Advertising Techniques



Emotion:

Broadcast media, such as radio, television, or digital platforms are ideal mediums to trigger emotion. And music can be emotional magic, creating an instant emotional response in the audience - particularly if the music is familiar and associated with strong feelings of love or anger, grief or sadness.

In print, certain types of imagery can evoke emotion:

- Weddings

- Babies / teenagers

- Animals, especially cute animals such as koala bears, kittens, and puppies

Every country, every culture has celebrities, historical events, visuals and music that can trigger strong feelings.

- An Olympic medal presentation ceremony

- A famous political figure or social activist: Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr.

- September 11, 2001. Osama Bin Laden. A New York City Fireman.

Benefit:

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A benefit is something of value to the target audience. Ask, "what can this product or service do for me?" The answer is a benefit.

The persuasive energy in a benefit ad comes from two characteristics. First is the importance of the benefit to the reader. Second is the specificity of the benefit.

A good example, the headline, "Introducing a washer so gentle it can actually help your clothes last longer."

Ambiguous or abstract words such as "professional" or "beautiful" or "unique" are not specific enough to mean much, if anything, to the reader. Avoid them and their relatives.

A benefit may or may not be a competitive advantage. It could be, for example, that many brands of car batteries come with a lifetime guarantee. But if no one else is making the claim, go ahead and stake out the territory.

Clients will sometimes say, "Our competitors could say the same thing." But that may not matter to the consumer. Especially if you are the first to advertise the benefit, the consumer response could be, "That sounds good, I'll give it a try."

Even if consumers may be aware that several products that offer the same benefit, the ad that brings that benefit to mind can trigger a sale.

Features or benefits.

A feature is a characteristic of the product. "This computer has a 500 gigabyte hard drive." The benefit, what it can do for the reader is, "This hard drive stores a lot of data, like my family videos."

But sometimes, as in the above example, a benefit can be inherent in the feature. Most people know immediately the benefit of a 500 gig hard drive. So if the vast majority of readers understand the benefit inherent in the feature, there is no need to explain the benefit. Just say the feature.

Problem – Solution:

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Problems. Everyone has them. And some products solve them.

A TV commercial opens with the kids screaming, "We're hungry, mom!"

A headline reads, "Do you have enough money for retirement?"

This is a technique to grab attention, to engage people who have the problem. Or people who want to avoid getting the problem. Or those who are concerned about the problem for other reasons, like the guy whose wife has headaches every night.

Later in your ad, commercial, or mailer you'll explain how your product solves the problem. But the focus of the ad, the concept, should be about the problem.

This technique works particularly well when your target audience has a big problem, a big concern. The bigger the problem, the better it works.

But it can also be used with charm or humor. "Problem # 3 with SPIKE cologne: Women touch you in elevators."

Or perhaps you want to alert consumers to a problem they may not even know they have. "Like Duh! Your Paying Too Much For You Cell Phone, Sister."

Below you see two print ads that address the deeper, underlying causes of two types of problems. One of the problems is psychological. The other is physical, a headache.

In the first ad you meet a woman who can't find a job, is running out of money, and becoming desperate. Solution? A better education.

The second ad below features some of the causes of headache, not the pain itself. This ad is part of the campaign, "Life Is A Contact Sport." So you better stock up on Tylenol.

Dramatic Conflict:

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You can use dramatic conflict to focus attention, to heighten interest in your message.

The essence of drama is conflict. And that conflict can be between:

Husband vs. wife.

Mom vs. her children.

Recent college grad vs. sexually aggressive boss.

Molly vs. insanity, a struggle with mental health.

Girl Scouts vs. nature.

Dog vs. mailman.

Teenager vs. her conscience.

Creative Director vs. client.

Sex:

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Sex. Seems like everybody's doing it. Or wants to do it. And it's ever so tempting to add some sexual spice to your visuals, voice, or vocabulary.

But wait.

With sex, first you have to decide whether you want to do it. And if so, how far you want to go.

Sex sells, sometimes. Yes, it's one of the fundamental driving forces of human nature. But particularly in the Americas and Asia you have to be prudent in the way you use it, or risk a negative reaction.

Sex work best when the product or service can honestly promise increased sex appeal: perfume, apparel, and expensive cars or jewelry.

Even such products as toothpaste can promise to make your breath fresher, your smile irresistibly kissable.

With products like these, enhanced sexiness can be a persuasive product benefit, and thus a natural focus for your ad. And depending on how far you're willing to go, this technique can result in a real breakthrough. The kind of campaign that wins awards and gets people talking.

Of course, the use of strong or mild sexuality can help attract and sustain attention, no matter the product or service.

And you can slide from shocking to clever. From the FCUK brand of clothes. To Hyatt Hotel's "Who are you sleeping with?" campaign.

A TVC for Motorola text phone features a woman posing in a drawing class wearing only a loose sarong, which starts to slip off her lovely shoulder. Finally, she uses the clip on the newly designed text phone to fix the sarong firmly in place. Mild by most standards, but an effective way to engage the attention of the target audience, men 18 to 30.

So with sex, go ahead do it. Have fun with it. A little. Or a lot. Everywhere. All the time. Take a chance.

But don't abuse it. As in this bait and switch ad with the huge headline, "SEX", and a subhead: "Now that I've got your attention, let me tell you about the great life insurance policies we offer."

For international campaigns, keep in mind that sexual values and taboos very greatly around the world. And constantly evolve. You can show a lot of skin in Stockholm. For which they'd skin you alive in Jakarta.

Interesting Character:

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Create a character that adds interest or story value to your campaign.

Could be an actor playing a role. Or a cartoon character. Or a dead politician. He, she or they are all "created" characters because you define the role they play in the advertising.

While a "brand character" must represent the personality and other aspects of the brand, an invented character must not.

Some of the world's best advertising campaigns have been built on invented characters. And the best of these characters frequently do not reflect the brand or even a demographic profile of the target audience.

Like a good movie or book, your character needs to be interesting. Different. Unexpected. With lots of personality. Quirky behavior. Or strongly expressed views.

These engaging, out-of-the-ordinary characters will grab attention, and by grabbing attention, they will help communicate your sales message because they break through the clutter, stand out from the crowd.

Personification:

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Give a human face to your product. Or human characteristics to an abstract idea, like "hunger" or "greed."

This technique - personification - can help you create ads that are more interesting, and relevant to viewers. More human and engaging.

You can literally turn the product into a person. Or give it human abilities, such as speech, thought or emotion.

Or go the other way, and blend something about the product into a real person. For example, to depict someone who is a heavy computer user or text message sender, you could show keypad letters embossed on finger tips - and fingertips in the concave shape of the keys.

If you're working on a service, consider creating a visual icon that can be personified. What, for example, would your wallet say about your bank?

Exaggeration:

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Take the basic idea you want to communicate, your concept, then exaggerate it. Take it to extremes. Push it beyond reason, beyond reality. In the copy. With visuals. Or both.

Exaggerate a benefit. Exaggerate a problem. Exaggerate size, the physical appearance.

Just make sure to exaggerate your exaggeration. Because a BIG exaggeration is interesting, and a powerful way to get communicate your concept. A small exaggeration is simply a misleading ad.

An interesting approach is to exaggerate the visual, but understate the copy. Or exaggerate the copy and keep the visual simple.

To work with this technique, it can help to simplify your message, the main thing you want to say, into one sentence or one visual. Then let your imagination push it from there, all the way to outrageous exaggeration.

Demographic Positioning:

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Position your product or service to appeal to an audience with specific demographic characteristics.

By demographics we're talking: gender / age / race / marital status / sexual orientation / education level / income.

A few examples:

- Yorkie, a candy bar made by Nestle in the UK, "Is not for girls."

- On the other hand, Home Depot in the US offers "Do it Herself" workshops.

- Grey Poupon mustard is for people of wealth and taste, as symbolized by a fellow driving a new Rolls Royce.

Symbolic Expressions:

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Create a symbolic representation of the key idea you want to communicate. An insurance company, for instance, could picture a banana on the sidewalk to represent the unexpected risks in life.

Metaphors and similes are two excellent ways to communicate symbolic ideas.

You can create a metaphor by using two images or statements that are completely different, but when placed together create a new idea. A surprised-faced chicken rushing out of a water slide is a metaphor for rapid digestion.

You can use words. Or visuals. Or both. You can create a metaphor to represent a characteristic of the brand. Or a feature of the service. Or a benefit of the product.

To create a metaphor, use one thing - a vivid statement or dramatic visual - to suggest another thing - your company, product or service.

A metaphor, by the way, is like a simile, but more powerful. A metaphor "is". A simile "is like". A metaphor equals. A simile is similar. But a simile can help you create a metaphor. Here's how:

- Start with the most basic idea, the key concept for your product. That might be 'safe' or 'agile' or 'bright' or "well engineered". Then sketch or write ways to express that idea.

- Complete the sentence, "This brand, service or product is like ___."

- Fill in the blank: "The benefit to the consumer of this brand, product or service is like __________________"

A metaphor can be used to characterize the brand's personality. A branding campaign for an investment bank uses the visual metaphor of a fencer, for example, to characterize the company as aggressive yet sophisticated.

A metaphor can represent a product feature or a benefit to consumers. As in the ad for an iron enriched breakfast cereal showing a magnet attracting the cereal out of the bowl.

Another example, a "subservient chicken" is a metaphor for "having food prepared your way" at Burger King.

Creative tip: Metaphors can communicate internationally, cutting through language barriers. But they can also be culturally specific, meaning they fail to work. Also, make sure your metaphor is fresh. If you've seen it or heard it before, don't do it again.

Employees as Brand Ambassadors

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Using employees to represent the brand in communication campaigns has several ancillary advantages, such as boosting internal esprit de corps. The types of employees you can use include:

- The people who make the product, deliver the service.

- The sales or marketing team.

- The CEO, such as Sir Richard Branson for Virgin or "Papa" John Schnatter for Papa John's Pizza.

Many CEOs or founders have gone form being brand representative to brand characters or icons. Such as Colonel Harland Sanders of KFC fame.

Make sure you have a signed model release and a backup ad or campaign should the employee leave or get fired.

Creative tip: Especially in small companies, the employees, or the owner, frequently constitute "the brand" to the target audience

Direct Response Offers:

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Make the audience a compelling offer, and tell them exactly how to get it.

This is the essence of direct response advertising. "Hey, Mr. Viewer: Here's what you can get, here's how to get it, and here's why you should get it."

After media, the most important factor in any direct response ad is the offer.

There are two characteristics that influence the effectiveness of your offer, strength and relevance.

Strength:

"25% off" is stronger than "10% off." "Win a new Toyota 4 Runner" is stronger than "Win a digital camera."

Relevance:

A free brochure offering "10 Ways to preserve the resale value of your new car" is more relevant to people shopping for automobile financing than, "10 ways to protect your good credit."

Creative tip: Be sure to get your offer up front - in the headline or subhead. Put it at the top of the mailer or email. And support it with photos and visuals.

Repeat the call to action several times in your direct response TV commercial or radio spot. Use color and typography to emphasize your 800 toll-free order number. Give readers multiple ways to respond: phone, fax, email, mail or

Here two of the most effective types of direct response offers:

Save money

This offer works well all around the world, in Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring. And it can be expressed in some interesting ways:

- Pay half now, nothing later.

- 50% off.

- Two for the price of one sale.

Free

There are all sorts of things you can give for free. Free shipping is almost required for web orders. There's the popular free consultation. Free sample product. Or free information, which is a great way to get sales leads, to build a database of prospects. Free info can be packaged as:

- DVD, VHS or CD.

- Brochure or .PDF download.

- Workshop or seminar, online or in-person.

Creative tip: Spend time, lots of time, brainstorming offers.

There are always new and effective offers to be found, even in seemingly tired product categories.

Capital One invented the balance transfer offer in credit cards, which helped propel them to Fortune 200 status.

More recently, General Motors invented the "employee discount for everyone" offer, which was so successful that it was copied by all the other major car makers. And after slipping into bankruptcy, GM offered a 60 day "TRY IT. LOVE IT. OR RETURN IT" guarantee. Now that's a compelling offer.

Creative tip: Different people respond to different offers. In other words, one offer does not sell everyone in your target audience, your database.

And besides testing new offers, be sure to test new ways to express old offers:

- Half off.

- Save 50%

- Instant $14 rebate at register.

Reasons Why:

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Give your audience "reasons why" to try or buy.

Give your audience rational reasons.

Give your audience whimsical reasons.

Give your audience silly reasons.

Give your audience smart reasons.

Give your audience emotional reasons.

These "reasons why" constitute the essence of persuasive communications.

The creative brief should have the most important of them. You can brainstorm even more. Make a list, a long list of them. And you'll have a long list of great advertising ideas.

Visual Stories:

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Here's the challenge: Tell a visual story. Create a visual, a photograph or illustration, that communicates the main idea of the ad.

It could be a visualization of a product benefit, or a problem the service can solve. Or an important product feature.

But focus on the picture or illustration. Not the words. And no 'smiling faces,' or 'happy customer' clichés, OK?

Later you may need to add copy. But to start, bend your brain on just a visual. Like the ad that shows a safety pin bent into the shape of a Volvo to symbolize safety. Which demonstrates how a picture can communicate information faster than words.

Pictures or drawings? Readers tend to prefer photographs over illustrations because they are more believable, more real.

Illustrations are appropriate when your concept is very abstract, or too expensive to actually photograph. Or when you have an idea that lends itself to a cartoon or drawing.

Consider mixing photography with illustration. Or play with your photo in the computer to produce a fresh visual treatment. Assuming your hot with the box. And the software inside.

Testimonials:

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Testimonial ads have a double advantage. They can be an effective way to engage and interest your audience. And a great way to characterize the brand's personality and relationship with the audience.

You can get testimonials from famous, infamous, or just plain interesting folks. Here are some categories:

Celebrities. The advantage is instant recognition and interest. Just make sure you select a celebrity who has an image that is compatible with your brand personality. (A testimonial, by the way, requires that the celeb actually uses the product. A "celebrity presenter" simply talks about the product.)

Interesting users. Select real users who also happen to be interesting or amusing in themselves. Perhaps they have a bold personality, or an interesting job. Or an unusual appearance. Or perhaps they've accomplished something that sets them apart, like winning the bronze medal in the 20 km walking race at the 2000 Olympics.

Experts. The doctor, the scientist, the computer whiz, the professional chef. These are people we look up to. People who have credibility because of their general or specific expertise.

Average citizen. The average citizen tries the product in the ad. Or explains why she switched. Or the benefits he now enjoys. They reflect a mirror image of the target audience, and that's what makes them believable.

You can have a little fun with this technique by selecting or creating unusual characters to sample the product and report on their experience.

Examples:

- Dead artists and inventors, such as Michelangelo or Leonardo Da Vinci.

- Retired politicians, local or international.

- The 156th man to climb Mount Everest.

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