With all the confusion about where to send your messages if you want to reach your communications target, we seem to be in the eye of a media transition.

Flipping from Facebook, to Linkedin, to Twitter the other day, it occurred to me that in olden times this was like getting to watch a television show.

In the 1950s, the last time we have a major transition in media usage, advertisers were trying to cope with the change from radio and print to television.

The big question: how to deal with TV?

The TV shows were usually run by sponsors which may surprise us today. Lux Video Theatre, Texaco Hour, and others — not to mention the soap operas that were owned by P&G and other soap companies.  Advertisers quickly discovered that documentaries about how your made your rubber boots was not interesting enough to attract and sustain attention.  But they tried.

On early TV, commercials were integrated right into the action. In a sitcom, the actors would gather to discuss something and you would find them continuing on into a Maxwell House commercial. And commercials would be up to two minutes long, which feels like a feature film when you watch one today. The actors poured over all the silly details of the products they were hawking.

Advertisers on TV used the same logic as they had used for radio. Use the content to attract attention and then provide your message. So what’s so different today? True, television migrated from sponsorship of shows to purchase of scattered announcements in many shows. But the use of media content as a lure to attract attention to their message remained.

All the techniques advertisers used are based on this. So what about the internet? Websites can give information in painful detail about a particular product or company.

Just like some of the early TV shows, early websites were documentaries. But who goes looking for information on product differentiation. Web 2.0 for advertisers saw a proliferation of action sites, sites with program content controlled by advertisers.

Initially these promotional sites were perishable relating to contests or issues.  Content was attractive because customers were given a chance to win something, or get something for free.  In other words there was a financial incentive.

So how do you drive traffic to your website? Make your site interesting, intriguing and entertaining.  That means the site has to continually change to be engaging.

So that brings us back to content asa one of the best ways of attracting attention to an existing site.

One thing that is overlooked as a way to increase site traffic is telling people about a site. That means use of traditional advertising techniques – putting your website in all your materials and trumpeting it.

And use of traffic directors like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, MySpace, Youtube and their kindred to tell prospects why they should pay attention to you. Which should lead to why they should buy. But sites still need content in order to sustain interest and attention.

Too many sites have inactive News sections, blog sections with one or two entries, and other topical sections without updates. That’s like running the same commercial for years at a time. And site wearout can be quick if its value is just for reference or downloading manuals.

Some advertisers, like Evian’s baby skaters most recently, have gotten better attention worldwide by posting on YouTube than they get on traditional TV.   The skating babies is the latest in a series that included baby synchronized swimmers, break-dancers, etc.  But does it connect to water for consumers?  Or is the water message left in the babies’ diapers?

It all depends on how willing the advertiser is on taking a risk and whether the entertainment value of their video translates to awareness, persuasion value and sales.

Part of this transition period from television as the dominant medium means there is a lot of risk with hope of questionable reward for advertisers. Like before, content is king. Getting the content right means trusting communications professionals like never before.

We could take a lesson from the way the Motion Picture Industry stages the Oscars as a promotional event for their product. The award show format is just editorial content is to get the target to pay attention to the advertising message. Their product as a hero.

Actually the Motion Picture folks have done such a good job, the news media actually think the Oscars are news. Mind you, this is the same media who dedicated more than a week full time to cover Michael Jackson. They know hard news when the see it.  But duping the news media is a tried and true technique for all of us trying to get attention for our clients.

We can also take a lesson from media outlets who are rapidly transforming their businesses from printing and broadcasting to web.

While the media transition continues, the winners will be those who understand its transition and can think ahead to the kind of media world that will be, rather than the one that is.

Ever wondered about how the business of sports is different for golfers?  Unlike other sports, they are self employed.

I was attending the RBC Canadian Open in the pouring rain.  Quite a few of the professional golfers competing here bolted after the first and second day.  They just left because of the delays and their early poor scores.  Eleven, in fact, left after the first round.

In what other sport will players simply leave in mid game?  But these golfers are compensated based on performance.  If they don’t make the half way cut, they get nothing.

True some get appearance fees and Pro-Am money, but that’s not from the competition.  So eleven guys would rather leave than pay for hotel bills and travel costs.  That’s different.

The PGA Tour is owned by the players.  That means workers control production.  The MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA are owned by owners of teams.  In those sports, players are employees.  They get paid whether they are successful or not on any given week.  Their expenses are paid when they travel, uniforms and equipment also paid for by the teams.

To cover costs, golfers will sell their hats, shirts, bags, clubs and even their balls for money.  That’s right the workers source revenue for the enterprise.

It gives them a steady cash flow as long as they are prominent enough to get some visibility.  They also sell their likenesses and appearances much like other sports figures do, but golfers can actually play their sport with customers – for a fee.  Presidents famously play golf with Tiger Woods, but I would hate to see one play hockey with Sidney Crosby.

So which sports business model works best?  Hard to say if there is any way to compare.  But one thing is absolutely true, there are no feather-bedders in golf.  Every dollar earned is from performance.

In other sports, players can make big bucks riding benches based on previous year’s performances.  There are many stories of inequality in compensation.  Toronto Blue Jays recently released their former closer who lost his zip.  He was making $12,000,000 this year and had 2 saves.  He made the same last year and got 38.  Hard to equate compensation with results.  Baseball, like other sports, allows players to live on their rep.

Doesn’t happen in golf.

So while the golfers may be communists — that is employees owning their source of income — they are also the ultimate capitalists.  Paid for performance.

Revenue sharing has always been a bone of contention in other sports.  Who should get more?  The team owners?  The cities?  The players?  The league?  Certainly not the fans.

The only consistency is that the taxpayers in the host cities bite the biscuit.  The remaining groups squabble over the millions and millions on the table each claiming a “poor and hard done by” status.

Now what about golfers?

They have to pay their own expenses and entry fees.  They pay for membership on their Tours.  On some of the minor league tours those entry fees and membership fees are sometimes what the prize money is created from.  The golfers are independent contractors, affiliated with Tours.

Consider the economics of someone who is not well established on the PGA, European or LPGA Tours.  Just to show up and compete might cost $70 to $80K per year.  If you are not among the gifted, you have to struggle — some driving from tournament to tournament, often sleeping in your car or sharing a room with a buddy, just to get the experience needed.

Today, in the pouring rain, no one is getting paid diddly.

The leaderboard includes some players who are still trying to break even.  Canadian Chris Baryla has made the cut and will get a payday likely better than any other he will have this year.  He is working on the Nationwide Tour where so far he has earned about $60K in five events as he plays himself onto that Tour after losing his card due to lack of performance in the past.

This weekend the winner at the Open takes home $900K US.  In his current spot he would take home $36K+. But today that means no play, no pay.

And getting on the PGA Tour doesn’t result from being  “drafted.”  It means fighting your way through all kinds of Qualifying tournaments, Q-schools as they are called.  Rare is the player who can go directly to a Tour and start playing.  You’ve got to earn your card.

Isn’t that capitalism at its core?

Capitalism gets tainted by unions that demand too much and won’t accept cuts when the going gets tough.

Consider the Toronto Trash Union who are currently on strike.  They get 18 sick days a year and can bank them for use as paid days off, maybe playing golf on the City tab.  They refuse to reduce these from when they were granted them by more charitable City governments in better times.

They are cousins of the non-performing baseball player, assuming entitlement for past year’s adequate performance.  Same is true of the auto workers who seemed more bent on letting their employer go broke than reducing their rates when the company’s performance took them to the brink.  Why are they entitled to any pay security?

Take a lesson from the golfers.  You should earn it every day.  When your company is floundering, it is like being demoted to the Canadian Tour to play for $150,000 in total money instead of the $5 million at the Canadian Open.

Post Script:  Our example, Chris Baryla came raging in with a final round 66 and finished with a share of eighth place to win $123,037 – double his winnings so far this year.  Nice payday.  Better than that he gets an automatic invite into next week’s PGA event, the $5 million Buick Open.

Just like other media, there are many many choices on the Internet, many media buyers throw their hands up in the air , saying its too fragmented. But there is an opportunity – in that fragmentation it’s often very easy to find highly specialized sites and user groups that contain a very specific target, who are avid users and very interested in your products and services. On top of that the less-avid users or potential users are going to end up reading the reviews, comments , complaints and stories of these customers.

When they do a search before buying something the trusted reviewers pages are going to come up first (usually).

Sometimes it’s as easy as using the user and geographic targeting tools sites like Google and Facebook have, with their large userbase it’s fairly easy to get to your audience with the tools they provide you.

In more niche categories you’ll want to find out where the customers are congregating online. Usually a couple hours of legwork will give you a good idea of where people interested in a topic visit frequently, and you end up with a good shortlist of sites to buy ads on or participate on.

Pretend to be a user looking to buy or research your product, see where searches get you.

It comes down to – advertise where the customers are. Sure fine-tune it and try to get it exact as you can on demographics but really all that matters is finding what site(s) your customers are visiting.

My new career seems to be pointed toward Blog Pimping.  Why, you might ask?  Okay, pretend you did.

It is of no consequence to slave away churning out the regular blather that is a blog.  With no readers your blog is… meh.

So how to get them?

Well first, get past the usual blather and actually come up with something catchy and interesting.  Don’t afraid to be controversial, if they love you or hate you – no matter as long as they talk about you.  People have limited time and attention.  If it has no hook, it gets no look.

Tell people about it.  Forward links via eBlasts.  Share links on social networking sites – the usual suspects Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, plurk, MySpace, plaxo, MSN Spaces, Digg, StumbleUpon, YouTube
and so on.  Flickr “behind the photo” blog entries can be good.  Be a slut.  Give it to everyone.

Get other people to pimp out your blog for you – this is the genius behind stumbleupon – get someone to thumbs up and recommend your post.  It does wonders because you get cred.  Get people to comment and forward links to your blog on to others.

Ask for guest posts. Ideally you want someone who has more traffic than yourself. But experts in an area you write about are great.

Include links to higher traffic sites in your blog.  Troll other blogs that are more popular and provide comments that link back to your blog.  Or be one of the first few trackbacks.

How do you find these?  Google using the Google blog search (it is in the drop down “more” on the Google search page).

In fact, if you are thinking of doing a blog on a subject, find out who has done something like yours before you even write so you can respond or take a different slant to it.

In theory you should be able to generate a good list of feeds in your expertise area, if your blog is to feed you expect to be watching for new posts all the time. Some higher profile industry specific aggregators can be good to get stories to cover.

Sometimes all you have is the title. Taking the opposite point of view gets traffic – if you’re the first to do it and you actually wrote something thoughtful. Title linkbait rules apply just like in everyday SEO. People will usually forgive a little title trickery if the articles are well written and on topic.

Keep pumping out the material.  An occasional “flash of adequacy” is not enough.  Keep flashing.  Not everything will be brilliant, but keep trying.  There is no sense pimping if you are not pumping.

Now if the blog is just to help your site’s SERPs, the adequacy may be adequate. A load of text somehow relevant will help, no matter how badly written.

Make sure your RSS feed works so readers will know when you are having that stroke of genius.  And create the tags people will be looking for including using them in the title of your post.  Getting in other people’s blogroll – can be a huge boost of interested readers.

Now, should I give up the day job and become a full fledged Blog Pimper?

Probably not.  Unless you are a Hilton (either one), Adrianna Huffington or Rob Scoble — keep the day job.

For almost all of human history everyone has had to live near to where they worked.  This gave rise to settlements, around arable land, then around mills and so on until we had cities – since that is where the work was.

Now in the age of VPNs and remote office workers, we don’t all need to live where we work.  We don’t even have to get to our offices.

What does that do for the retail environment that counted on traffic wandering by their offerings?

It means retailers have to reach out to where the population is, will be or wants to be.

This is the same kind of retail real estate revolution that changed downtown shopping into suburban malls with the advent of the car and the ability to commute to work.

The best retail vehicle to reach remote customers is the internet rather than bricks and mortar.  The world of eBay, Amazon and all the other sites mean that physical real estate will now be less valuable.  Who needs a lot of bricks and mortar when you can connect to someone in their pajamas 25/8 (that’s the sequel to 24/7 because 24/7 is over-used).  The real estate that will count is the real estate of the mind and on the web.

Anyone wonder why you can buy a house in Buffalo or Pittsburgh for $10,000?  (But let’s not pick on Buffalo, there are a lot of great things there – wings, beef on weck and much much more).  The same will happen in cities that don’t have the right attractions for migrating workers.

Longer term thinking would say that real estate will increase in value where people want to be.  But where is that?

We can check the top ten lists of where people want to live.  There are lots of those published by lots of magazines and survey companies.  You could read Richard Florida’s books.  His theory is that people want to live where life can be fun.  Where there is diversity, recreational opportunities and a rich cultural life.  Think how different that is from the past 100 years when people wanted to live where there were jobs.  How else did Detroit, among many other cities, get so big?

For the past couple centuries there has been a migration to cities for jobs.  And in North America, a migration from the Northeast to the South and West.  For Canada, Vancouver and Victoria constitute the South and the West.  If this migration was just to fill the empty spaces in North America then we would see huge populations in Nebraska and Saskatchewan.

Now where are workers and buyers going to migrate to?  Places with interesting living conditions.  Places where you can self actualize, find yourself, raise your children, whatever you want to do while you put in eight hours a day remotely to an office that could be anywhere.

There is not even any national border in the way of working remote.  That has moved employee tax bases to places like Bangalore where abundant English speakers provide worldwide service.  It allows animation companies to work on projects all 24 hours of the day by scheduling three eight hour work days in different time zones with all workers on the same project working on the same servers.

Particularly work, particularly non-verbal work, is easily done off shore at lower costs than in North America, plus it can be done while you are sleeping.  Add in to VPN, skype, IM, email, ftp sites, and other facilitating technology and voilá.  Using an intranet or VPN to track work schedules and projects is no longer edgey.  For workers who have to meet with clients, a $500 plane flight every month or two is still cheaper than renting downtown office space.

So retailers have to respond to this opportunity by offering their wares not only locally, but wherever interested prospects may be.  And they can locate their bricks and mortar wherever costs work out best and wherever delivery systems allow.

You, yourself, may find a way to do your work from wherever in the world you want to live.  There may be a day when you declare “PHUKET!”

A New Hampshire man had his debit card charged $23,148,855,308,184,500 for a single package of cigarettes.  That’s stupid.  But mistakes can be made.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2009-07-15-expensive-smokes_N.htm

But the real mistake is how the man was treated when this obvious error was made.

He was on the phone for two hours with Bank of America to try to reverse the error and get them to waive the $15 overdraft charge.

We have written about how service has declined in our “Are Companies Training Customers to be Jerks?” but we never thought service could be so bad that it took two hours to clarify something so obviously an error.  And the fact that there was even an overdraft fee adds insult to injury.

A final note that shows how shoddy responsibility for customer service is, the Bank in question took no responsibility and pointed their finger at Visa.  Who, in turn, pointed back at the Bank.

I have had this same shirking of client service with my cell phone company who blamed the hardware while the hardware company blamed the cell phone company.

This kind of abandonment has created more and more customer distrust.  That costs marketers as they have to try to buy it back.

Long term the cost to repair the damage is far more than anything that could be saved by dodging responsibility.

When I worked in New York, we spent a lot time analyzing commercial exposure with the heaviest viewing quintile, that is the one fifth of the viewers that see the most television.

These people saw a particular commercial 20 or 30 times. We had great fear that commercials with that kind of exposure would be worn out – providing diminished returns to the advertiser.

When I got to  Canada I found that even the lightest viewers see commercials well in excess of that kind of frequency. Media costs are lower than the US and production costs are about the same, so money is spent on more media to maximize exposure.

Why do we worry about wear-out? Well, theory says that there is a learning curve associated with commercials. The first time you see it, you don’t totally get it. It takes a couple or three viewings to understand the idea behind the commercial and get what is going on. That means that the first two times you don’t get the full impact of the commercial. The sweet spot, using this theory, is anywhere after about four times.

The same logic means that after a certain number of times viewing commercial “dis-learning” occurs. That is, the commercial irritates viewers and they get turned off on the product and eventually dislike it and the advertiser.

Who hasn’t heard, “I am tired of that damn commercial!” Think of the negative feelings you get from some irritating commercials.

Sure, there can be a positive side to irritation – it can make the commercial memorable. But there is also abundant research that if consumers like commercials it adds to their persuasive power.

So if there is a negative to too much, when does too much start and wear-out begin?

One thing I know for sure, after many years working in advertising: Advertising ideas wear-out with advertisers and agencies first. Long before advertising ideas wear-out with consumers, the advertisers and their agencies are seeking replacements. Rarely do advertising ideas really wear-out with the public.

Another source of wear-out is when there is a change of personnel at the advertiser. If someone’s predecessor was associated with an idea, that idea wears out really quickly with the new advertising manager as the new manager seeks to make their mark. An ego based development cost that ends up being paid by the advertiser.

And creative strategies? Strategies only wear-out when there has been a real sea change – when a new competitor enters the market or improves their product to make your claim invalid; when there is a change in product technology; or when a new category emerges to make your claims obsolete. Remember that Tide’s strategy of “cleans better” strategy has worked for decades.

Commercials themselves? Here are some guidelines I have experienced:
1. Humour wears out fastest if it relies on a joke. Once you know the punch line, the spot is useless. We were forced to air some Subway commercials developed by another agency based on the premise “stupid behavior is okay if you did something good for yourself” – like eating at Subway. They showed bizarre scenes of a guy washing his car in a cheerleader’s short skirt and a doctor telling a waiting family their loved one had died – as a joke. This lame humour wore out in one viewing. The campaign died quickly too – with a cringe. Which leads to the next point.
2. Poor taste wears out really fast and alienates customers. Be careful.
3. Commercials that bring a smile last very long. I was involved with the Jell-O Pudding Bill Cosby commercials. We would play them for people in Focus Groups over and over and over. They loved the warmth and good humour and wanted more of it. That same campaign lasted 25 years.
4. Songs last the longest if they are positive and can be learned and sung by viewers. That means they should have some underlying meaning other than “buy the product.”
5. Commercials that demonstrate product performance don’t wear-out that fast. They may be boring and left brained, but the information is not that objectionable on repetition.

I could go on with more examples, but I am convinced that the best commercials are those that address a clear and meaningful customer desire. Clever counts for award shows, but not necessarily for sales. Warmth and relevance always work.

Remember this thinking. It won’t wear-out any time soon.

You may have noticed that Microsoft has included a new version of Internet Explorer (Internet Explorer 8 ) in one of its recent updates. Here’s what Microsoft as to say about some of the new features of IE8.

The question is, should you install it? Unless you are eagerly looking forward to the new features of this update, I would recommend that you not install it just yet. As it is still fairly new, it may contain some bugs.

Some people are noticing that it’s causing their computer to slow down or freeze. Some things you can do to help speed it up is to remove some of the features that may be causing it to slow down your computer, such as, InPrivate Filtering and SmartScreen Filtering.

By default, InPrivate Filtering analyzes the websites you visit and the content providers they use, but does not automatically block them. You can choose to allow or block any content provider that InPrivate Filtering identifies as receiving information about your browsing. Alternatively, you can have InPrivate Filtering automatically block any content provider, or you can turn off InPrivate Filtering.

To turn off InPrivate Filtering, follow these steps:

1. Open Internet Explorer by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Internet Explorer.
2. Click the Safety button, and then click InPrivate Filtering Settings.

   

3. To turn off InPrivate Filtering, click Off.
4. Click OK.

SmartScreen Filter helps to protect you in three ways:

• It operates in the background as you browse the web, analyzing webpages and determining if they have any characteristics that might be suspicious. If it finds suspicious webpages, SmartScreen will display a message giving you an opportunity to provide feedback and advising you to proceed with caution.
• SmartScreen Filter checks the sites you visit against an up-to-the-hour, dynamic list of reported phishing sites and malicious software sites. If it finds a match, SmartScreen Filter will show you a red warning notifying you that the site has been blocked for your safety.
• SmartScreen Filter also checks files downloaded from the web against the same dynamic list of reported malicious software sites. If it finds a match, SmartScreen Filter will show a red warning notifying you that the download has been blocked for your safety.

To disable SmartScreen Filtering, follow these steps:

• Open Internet Explorer 8.
• Click the Safety button, and then click SmartScreen Filter and Turn Off SmartScreen Filter.
• Select Turn off SmartScreen Filter and click on OK.
  Note: This is if it SmartScreen Filter is currently enabled.

Another thing you can do that may help is click the Compatibility View button, which will cause IE8 to show web sites has if it was an older version of IE.

If you have already installed IE8 with great regret, and none of the above help to make it work better for you, you have the option of uninstalling it and revert back to IE7 or install an alternate browser, such as, Firefox.

From the Microsoft Website [ Source ]

Note If you are not sure which version of Windows that you are running, or if you need help verifying that you are an administrator, click here to determine your environment ( http://support.microsoft.com/gp/admin ) .

Important You cannot uninstall Internet Explorer 8 if it is set as not removable. This occurs if you install Internet Explorer 8 before you install Service Pack 3 (SP3) for Windows XP. If this scenario applies to you, then you must uninstall SP3 before you can uninstall Internet Explorer 8. For more information about this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
950719 ( http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950719/ ) You cannot uninstall Internet Explorer 7 or Internet Explorer 8 after you install Windows XP Service Pack 3

Steps for Windows Vista or for Windows Server 2008

To uninstall Internet Explorer 8, follow these steps:

1. Close all programs.
2. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
3. Click Uninstall a Program under the Programs category
4. In the Tasks pane, click View installed updates.
5. In the list of installed updates, double-click Windows Internet Explorer 8.
   Note If Windows Internet Explorer 8 does not appear in the list of installed updates, try the alternative steps for Windows Vista or for Windows Server 2008.
6. In the Uninstall an update dialog box, click Yes.
   Note If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.
7. Follow the instructions to uninstall Internet Explorer 8.
8. When the uninstall program is finished, restart your computer.

Steps for Windows XP or for Windows Server 2003

To uninstall Internet Explorer 8, follow these steps:

1. Close all programs.
2. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
3. Click Add or Remove Programs.
4. In the list of currently installed programs, click Windows Internet Explorer 8, and then click Remove.Note If Windows Internet Explorer 8 does not appear in the list of installed updates, try the alternative steps for Windows XP or for Windows Server 2003.
5. Follow the instructions to uninstall Internet Explorer 8.
6. When the uninstall program is finished, restart your computer.

5 Mistakes Advertisers Make

Ever go into a car dealership and ask the sales guy to tune your engine?  You don’t really think that he/she would know how to do it, do you?

Sales people sell cars they don’t provide highly technical engine adjustments.  The dealership has trained mechanics for that.

Everyone has a skill set and certain talents. We call on experts, or those more expert than we are, to complete tasks we are less proficient at.

We don’t do our own open heart surgery, our own dentistry, or usually our own taxes. And lawyers say that someone who defends themselves in court has a fool for a client.

So why do retailers think they are experts at creating advertising campaigns? Is it because they think they can speak English, so they believe they can write copy?  And does watching TV make you an expert in media buying?

Once I cold-called a prospect and asked him who did his copy. He said it was his secretary (back in the day when people had secretaries). To which I replied that she was under-utilized. “She should be writing screenplays, there is more money in that.”

We didn’t get the account — didn’t think we would want it anyway.

My sarcasm aside, the power of having the right advertising campaign is not something left to amateurs. I recently read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. He endorses the idea that someone needs to have 10,000 hours doing something before they are expert at it.  Then you can get the benefit of that expertise in a Blink!

Advertising agencies have well developed and disciplined processes for the development of creative. We define a strategy before hand to make sure we putting forward the right message to the right target.  It takes years of training to get this right.  The power of having the right message in the right place can increase the impact of the media investment in many multiples.

What’s it take for a retailer to gain this benefit? The courage to ask for professional help.

What about the cost? Some retailers are afraid of the cost. Really?

They should ask, “how much media money are they wasting by not having a potent message”? Does a doctor operate first and diagnose second?  Mine better not!

Radio stations and newspapers will assemble a commercial or ad for FREE! Their view of the message is – do what the retailer wants and get it done fast. So not much thought or added value goes in.

It is a total waste for the retailer, when all that media money puts across a lame message that does not hit the mark, isn’t provocative, or compelling or persuasive.

Retailers are usually great at operations. Making sure the their stores operate consistently and efficiently.

Advertising people are trained to think differently. They think from the customer’s point of view.

This means when a retailer does hire a professional, they should listen to the advice they get and consider it.  Don’t try and redo it yourself.

Ask the question “does this achieve what I am trying to do?” instead of the more typical question, “Is that how I would do it?” – Of course it is not how you would do it!  That’s why you hired an expert with a different perspective. You don’t buy a dog and then bark yourself.

It is the wise person who knows what they can and cannot do.  Professional advertising advice can pay for itself and then some.  Give it a chance.

Now where’s my chainsaw, I have an appendectomy to do.

5 Advertising Mistakes Retailers Make

Some ads from retailers, especially newspaper ads, make understanding the DaVinci code a simple thing.  You need to call Tom Hanks to help you figure out what you need to know.

They seem to think that if you throw an entire vegetable garden at the wall it will somehow magically become an excellent marinara sauce.  We looked at one for a prominent auto dealer recently and stopped counting fonts and claims when we ran out of fingers and toes.  There was everything from how many languages the staff spoke, to illegible descriptions about all kinds of cars, to loan conditions and on and on.

That many claims means no one knew which one would really work and there was no copy strategy.  It screams out “We specialize in everything!” – which means you specialize in nothing.

We sympathize with the poor customer who tries to figure out what this “Jackson Pollack painting” for an ad was supposed to communicate.

We always figure that the customer has a small little memory space in their brain to connect an advertiser with what they stand for.  They can connect one or two and maybe three ideas to that advertiser, not much more.  Think of a dictionary – it has all the words, but no plot.  That’s how some ads are.

We also consider how effective arguments are made.  Once you get past one or two good reasons for your point, your argument gets weaker.

So when a consumer is given twenty or more points they can not only refute them, they disbelieve them.  The additional points do not add value to the persuasive value, they undermine it.  What’s more effective and memorable? A single strong claim with believable, tangible support or a rambling list of questionable assertions?

When you have seconds to make your impression, you better be clear and make your point.

Shooting elephants with shotguns makes the elephant mad and confused but it hardly notices.

Michelangelo said “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”  The same is true for finding the right advertising message.  Retailers have a tendency to deliver the block and expect the customer to do the sculpting.  It is a pretty risky and inefficient way to advertise.

Maybe they are afraid to leave something out.  But they are not alone.  Many advertisers try to cram every possible positive point about their products into their advertising.  I found this with fax machines that we advertised years ago.  There were so many features to feature we couldn’t keep it straight how they all worked, and if they were that obscure they couldn’t really be meaningful to prospective buyers – except a very select few.

Retailers who identify their key message and stick to it have the best opportunity to stand apart from their competitors and build a reputation for themselves.

That message should focus on one defining difference they have from their competitors.  The message should motivates their customers with a clear benefit to those customers.  The retailer should also make sure they can deliver the benefit.  If you say your food is “Hot and Fresh,” you better deliver on that promise.

Sounds easy.  So does Michelangelo’s task.  But we know the hardest thing about a creative strategy is what you leave out.

Too much information usually means no message at all.