CHAPTER SIXTEEN
WHAT MAKES A GREAT AD?
The saying, There’s no second chance at making a good first impression needs to be taken seriously, because once the brain has made a judgement it’s hard to reverse it. If advertisements don’t catch your attention within seconds they have probably failed. To really stand out of the crowd, the idea has to be out of the box, something that makes you laugh, talk about it, or at least make you look twice. No amount of social media hype will sell something to someone they don’t want!
I remember when I was 19 years old, trying to sell my first house. I had built it for a good price, lived in it for a few years and then placed it on the market as we where moving to live in India. The agents had the first go at selling it, with little interest. So I thought I would have a go at selling the property myself before giving it to another agent. I placed an ad in the local paper with a hook in order capture peoples attention; If anyone buys this house they will get a free trip to Hawaii. The phone then started ringing with a huge number of enquiries. I would like to have told you that the house sold a few weeks latter, but it didn’t. People came close to buying, but wanted to deal through an agent and not with the owner directly.
Over the years I have been involved in the creation of a multitude of advising stunts form promoting our gym, Body & Soul, for a $1 a day, resulting in the gym membership reaching capacity; to doing a handstand on a skateboard, in a suit, down the main street of our city in order to get our Political Party’s policy on the six a clock news.
In order to gain support for our Global Tribe Aid work in Mexico, Haiti, India, and Africa, my friend Wes Campbell, the owner of numerous rock groups in the US, suggested going on the road to speak and show video at their concerts, raising support and teams of people to go do aid work around the world. It was a great success, raising millions of dollars and facilitating thousands of volunteers to help build houses. That is until the defining moment, mentioned at the beginning of this book; that starting enterprise engines at the heart of these communities was the best way to break people out of poverty, and grow a thriving economy.
In fact the way Wes got the attention of the music world in the US is a story worth telling. He was trying to introduce his first band, the NewsBoys, to one of the largest festivals in America of over 200,000 attendees. They had moved from the gold coast of Australia with no money and spent a year or more traveling the country in their old van playing every little gig they could talk their way into, clocking up thousands of miles and even more debt. They wanted in, but the emails, phone calls and Oz accent didn’t work on the promotors, so they devised a plan to get themselves a hearing. They decided that as the setup for the festival took a week, they would play to the setup crew. This meant the set-up crew-management, staging, lighting, and sound guys got to hear them, and after a week of hanging out with the band, the staging crew worked them into a slot at the festival. They where an instant hit and the crowd demanded more, and so for the last 15 years they have played there every year, and mostly as the headline act. To ad a twist, Wes some years later purchased the majority sharing-holding in the festival.
I was starting a gym in the city called the The Club, so while driving to the coast to go surfing I asked my friend, who was a Saatchi and Saatchi advertising guru at the time, what he believed makes a truly great ad? He said without hesitation, lots of space, something I have never forgotten. He was referring to print advertising but went on to expand the concept, relating it to all advertising - to keeping-it-simple. The KISS principle; Keep-It-Simple-Stupid. He also said, that an ad campaign is not rocket science, it’s common sense. Keeping our advertising ideas uncluttered is one of the disciplines of producing a great ad. I made a mental note that, for me, this is true of most great designs: good musicians have a clean sound, great foot ball players work the basics, and elegant art and architecture is minimalist.
We have to get peoples attention amidst huge media noise, and some how convert that to a trade, their hard-earned money for our product or service.
SOME GREAT ADVERTISING/MARKETING IDEAS!
Go online yourself and write a list of advertising ideas? This will help you engage and digest the ideas you research in a more personal way.
Have a Sale
Do a live Ad…
Customer loyalty schemes: My Star Alliance, Air New Zealand frequent flyers card was often the reason I paid a little more than what was on special with other airlines. The privilege of using their lounges around the world, upgrades and other comforts helped me stay loyal. The coffee cards often used by cafe owners, reward loyal customers with a free coffee every ten or so coffees. Why spend more on advertising when it cost less to keep existing customers.
Loyal customers are also good for your business because they become your best advocates. They recommend you to others, saving you advertising costs. A loyal customer's endorsement is more powerful to their friends and family than any advertising campaign.