The eight techniques of stopping power

I found this in a copy of "The Young & Rubicam Traveling Creative Workshop" which I picked up recently at a local library sale. This may be the best $1 I have ever spent as this book is packed with great ideas on selling and designing powerful advertising.

Here are the techniques they use to get people to read your ads My thoughts on each are in blue:

1. Open-minded narrative (picture or thought) in which the resolution is not presented. "The biggest problem in America today" Curiosity makes you read on.


2. Ironic twists on ordinary behavior. "Man bites dog" makes you want to know the rest of the story.


3. Play on words in the headline. "You have to believe it to see it."


4. Incongruity of visual elements and/or words by unusual juxtaposition of elements. This is Seth Godin's "Purple Cow" idea. We are attracted to things that break expected patterns.


5. Exaggeration "Without a doubt this is the best blog ever written" You want to read on to see if this is true or more likely to prove the writer wrong.


6. Simplification. A good example of this is lots of white space in a generally cluttered publication.


7. Shocking visual and/or headline. A local heating and cooling company is running ads headlined "You wife is hot!" in large type over a message in small type that says "buy her a new air conditioner" Gets your attention."


8. Participation visuals (e.g. tests, games, multiple visuals) Everyone likes to be challenged.

I think these are all great ways to grab attention for your customer's ad.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks

Jim Busch

Quote of the week

Leo Burnett was one of the most creative advertising men of all time. He was the master of the pithy statement that contained great wisdom. Here is Burnett's twenty word description of advertising:

Advertising says to people, "Here's what we've got. Here's what it will do for you. Here's how to get it."

Think about this simple statement each time you build an ad. Most ads I see have parts 1 & 3 but forget to tell the reader "Here's what it will do for you." Make sure your ads offer a benefit to your readers. Benefits are the thing that makes the ad work.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

The test of a great ad

Customer's are famous for placing their name at the top of an ad in huge type. They then like to fill the every remaining square millimeter of the ad with 6 point copy. The end result is a grey blot on the page. Customers will argue at they can read everything in the ad. This is true when you are focusing on the ad in the paper or on a print out. This does not replicate the experience of your readers. They are flipping through your paper or reading through the line ads. To attract their attention the ad must shout out what it is promoting. A way to simulate this is to hold the page up and walk 8 or 10 feet away. Can you easily recognize what the ad is selling? Does the art or the headline tell what it is about? Holding the ad at a distance simulates the experience of the reader hurrying through the paper or just glancing at the ads. If you can't immediately identify the subject of the ad at a distance the typical reader will miss it as well. Try this with your customers. (It is a good idea to have some examples of good ads picked out so you can demonstrate the difference)

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

The Value of Coupons

I've had customers give me this objection when I've recommended coupons: "I'm not going to pay you to give away my product." Many business people feel that coupons are just a fancy way to pick their pockets. Research indicates that this is incorrect. Scarborough Research has found that grocery shoppers who use coupons generally spend $6 to $10 more than customers who don't. Other researchers have found that restaurant patrons who use coupons have significantly larger "tickets". The psychology of this phenomenon is simple. When people feel they are getting a "deal" this gives them "permission" to splurge. When they have a buy one get one dinner coupon they feel this justifies purchasing high profit items like desserts or wine. In some industries this equates to $7 in increased sales for every dollar of coupon redeemed. You can tell your customers that coupons not only attract new customers but they also increase sales.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Coupon products

Coupon redemption rates are on the rise since the recession. The strongest coupons give something away, free is one of the most powerful words in any ad. Giving something away with the purchase of another item is a good tactic. The ideal item is something with a low hotel cost but which has value for the consumer. For example the most expensive part of a fountain drink in a restaurant is the cu which costs a few pennies, so the cost is low for the merchant. The consumer places the value of a drink at a dollar or more. A free drink with a meal is a great deal for everyone involved. Ask your clients about items with a high profit margin. These items will be good candidates for a coupon offer.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Great promotion idea

Here's an idea I saw in Florida and used successfully in my publication. In Tampa I saw a flyer with the headline "Coke or Pepsi." After this got my attention, I read the supporting copy which offer the callers a choice of a free case of Coke or a free case of Pepsi for setting up an appointment to see a presentation for a water softening system. I like this promo because fans of the top cola brands like to argue about which beverage is best. This is a light hearted argument and most people will be attracted by the headline to see if it supports their case. I used this for a local window company. Their sales person would deliver the consumers choice of soda during a sales call. There is nothing like a fresh idea to engage a customer and get them to think about advertising.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

The power of advertorials

I just finished writing 26 advertorial articles for various tabs my company is producing. This is a lot of work and ramped up my stress level a notch or two but i believe it is well worth the effort. When I owned a retail store I would run any ad that included a free advertorial (a paid article, essentially an ad masquerading as an article). These articles added credibility to my claims and always produced results. This is especially a good tool to use with professionals, Many professionals like to write the "Ask A Chiropractor" type of article. It strokes their rather large ego and conveys complex information in one shot. The easiest way to do this is set in as a regular ROP ad.

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Where is the "Why"

I may have just found the worst print ad in history. It is a full page process color ad for a restaurant. The name/logo of the establishment takes up approximately 25% of the space. The phone number and address plus a huge Free Delivery take up about another 15%. The balance of the ad is their entire menu set in about 6 point type against a dark beige background. My middle age eyes can not decipher this copy even with the aid of my bifocals. While the ad lists and describes every item on the menu, one thing is notably missing from this ad--the "WHY". The ad doesn't tell a potential customer why they should give this restaurant a try. No where does it tell them that the "food is delicious" or that the "prices are unbeatable". There is nothing that distinguishes this restaurant from its' competitors. A strong benefit oriented headline would make this ad much stronger. As it stands the ad is a very expensive way to deliver a menu to their existing customer base.

Keep Smiling Keep Selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

A fun idea for Christmas

Here's an idea I got from one of our advertisers. It is a great way to bring in holiday business and have a little fun. They headlined their ad with these words:

"Sing a carol and get a 20% discount"

All a customer has to do is sing a few bars of Jingle Bells or Frosty to get their discount. I like this idea because it made them standout from the typical holiday ads. Another benefit is that it enhances the "customer experience," it makes shopping at their store fun. This "experience factor" greatly influences consumer's choice of where they will shop. All things being equal people opt for the more entertaining or unique store. Sometimes they will even pay a little more to go to a place that is more engaging.

Keep smiling, keep selling!

Thanks Jim Busch

Proof Reading Trick

Typos in ads are surprisingly hard to find. Our minds sometimes play tricks on us when we are proof reading. We will read what we expect to see, rather than what is actually on the page. If we know the line is supposed to say "Cheese Pizza" that is what we will see, even if the type says "Cheese Piazza". To avoid this problem I like to read all of my ads backwards. We learn to read from left to right, top to bottom, as we get older this pattern becomes automatic. In the interest of speed we stop focusing on individual words and begin taking in information in "chunks." This is why if a word is close to correct we may gloss over it. By reading each line from right to left, we break our normal pattern and force ourselves to read each individual word. Taking a few minutes to do this can prevent typos in your ads and save you a lot of grief from customers.

Keep selling, keep smiling.

Thanks--Jim Busch

Making Headlines

Here is a quote from Your Attention Please* by Paul Brown and Alison Davis:

"On Average. five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. It follows that unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90% of your money"

This is something to keep in mind when creating ads for your customers. Your customer may want to see their name at the top of the ad. Unless their name contains a key selling point (ie. Cheap Carpets) this is not a good idea. The name will only help them attract customers who already know them. If they want to attract new customers, a headline that features a value statement is the way to go. Their regular customer's will see their name in the body copy.

Use the quote above and tell the customer "research indicates..." Remind them that you are the advertising professional. This is worth fighting for because strong headlines have a significant impact on how effectively the ad will draw customers. Customers who buy effective ads are the customers who remain customers.

*This is a great book for those of us who earn our paychecks selling and writing ads

Keep Smiling, Keep Selling

Thanks Jim Busch

Give it a glance

Ads should clearly communicate what an advertiser does for a living. You should be able to glance at an ad and tell from the art and/or a prominent headline what they do. I sometimes will hold up an ad, back up 5 or 6 feet and ask a customer to tell me what the ad is about. I believe this simulates the way consumers view our products. While we carefully review an ad, they often skim through our publications. If they are in the market for auto repairs an ad that features an illustration of a mechanic under the hood will grab their attention and they will read further. The artwork should shout out what the customer's business does. Remind customers of the AIDA formula: Attention--Interest--Desire--Action. They might think it is cute to put their dog's picture in an ad, but unless they own a pet shop, this is the wrong message to send your readers. Ads should say what they do with just a cursory glance.

Keep smiling, keep selling

Thanks--Jim Busch

Friday Quote

This week's quote carries a good message for all of us who create ads for our clients:

"Kodak sells film, but they don't advertise film. They advertise memories." Theodore Parker

The most effective ads engage the reader's emotions. I see too many ads with a photo of a furnace. All furnaces look alike, a big ugly grey metal box. Consumers are more engaged by a picture of people sitting comfortably in their home while snow falls outside the window. Likewise an empty restaurant says nothing, people enjoying a meal says "our food is great". Even if you have to argue with your advertisers to get it done, you ads should always sell "the sizzle instead of the steak"

Keep smiling, keep selling

Thanks Jim Busch

To catch fish you need to bait the hook

According to a Harris Interactive poll, during a recession, 63% of consumers will not make a discretionary purchase unless they have a coupon or some other kind of incentive. This is good news for those of us in print media. In spite of the growth of Internet coupons, consumers still get the great majority of their coupons from print sources. Consumers are conditioned by long experience to think about print when they are looking for coupon or incentive offers. Businesses that want to maintain their cash flow in a recession should focus on offering value to the consumer in their advertising.

Keep smiling, keep selling.

Thanks Jim Busch

Great copy idea

As a student of advertising, I like to collect ad ideas that I like and can use. I just saw a great ad for a funeral home designed to position them against their lower price competitors. The ad features two graphics, a night sky and a daytime sky. These graphics work in conjunction with this headline and sub headline:

Is Value More Important Than Price?

The Difference Can Be Night & Day

Body copy under the "Sun" graphic explains the customer's value proposition. Copy under the "Moon" graphic addresses the risks of going with the low price competitor. The use of the headline and these graphics communicates the advertiser's message clearly and dramatically.

Keep selling, keep smiling

Thanks Jim Busch

Photos in an ad.

A few weeks ago one of the reps I work with asked me to visit an advertiser with him. The client was ready to cancel their ad because it wasn't generating a response. I talked to the client, the owner of a middle eastern restaurant, and reviewed her ad. The ad was a small version of their menu. It listed virtually everything they sold but was lacking one important fact...it did not mention anything about the quality of their food. I convinced the customer to cut back on the details and insert a photo into the ad. This photo of a smiling satisfied customer was captioned "I love XXXX's restaurant, the food is delicious." After two weeks of running the new program their sales significantly increased.

I believe the photo is largely responsible for the success of the ad. Scientists have recently discovered the existence of "Mirror" neurons in the human brain. These neurons keep us tuned in to the actions and emotions of those around us. (This explains why when someone yawns in your presence, you feel compelled to do the same) This is an important survival skill for social creatures like us. By including an image of someone enjoying the cuisine at the restaurant, it made the readers want to share this experience. Think about this when an advertiser wants to use a photo of their building...a picture happy smiling customers will be much more effective.

Keep smiling, keep selling.

Jim Busch

Great prootion idea

A local dentist came up with a great way to promote his practice and get some great PR. In the interest of protecting the teeth of local children he is buying their Halloween Candy. We haven't worked out the ad copy as yet but he is thinking about paying a set price per pound of goodies. He will also give the kids healthy snacks like apples and a coupon for Mom & Dad. To really position himself positively in the eyes of the community, he is going to ship the candy he collects to the local troops in Afghanistan (Tooth decay is the least of their worries).

This promotion is a great way to create a buzz and position the dentist as caring about the community.

Keep smiling, keep selling

Thanks--Jim Busch

Weekly quote

Here's one of the best descriptions of good advertising that I've ever heard. This quote is one of the "100 Leo's" that advertising legend Leo Burnett compiled in his book.

Advertising says to people "Here's what we've got. Here's what it will do for you. Here's how to get it."

It doesn't matter if your customer is selling Cadillacs or candy bars, this formula works. In my experience many ads lack the "Here's what it will do for you" portion of the program. This is always a mistake, benefits motivate shoppers to take action.

Keep smiling, keep selling.

Thanks Jim Busch