Branding Ad Vice

They Call Me Baby Driver

A new study by R.L. Polk finds that 35% of first-time vehicle buyers considered the Internet their “most important” information tool, compared to 8.2 percent for television, 4.4% for magazines, 3.6% for newspaper and 1.1% for radio. (more )

Don’t cancel your advertising just yet.  The problem may not be the media as much as the message.

Lonnie Miller, managing director for the Polk Center for Automotive Studies says, “Generation Y is tuning out traditional advertising, and watching what they want, when they want.   But the results also indicate there is a demand for an enjoyable customer service and dealer experience. Forty-two percent said dealer treatment is "very important."

So if relationships are important and traditional mass media isn’t an important information tool, why do hundreds of car dealers stand before the camera slapping cars, doing handstands and yelling about their prices?  Why do hundreds more waste thirty or sixty-seconds of radio time telling consumers that their (brand) dealership carries (models)? 

Imagine that – my Chevrolet dealer carries Tahoe and the Jeep dealer has Wranglers.  Stop the presses and let me catch my breath. 

18 to 30 year-old consumers are asking, “What are you all about?  What are you going to do to make my experience enjoyable?  Tell me that in your advertising and I might look you up on the Internet.”

Creating breakthrough messages and developing relationships with customers through emerging as well as traditional media technologies will separate the winners from the losers in the next five years. 

It’s time to get started.  After all, we aren’t getting any younger

Keep It Simple

According to a study funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, more than half to students at four-year colleges — and at least 75 percent at two-year colleges — lack the literacy to handle real-life tasks such as understanding credit card offers. (Yahoo story)

The study finds that students fail to lock in key skills — no matter their field of study.  They cannot interpret an exercise and blood pressure table, understand the arguments of newspaper editorials, compare credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees or summarize results of a survey about parental involvement in school.

Stephane Baldi, the study's director at the American Institutes for Research, says, "It is kind of disturbing that a lot of folks are graduating with a degree and they're not going to be able to do those things."

Most students at community colleges and four-year schools showed intermediate skills, meaning they can do moderately challenging tasks, such as identifying a location on a map.

Here’s the good news.  Overall, the average literacy of college students is significantly higher than that of adults across the nation.

This explains so much.

Armed with this new information it’s time to re-examine your marketing materials.  If you use Microsoft Office, run your text through grammar and spell check.  You’ll see a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. I try to keep the grade level around 6 or 7.  This memo scores 10.1, which means it will be difficult for some people to understand.

Simple, crisp, concise writing will improve the understanding of you messages.  When your message improves so do your results.

Class dismissed.

Beep Beep My Butt

Ivan Pavlov won the Nobel Prize in 1904 for his experiments with his dogs.  He rang a bell, fed them meat paste day after day.  Eventually when Ivan rang the bell the dogs started salivating because they associated the sound of the bell (ding ding) with the taste of the meat (yum yum).  If the dogs did not like the taste of meat the constant ringing of the bell would have only irritated the dogs. 

In 2005 Time Warner Cable in Southeast Wisconsin launched a promotional campaign for their automotive search engine Beep Beep dot com.  For those of you not served by Time Warner Cable, consider yourselves lucky.  In 1959, the Playmates released a song called “Beep Beep.”  Time Warner borrowed the melody, changed the lyrics added the Roadrunner, put the campaign on the air (beep beep) every day (beep beep) on nearly every channel (beep beep) available (beep beep). 

It was cute for the first 75 times (beep beep) I saw the promo (beep beep).  But within a month or so (beep beep) I grabbed the remote and hit the mute button as soon as (beep beep) the promo began.  Day after beeping day the barrage continued.  Soon the mute button on the remote (beep beep) wore off and I was forced to change the channel usually to find another (beep beep) promo.

Then yesterday it hit me.  “I can order one of them satellite thingies and be free of the Roadrunner, the Playmates and Beep Beep Dot Com forever.”  Still the promo had a profound impact on me.   I’m pretty sure when it's time for a new vehicle, I won’t be visiting (beep beep) Beep Beep dot Com.

Are the repetitive elements of your ads (slogans, positioning statements, etc.) tied to something the viewer or listener finds yummy?  Or are you just irritating the dog?

You Say The Sweetest Things

For the past 10 years or so I’ve shopped at my favorite butcher shop whenever I wanted something special like a Prime Rib roast.  I’ve never been disappointed in the quality. The service is always very good, even when the store is packed before the holidays.

About seven months ago, an upstart from another town built a butcher shop about a mile from my house.  But being closer wasn’t a good enough reason to switch.   In fact, I was so loyal to my butcher I resisted setting foot in the new store until about 3 months ago.  Today I have a new butcher.  The upstart won my business for one seemingly insignificant reason.  They called me by name.

Ringing up my first purchase with my debit card, the cashier turned around and said, “Is there anything else you’d like Mr. Koschnitzke?”  Being acknowledged by name on my first visit was totally unexpected and delightful.  No big deal in the grand scheme of things.  She just read my name off the card.  I was hooked.

In the name of research I called for take out Fish Fry the following Friday.  “Is there anything else Walt?”  Two weeks later I stopped in for a Rack Of Lamb.  Once again they called me by name.  I don’t remember if the people at the other butcher shop ever called me by name.  If they did, it wasn’t often enough to make an impression.

I believe Dale Carnegie taught that a person's name is the sweetest sound they know.  The new butcher shop has set the standard in my mind for all butcher shops.  If they stop calling me by name I’ll be disappointed so I hope they keep it up.

What are the little things you do to delight and surprise customers?  Sometimes it only takes a puff of wind to convert someone else’s good customer to one of yours.

Invisible

I hear an ad that sparks my interest.  For the sake of argument let’s say it’s an ad for a mortgage company.  I want more information but I don’t want to talk to a salesman yet.  I go to the computer to find out about the company and the offer.  I type “ABC Mortgage” into Google – ZILCH. I type “Racine (my hometown) Mortgages,” Google returns about 371,000 results.  I didn’t check all 371,000 results but out of the first 70 – NADA.  Undeterred, I type in the name of the mortgage guy – NOTHING.

Several possibilities cross my mind.  The ad was a figment of my imagination.  I got the name wrong.  The company must be very small or very new.   Maybe I should just check out a few of the other 371,000 results and get on with my life.

I don’t need a phone number so the Yellow Pages aren't an option.  I want information and the Internet is my resource of choice. I am not alone.  As of September 2005, there were 296,208,476 people in the United States.  Over 68.6 % are online.  How hard do they have to work to find you?

A Website is a half step between your advertising and your phone or front door.  Even if you don’t sell products and services online, consumers need to be able to find you quickly.  A consumer who contacts you after visiting your website is already half sold - and that helps your closing ratio doesn’t it?

See ya in the funny papers!

The Times They Are A Changin'

Google just announced that they will pay upwards of $1.136 billion over the next 3 years to buy dMarc Broadcasting, Inc.  In the future, Google said it plans to integrate dMarc technology into the Google AdWords platform, creating a new radio ad distribution channel for Google's advertisers.  more

This could make things interesting.  Better sharpen your writing skills.

Prospects Say The Darndest Things

Last week I met with three prospective clients.  Our conversations all started something like this: 

“We just bought a radio schedule of 28 ads a week for 16 weeks!”
“Did the salesperson ask you what you want the advertising to accomplish?”
“No.”
“What do you expect the advertising to accomplish?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Does a 16 week schedule of 28 ads per week give you enough frequency to accomplish that?”
“Accomplish what?”
“And you want me to write your ads?”
“You’re the expert.”

You’d be surprised how often the first thing prospective clients ask about is media.  Media selection should be one of the last considerations.  But since media reps have trained most businesspeople that selection is the all-important Holy Grail of success, that’s what businesspeople usually ask about first.  It should be the last.

Have you ever met with a media rep and the meeting went something like this?

1.    Discuss the merits of the salesperson’s advertising medium.
2.    Discuss why his/her medium is better than the competition
3.    Discuss your budget (optional)
4.    Discuss rates
5.    Negotiate rates
6.    Put together a schedule based their rates and your budget (or their best guess).
7.    Jot down a few notes for the ad writer.

Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt?

Now you know why most advertisers are disappointed with the results of their advertising. To paraphrase the Cheshire Cat, “Without a destination one road is as good as another.”  You might try something along these lines:

1.    What do I want to accomplish?
2.    What resources (time, money, training) will I commit to achieving the goal?
3.    What do I need to say to create powerful and persuasive messages?
4.    Which media will gives me the best reach and frequency for our investment?

Advertising campaigns are like buildings they should be build on a strong foundation.  If you’d like some help click walterkoschnitzke@wizardofads.com and tell me where you want to go.

When I Grow Up To Be(er) A Man

My apologies to the Beach Boys, but it seems that Miller Brewing (my neighbors to the north in Milwaukee) have decided that the way to revive slumping sales of Genuine Draft and Genuine Draft Light is to attempt to re-brand the product as having “mainstream sophistication” to an older demo.

Drum roll please…. Introducing Miller Genuine Draft – Beer Grown Up.

Submitted for your enjoyment a few potential positioning statements:

Exhibit 1 - Miller decides to counter Anheuser-Busch’s “Born On Date." “Round here we don’t serve no baby beer - ours is all grown up.”

Exhibit 2 – Beer isn’t just for College Keggers any more. So when you want to party like a responsible adult party with the grown up beer.

Exhibit 3 – After all the crap life’s handed you – it’s time it handed you a grown up beer.

Exhibit 4 - Still drinking that foamy kid’s stuff? It’s time to move up to MGD the grown up beer.

Imagine the TV ads…

An inept guys swings and strikes out at T-Ball. He returns to the bench an opens a can of Bud. Cut to the other bench. Burly guy slugs down a Genuine Draft walks to the plate and smacks a fastball over the centerfield fence.

A group of guys sit at a kiddy table in a bar pushing, giggling and sipping on Coors through a straw. Meanwhile four “grown up looking” guys at the bar pop open Miller Genuine Drafts while shaking their heads sadly at the “children.”

A beautiful bikini clad co-ed walks slowly along the beach. The guy pops the top on a Genuine Draft Lite, takes a sip and his hair turns grey. The co-ed walks on by and plops down next to a buff college guy who pulls two cans of Keystone from a cooler and says, "Here's looking at you kid" (Oops, that won’t work).

Unless things have changed since the days of my youth, by the time you’re 30 you’ve tried the vast majority of American Beers. You either like MGD or you don’t. We’ll have to see if marketing and advertising can outweigh your personal experience factor. I have my doubts.

Cheers!

Suicide Is Painless

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. A Midwestern copy machine company is out with a new radio ad using the voice of Elliot Gould. Hmmm…

“This is Elliot Gould for the ABC Company…” What he had to say about ABC Company didn’t sink in for two reasons. First, Elliot was just reading the ad. There’s no enthusiasm, commitment or inflection in his voice.

The second reason I missed most of the ad is I started thinking about Elliot Gould as Trapper John McIntyre in the movie version of MASH. Then I started trying to remember other movies he’d been in recently - poof - ad over.

Elliot Gould’s a pretty good actor. MASH is one of my favorite movies. But I don’t see his connection with copiers or the advertiser. As far as I can tell there’s no reason for Elliot Gould to be the spokesperson except that he was available for sixty seconds. He doesn’t own the company. If he owns one of their copiers he doesn’t mention it.

If you want to use a spokesperson make sure there’s a tie in. For example: “This is Kevin Costner for the ABC Company. In my most excellent feature film 'The Postman,' I beat the crap out of a copy machine salesman. But you can't beat the service provided by the salesmen at the ABC Company. Just like my Oscar snubbed character 'The Postman,' they really deliver!” (I wouldn't be surprised to hear something this stupid.)

I’m sure the ABC Company does many worth talking about. In fact I think we had one of their copiers at my old job for 4 or 5 years. I never saw Elliot Gould walk-in to check our copy count and I don’t expect he ever will. In the ad he's a distraction.

What you say and how you say it are more important to your advertising than who says it. Discover the nuggets of truth that matter and go from there.

Adrift In A Sea Of Brand Confusion

A 2007 Jeep Wrangler crashes through a plate glass window of Detroit’s Cobo Hall, crosses the street and climbs up a staircase onto a rocklike display platform.

That’s what I’m talkin’ about! You’ve got to love splashy introductions at the North American International Auto Show.

Writing ads for a Jeep Dealership in Colorado gave me the opportunity to explore the Jeep owner mindset. Which is why I predict that the other 2007 Jeep introduced at the Auto Show isn’t going to do very well.

Daimler Chrysler hopes the new Jeep Compass (a crossover vehicle built on the new Dodge Caliber platform) will open the brand up to new buyers. I have my doubts. When is a Jeep not a Jeep? When it can’t tackle the Rubicon Trail in California. In the past all Jeeps had to be able to handle the rugged mountain trail in order to be called a Jeep. The Compass can’t.

Joe Eberhart, head honcho for Chrysler Group sales and marketing, explains, "There are people out there that love the brand, that like the freedom aspect, but they say, 'I don't really want to trade off what comes with a truly off-road capable vehicle.'"

I love the elegance and sophistication of caviar, if they could just eliminate that “fishy” taste.

Heard about the new Motel 6 all-inclusive resort on Grand Cayman?

How about that new line of Dom Perignon soft drinks? Makes as much sense.

I’m reminded of the scene from “It’s A Wonderful Life.” Clarence the angel attempts to order a mulled wine from Sheldon Leonard who replies something along the lines, “Look we serve hard liquor to guys who want to get drunk and we don’t need characters to give the place atmosphere.” Now that’s brand essence.

“You don’t want to trade comfort for off-road capabilities? Then you don’t really want a Jeep. Sorry, we can’t help you. We build vehicles for people who like the idea of being able to go nearly vertical should the mood ever strike."

Increasingly consumers are looking past phony posing to the genuine article. As nice as the Compass may be, it’s not a Jeep. Sales are going to be disappointing. If I'm wrong and the vehicle catches sales of Spray On Mud will skyrocket.

http://www.sprayonmud.us/

When Harley Davidson wanted a sport bike to compete with Japanese models they helped Erik Buell launch a new brand rather than dilute the essence of their brand.

Are you diluting the brand essence of your brand by trying to be all things to all people? Figure out what you’re all about, then live it consistently in every aspect of your business. If you’d like a fresh pair of eyes to help in the process drop me a line.