Every day thousands of marketers create ads and ad campaigns which are doomed to fail. The reason for this is because they often get too caught up in what they think or like, and forget about their target audience and the goals of the ads. But what these marketers don’t know can be an opening for your company to take market share and grow. Here we will take a look at four simple (and underused) techniques to improve your marketing message.
- Simpler is often better – Years back people all over the Mid-Atlantic began putting medium sized circular stickers on their cars with the letters “OBX” on them. Pretty soon it seemed like everyone had one of these stickers, but it was unclear what they meant. This got people talking. Soon enough word spread that these stickers referred to the Outer Banks, North Carolina. Though the Outer Banks is a vacation destination, not a corporation per se, the effect was the same. The Outer Banks was able to attract the attention of hundreds of thousands of people through this simple marketing ploy. Don’t get caught up thinking that everything must be complicated in order to work. Often simpler is better.
- An ad should be attention-grabbing – The Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man in the World” ad grabs your attention. People all over talk about him because the commercials which feature him are outlandish, interesting, and fun. The way your company grabs the attention of its clients will depend on the target audience. But your ads should be unique, fresh, and interesting.
- Humor is good – but only when it points back to your brand – We have all seen commercials on TV which are extremely humorous, but seem to have little to do with the actual brand itself. Back to Dos Equis, the reason this ad campaign works is because the actor who stars in the commercials is now known as the “Dos Equis guy.” The same goes for the “Old Spice guy” who stared in similar commercials. Other commercials, like a recent one which features a man sitting at a table talking to a group of children, are hilarious – but don’t effectively point back to the brand. Remember that if you use humor, or do anything to astound or call the attention of your prospect – it will only be effective if you are able to tie it back in to your product, company, and brand.
- Your ad can focus on solving a problem –Years ago the Verizon ad was “Can you hear me now?…..Good!” This ad was specifically created to reassure potential customers that they would not suffer dropped calls with Verizon cellular service. Geico’s “So easy even a caveman could do it” reassured potential customers that saving 15 percent on car insurance will be hassle-free. In a similar vein, you may want to target a problem that your potential customer is likely to have, and then convince them that you can solve it. These kinds of ads are likely winners because people are routinely willing to pay someone to help solve their problems.
