Everywhere you look someone is trying to sell you something.
You are bombarded by messages whether it’s from the radio programme you listen to whilst having your breakfast, the billboards you drive past, the newspapers you read or the images plastered across the sides of the buses as they fly past you.
But even though you know they’re there are you taking any notice of them?
How many adverts do you remember seeing or hearing this morning?
Probably not many and that’s the worrying thing. If you managed to get to work this morning without taking in any of the sales messages that surrounded you, how can you be sure anyone’s taking any notice of yours?
According to Dave Trott (from his book “Predatory Thinking – A Masterclass in Out-thinking the Competition” – well worth a read), our oft he annual £18.3 billion spend (covering all forms of advertising):
89% of advertising isn’t noticed or remembered
4% is remembered positively
7% is remembered negatively
That means, UK businesses are wasting £17.3 billion – ouch!
You might think that means you’ve got to be clever in your advertising and come up with something wild and wacky that will get you noticed, but that’s not the case. Forget about being clever and think about creating something that will make people want to buy.
Have you heard people harp on about “we advertise to raise brand awareness”? That’s marketing agency speak for producing pretty ads that look great, but don’t get measurable results.
Advertising, according to Wikipedia’s definition, is:
“… a form of communication for marketing… used to encourage, persuade, or manipulate an audience… to continue or take some new action.”
That means buying stuff.
Whatever form it takes, your advertisement has to sell, otherwise it’s a waste of time and money.
Creating advertisements that sell
The only way you can create something that’s going to see is by knowing your market and what they’re looking for.
You know your customers better than anyone – what problem do they have? How will your product/service help them? What benefits will they get?
It really is that simple.
Forget about you and your business and about creating a flashy ad that gets you noticed for creativity. Yes, it might bring a smile to people’s faces, but it won’t necessarily bring them flocking to you with their credit cards.
Just keep in mind the simple formula of:
What do you customers want?
Why do they need it?
What will it mean to them when they have it?