Consciousness: true selfishness

By Bob Martin

BILLBOARDS ARE NICE, BUT …

Ever drive past a billboard and get frustrated because you can’t figure out what it says? I do. Billboards can be an extremely effective method of advertising when done right. When not done right, they can be an enormous waste of time and money.

You have a very short amount of time to get your message across on a billboard. You have anywhere from 3-6 seconds, if you’re lucky and traffic is reasonably slow. That’s not a lot of time. I constantly see businesses trying to cram in all their information on billboards. Address, phone number, a picture of the owner with his dog, the product, a customer testimonial, the product logo … it goes on and on. The message gets lost and nothing is remembered as the driver tries to drive and read through the jumble.

MY RULE OF THUMB HAS ALWAYS BEEN …

My rule of thumb has always been one photo and two lines of text not more than 8 words per line. Unless your phone number is incredible easy to remember … 555-1000, don’t pt it on a billboard. The driver will never remember it and, obviously, they can’t drive and write it down at the same time. The best logos are short and sweet. (logo) Fisher Jewelers… Sooner or later your favorite jewelers. (second line) 1012 State Street. Short, sweet and to the point. If a driver can’t read your entire message in one pass, the whole message may be lost in the effort.

Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.

You should look at the size of the board your going to use. Small paper boards are harder to read then the large thru-way type. Along the same lines, the new electronic boards are treat for graphics, but their constant changing and the usual height can make complex images hard to read.

Billboards can be highly effective if you just follow a few common sense rules. And, happy motoring!

Bob Martin is principal of Martin Creative Consultants, providing advertising consulting and services to manufacturing and retail businesses. His MCC VoicePros division creates  audio voiceovers for radio, TV, internet ads and presentations.

Consciousness: true selfishness

By Bob Martin

WHAT’S YOUR USP?

I spent a week in Chicago many years ago. I attended a school put on by the Giant Killers, a marketing instruction company. The first question they asked us was… What’s your USP? Well, we all looked at each other, shrugged and developed blank stares. Our instructor continued to explain that a USP is a “Unique Selling Position”. Basically, what makes our product the best buy.

YOU NEED TO DETERMINE YOU USP FOR YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE.

Is your USP that your product is cheaper, a different color, an old family recipe, you promise rapid delivery… anything that makes your product stand out from the rest.

Once you determine your USP, you can start developing your marketing plan around it. Obviously, what makes you unique is what will make you appealing to your target market.

Compare yourself to your competition and find out what sets you apart. No competition? Then that’s your USP.

Your USP is what determines your marketing approach!

Bob Martin is principal of Martin Creative Consultants, providing advertising consulting and services to manufacturing and retail businesses. His MCC VoicePros division creates  audio voiceovers for radio, TV, internet ads and presentations.

Consciousness: true selfishness

By Bob Martin

THE CAR DEALER & TV

Years ago I represented a Chevrolet car dealer. He was reasonably successful, but wanted to take the dealership to next level and he hired me to accomplish this. One of the things he wanted to do was sell Chevets, a good solid second family car. It’s low price made it a great car for the blue collar family.

I produced a nice TV spot featuring the car and proceeded to map out the running schedule for the ads. When I presented the budget to the dealer he immediately threw out all the 11:00pm news spots. I protested, but he wouldn’t budge on the ads.

THE SCHEDULE WAS PRODUCING RESULTS, BUT NOT TO THE DEGREE I WAS LOOKING FOR.

The second flight was presented for approval and again the 11:00pm news spot were eliminated. Frustrated, I finally asked why he wouldn’t let me run the late news spots. He looked at me and told me that he and his wife went walking every night between 11:00 and 11:30pm. He wouldn’t be able to see his spot. I told him that I didn’t care if he ever saw his spot. In fact, if he was frequently seeing his spot we had a problem. He wasn’t the audience I was trying to reach. I wanted blue collar families not the Corvette crowd that he represented. He never relented and after awhile I resigned the account rather than argue with him constantly. Eventually he went through two more agencies and finally went out of business.

The point of the story is make sure you match the right product with the right audience. This means occasionally checking your ego at the door. Without the right match, you won’t see the results you need.

Next week … What is your USP?

Make sure you match the right audience to your product!

Bob Martin is principal of Martin Creative Consultants, providing advertising consulting and services to manufacturing and retail businesses. His MCC VoicePros division creates  audio voiceovers for radio, TV, internet ads and presentations.

Consciousness: true selfishness

By Bob Martin

A CAMERA DOESN’T MAKE YOU A PHOTOGRAPHER

I hear the same comment over and over…”I can take the product shot. I’ve got a digital camera”.

A few years ago, I was walking through “Ace Bargain Center”. Ace was a combination of connecting buildings that went for an entire city block. This store had every kind of used merchandise you could possible imagine. It was like an indoor junk yard (but clean and safe). As I was walking by one of the rooms I noticed that it contained all the materials for a complete operating suite; gurney, cabinets, lights, autoclave and even some surgical utensils. I realized that for the paltry sum of a couple of thousand dollars, I could set up my own operating room. I would have the equipment. The problem was, equipment doesn’t make you a surgeon, talent does. The same thing goes for photography.

A GOOD PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER IS MORE ARTIST THAN PHOTOGRAPHER.

A pro realizes the effect of lighting, positioning, backgrounds and even the image your product conveys. Lots of people can take “good” photos with a digital camera and they can be the hit of the picnic, but the professional photographer takes it the extra mile to make your product shine.

You’ve put a lot of time into developing your product and you’re proud of it. Put your best foot forward and show it in the best possible way. I think you’ll find that most photographers can work wonders and are a lot less expensive than you’d think.

Another tip: Don’t dictate to the photographer, let him ask questions and give you his best possible recommendations. If you let an artist use his vision, chances are you’ll get something much better than you had hoped for. In my 35+ years of experience, it’s worked every time.

Next week: The Car Dealer and TV.

Always let the artist make the suggestions!

Bob Martin is principal of Martin Creative Consultants, providing advertising consulting and services to manufacturing and retail businesses. His MCC VoicePros division creates audio voiceovers for radio, TV, internet ads and presentations.

Consciousness: true selfishness

By Bob Martin

Advertising’s Acceptable Lie

Truth in advertising is one of the most important rules in business. It’s what drives the ridiculously long disclaimers in automotive advertising and the list of discouraging side effects when the pharmaceutical companies hock their latest medical miracles. I don’t know about you, but every time I hear the side effects of some of these meds, I wonder if the ailment isn’t better than the cure.

So, I enter my favorite fast food restaurant and order that perfect cheeseburger pictured so deliciously over the counter. I take my treasure to the table and unwrap my sandwich to  find a squashed bun, most of the melted cheese sticking to the wrapper, catsup all over the place and a pickle stuck to the underside.

What happened to my picture perfect meal?

Food advertising is one of the few areas that can get away with picturing the impossible… the perfect sandwich. The difference between the picture and the product that just spent 45 seconds in Skippy’s hands is a lot of work and a little magic. That sandwich was under the guidance of a “food stylist” and a professional photographer. It probably also spent a few hours on a computer in Adobe Photoshop. Remember the incredible photo of the refreshing milk being poured over Kellog’s Corn Flakes? Did you know that milk was mixed with Elmer’s Glue to make it look thick and refreshing.

We all know that the picture is never what the food looks like, but it’s OK. We accept it. And surprisingly, we even understand it.

I went to a restaurant and saw pictures of some homestyle meals taken by the owner. It didn’t look great and when it came out looking exactly like the picture, I was disappointed. Strange isn’t it? I don’t know what it was, but I somehow felt a rule had been broken.

If your product is food, spend the time to make it look right. Don’t falsify the product, but make it look as good as possible within reason.

Remember… false advertising can be the death of any business, but putting your product in the best light is acceptable.

Next week… A camera doesn’t make you a photographer.

Truth in advertising is one of the most important rules in business.

Bob Martin is principal of Martin Creative Consultants, providing advertising consulting and services to manufacturing and retail businesses. His MCC VoicePros division creates  audio voiceovers for radio, TV, internet ads and presentations.

Consciousness: true selfishness

By Bob Martin

DON’T MAKE THEM LOOK FOR YOU!

About a year ago, I saw a great pizza shop ad on the back of a newspaper tab. It was full color, full page and it looked great. The ad actually made me hungry for pizza, so I decided to order. There was this great effective ad, but no phone number or address. I had no idea where the shop was. My resolve was to order from a competitor.

THIS AD WAS A TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY.

It made you go “looking” for the business and as we all know, consumers are too lazy to go to that much trouble. Hundreds of dollars down the drain not to mention the sales potential.

Don’t make your potential customers look for you. Make sure every print ad has your phone number for additional information and your address so we know where you are. I even encourage clients to use “landmarks” as a reference i.e. “across from Walmart” or “next door to Acme Motors”. The easier it is to find you, the more likely potential customers will be willing to come in.

Remember, without your address or phone number you’ve lost the “call to action” needed to motivate your client.

Next week… “Advertising’s Acceptable Lie”.

Make it easy for your customers to find you!

Bob Martin is principal of Martin Creative Consultants, providing advertising consulting and services to manufacturing and retail businesses. His MCC VoicePros division creates  audio voiceovers for radio, TV, internet ads and presentations.

Consciousness: true selfishness

By Bob Martin

Bob Martin’s career has spanned almost 40 years of media, marketing and ad agencies, including 19 years as Manager of STI Creative. He’s kindly offered to provide us with weekly articles on advertising for the small to medium size business. I’m pleased to welcome him to Thinking Big Works.

Yes, it’s Monday and Bob’s posts will show up on Thursdays. So look for a bonus this week – two posts instead of one.

David VanAmburg

The Three Rules of Advertising

Over three decades ago , I was privileged to work for one of the single greatest sales and advertising geniuses in the United States and Canada; David “Giff” Gifford. Giff told me the “Three Rules of Advertising”.

The principal is easy. If you follow the “Three Rules of Advertising”, you will have a successful advertising campaign every time whether it’s radio, print, TV… any media.

Rule One: What you say and how many times you say it. What does this mean? It means make sure you have something important to say in your ad. Your ad needs to capture the attention of your target audience. We’ll talk more about this is another column. Next, make sure that your message is seen / heard enough times for the message to “sink in”. There is this mystical number called a “reach and frequency”. The whole purpose of this is to make sure that your target audience sees your message 3.4 to 3.7 times in a selected time frame. It works!

Rule Two: The next rule is even more specific. It is a perfect and logical follow-up to Rule One. Remember, you must follow all three rules for success. What is Rule Two? What you say and how many times you say it!

Rule Three: I know you caught the little humor in Rule Two and to be perfectly honest about it, you can skim over Rule Two as long as you strictly adhere to Rule Three. Rule Three has been proven successful in all forms of advertising promoting any type of product or service you can think of. Rule Three is also the most overlooked rule and without it, I promise you disappointing results. Rule Three is simple… What you say and how many times you say it!

Make your message compelling, say it enough times for it to sink in and you’ll win every time!

Bob Martin is principal of Martin Creative Consultants, providing advertising consulting and services to manufacturing and retail businesses. His MCC VoicePros division creates  audio voiceovers for radio, TV, internet ads and presentations.