"We Have To Get Three Quotes"

by Steve Fodor

I’ve worked on a lot of request for proposals (RFP’s) for marketing communications in my career. Our firm just completed one recently that was “typical” in the sense that they were going to “get three price quotes.”

Why is it that “three quotes” seems to be a magic number? And why approach it from a price standpoint in the first place? It seems to me that you would determine what marketing funds you have available, and then ask a qualified marketing firm…”If you were in our situation with these available marketing funds, what would you do?” That puts the emphasis on creativity, business thinking, marketing strategy and understanding how to “do more with less.” Aren’t those really more valuable for successful marketing than price alone?

Maybe it’s the general economic climate today. Even though the recession of 2008/2009 has been the worst economic downturn since 1929, brands still need to be maintained. Customer relationships need to be developed. And sales lead generation programs still need to be implemented. And even though marketing budgets have been reduced, that doesn’t mean you have to find the “least expensive quote” to work on your marketing program. You need to find the most qualified resource that knows how to make every available marketing dollar work harder…and smarter.

In the long-run, isn’t that the most cost-efficient approach?

Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkmoose/

Are the Rules of Advertising Made to be Broken?

by Brad Smith

As students of our own craft, most of us associated with the advertising industry can tell you about an ad that made a lasting impression on them. As a Certified Business Communicatior, one of my favorites is an old B-2-B McGraw-Hill Magazines ad from, I guess, the late 1950s. Which means it was made before I went to school.

It shows a picture of a grumpy old purchasing agent who says:

“I don’t know who you are.
I don’t know your company.
I don’t know your company’s products.
I don’t know what your company stands for.
I don’t know your company’s customers.
I don’t know your company’s record.
I don’t know your company’s reputation.

Now – what was it you wanted to sell me?”


MORAL: Sales start before your salesman calls – with business publication
advertising.

That’s it. The visual works with the body copy. The message couldn’t be clearer.

So what’s missing?

No headline. Everyone knows you can’t have an ad without a headline, right!

Oh yea. And the logo is in the TOP left corner, too. Can you imagine?

So just follow the number one advertising rule, and you won’t break any rules of advertising: create advertising that works.

Less Is More

by Steve Fodor

This almost always happens when reviewing initial advertising concepts. Several concepts get reviewed. There’s always one that generates an immediate reaction from the client and the account manager. You can see it on their faces and they say, “Yea…that’s the one.”

Great! They reacted to an ad they way the audience would. “Got it in the first few seconds and I had a positive reaction.” Typically, that’s about all the time the reader is going to give you to make an impression with an ad.

Then, a few days go by and the temptation to ask, “What if the ad said this, too? And what if…?” and so on. All of a sudden, the copy gets much, much longer. The headline even changes to become more literal. Now, an ad concept that evoked an immediate emotional response starts to read like a full-line product brochure.

An ad is one element in the marketing communications mix. An ad positions the appeal of your brand. It delivers that emotional impact and lets the reader make the connection themselves – without pounding a long list of features and benefits into their heads. That’s what Web sites, brochures and salespeople are for.

Less copy is often more when you want the reader to make that connection themselves in their own minds.

I read a story recently about Ernest Hemingway, my favorite author. While sitting in a bar, Hemingway was challenged by another bar patron to write a complete story in six words or less. After finishing his drink, Hemingway wrote: For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn. In six words, Hemingway told a story covering an entire life and evoked interest. Bar patrons began to beg Hemingway for more of the story. They were drawn in and wanted to know more. “Buy it when it’s published,” Hemingway said.

An ad should be so simple, yet effective at generating interest and emotions.

Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hooverine/

Combining Old and New Technology with Great Results

by Brad Smith

I’ve been around this business long enough to remember typesetting, typewriters, keylines, stat machines and the smell of magic markers. But what I miss the most are the old-fashioned artistic skills of the art director who used a pencil or markers to sketch out an idea and turn it into a piece of art we called a layout.

Today’s layouts are done on computer, and they look so close to the finished product that sometimes we (and our clients) forget they’re concepts. They aren’t “comps,” they’re “comp-letes.”

Have clients driven this expectation, or do we not give clients enough credit to think they can use their imagination? Frankly, I’m not sure.

But I do know we recently had a great experience combining the old technology of “pencil rough layouts” with the new technology of “GoToMeeting.”

In a sign of the current economy, we had a firm, tight ad development budget. So, as usual, we noodled through some ideas and developed copy for a few ad concepts. But instead of multiple computer comp layouts, we created pencil rough layouts. Then instead of driving to the client’s office, we presented these concepts to their marketing staff via the Internet.

The results? Travel time was eliminated. Creative and account service time was reduced. The client was involved earlier in the concept stage. Pros and cons were exchanged. Everybody was excited and enthusiastic. And a firm direction was agreed upon and then executed. Budget objectives were achieved.

The new good old ways. Maybe we’re on to something here.

Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mangpages/