Messaging The Message in Advertising

 

Mark From Marketing Says...

We were sitting on the couch on New Year's Day, watching the Orange Bowl. It was a commercial break, and the Dutch Girl asked, "What does a lizard have to do with auto insurance?"

That's a fair question, I thought. What does a lizard have to do with automobile insurance?

"Nothing, really," I replied. "Except to do what it just did. To grab your attention long enough to hear what they want to tell you. If they did the messaging right, you might think about buying car insurance from them. Otherwise, all you'll remember about what they're selling is a cute gecko, and they've wasted an awful lot of money."

 Think of advertising as a summer carnival. There is a lot to see and do there, with a barker at each attraction competing for the visitor's attention. If the barker can get the visitor to stop and listen to the pitch, the visitor may decide to buy what the barker is selling. If not, the visitor strolls away.

Advertising works in much the same way. The carnival's visitors are, of course, the customers you want to reach. The barker is an advertisement's design and general creativity, which serves to grab the customer's attention. The pitch is the ad's message, which is where the real work of the advertisement takes place.

 It's important to remember that while the advertisement's creativity grabs the audience's attention, it can also overpower the sales message the advertiser wants to convey. Understanding what needs to be said in an advertisement, and in particular, what it is that makes your product or servicedifferentfrom those of your competitors, can make the difference in creating a successful advertisement.

To begin the process of advertising message development, begin with the basics. Any advertisement should include your company's name, what it is that you sell, where you sell it, and how your potential customers can reach you. Remember, one of the first rules of good marketing is to make it as easy as possible for your customers to access you and what you're selling!

Next comes the difficult part: you need to explain why a customer should buy from you. Are your products better? Less expensive? Do you have a greater selection? Is your customer service better? Are your business hours more convenient? Is your location easy to reach?

Difficult questions, certainly. But since you may not have an Consumer Insights Department to answer these questions for you, here's how to get some answers for yourself. Write down five good reasons for customers to buy your products or services. A great clue can be what your customers may have said previously about why they came in.

If you can be honest with yourself about what it is that really attracts your customers to your business, you've just created your advertisement'sTalking Points. Talking Points serve as the superstructure upon which your advertising will be built, particularly when it comes to differentiating your business from your competitors. Not only can the Talking Points suggest what should be said in the ad, they can also help you decide what the ad will look like.

Once you have your five talking points, discuss them with a few people. They can be anyone – friends, family, even customers. Ask them to be honest in their response – remember, it's not about how you see your business, but rather how others see your products and services. From what you learn, you may decide to change your talking points. This sort of feedback always strengthens your advertising message.

Now that you have your talking points, you can move forward in creating your actual advertising. It may be something you can try yourself, but you might be happier with the results if you consult a professional marketing communications practitioner. Knowing what you want the ad to say, and being able to tell the practitioner what you want to see, will go a long way to making your vision a reality.

Here are some additional suggestions to keep in mind:

• On using humor: In a word, don't! Dying, it's been said, is easy – it's comedy that's hard. What's funny to me may not be funny to you, and no matter how innocuous the joke, it's almost a certainty that someone won't think the joke in your ad is funny.
• Simplicity: Shakespeare wrote that the soul of wit was brevity. For any given ad, you have somewhere between three to five seconds to convince your audience to listen to your message. Get to the point!
• Speak to your audience, not at them: Respect your audience, so speak to them as if they're standing directly in front of you. Look them in the eye, and tell them the truth.
• Believe what you say: If you don't believe what you're saying in your advertisement, neither will your audience. A genuine commitment to serving your customers as well as you can will always shine through!

Creating advertising messaging is a process, and at times, can be challenging. However, if you know who you are, what you do and can explain to your customers what makes you different – and better – than your competitors, the process can be a rewarding one.

 In other words, be yourself!

Copyright ^©Mark E. Paulson 2013