? Only if you do it right. Will you win the hearts, minds (and wallets) of those who connect with your message? As a noteworthy politician often says, “You betcha.”

Because you scrolled this far down, I’m going to share a rare jewel with you. It defies description, but demosntrates how far we’ve come as a culture. What you’re about to see actually generated lift in polls. What response do you suppose this ad would generate today:

[Originally published 1 May 2010]

UPDATE: James lost in the Republican Primary of seven candidates. He missed making the runoff by one-tenth of a point.