Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your
contribution is not tax-deductible.)
PayPal Acct: 
Feedback: 
Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):
| [ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4, 5, 6 ] |
| Subject: Yes! They ARE Serious, But WHY?! | |
|
Author: Dennis S. Vogel |
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 23:38:58 05/31/13 Fri In reply to: Dennis S. Vogel 's message, "They Can't Really Mean That, Can They?" on 22:46:23 01/30/13 Wed When I heard a beer commercial recently, I wasn't surprised to hear nothing about product benefits ... it's beer ... there's very little real differentiation. In this "commercial", some guys overheard a conversation of some women. Each guy claimed the women were talking about him. The women were supposedly describing the men's manly traits. When one guy talked to those women, he learned the women were talking about a new beer bottle. He tried to make it seem like he & his friends understood them & were also talking about the new bottle style. Based on my recollection, what was the "benefit"? Is misunderstanding a conversation a benefit? Is there a benefit in being delusional? Is there a real benefit in a new style of bottle - I mean would it be a "benefit" worth investing (wasting) thousands/millions of dollars to produce & air the commercial? If men think the women's conversation could be describing manly traits, how functional could those bottle traits be? If you don't promote benefits, don't waste your time & money on trying to promote features or ... nothing. Too often, marketers act as if consumers only think about what they (marketers) offer or their advertising messages are all people see or hear. Marketers don't act like this consciously, so they don't consider how inaccurately they interpret consumers' lives. News Flash - Consumers have a lot more to do than focus on commercials until they understand the messages. Don't expect them to analyze marketing messages ... well ... like what I've been doing. Hey! I do it because I'm teaching you something. That's A Bunch Of ... Commercials often are bunched into commercial breaks that last 3 or more minutes. While those commercials are aired, life keeps happening. If people hear/see a message that's immediately relevant, they may pay attention to it. Yet, even if the relevant commercial is 60 seconds long (short), the message may disappear before consumers realize how relevant that advertiser's offers are. It's worse when there aren't any discernible offers. When there aren't any offers, propositions, benefit statements or reasons to pay attention & remember a message, consumers probably won't. Why would they remember something that's not worth remembering? Advertising isn't supposed to be implied messages or hints, a game of charades or guess what challenges. According to a bit of wisdom I read decades ago, "You wouldn't worry so much about what people think of you, if you only knew how seldom they do (think of you)." That also applies to remembering. In most people's lives, there are thousands of things to think about & remember every minute. As people get older, there are more things for them to remember & forget. I've heard (& experienced) this fact: before people put much thought into which email messages to keep or read, they tend to go through mounds of email messages to determine which they should delete. Often, the first tasks people do are those that take the least time & effort, so they can reduce their To Do lists. When something seems like it'll be hard & probably take a lot of time, people often skip past those tasks because they want fewer tasks (shorter lists). It usually isn't the most effective or efficient way to set priorities yet it seems expeditious. Some people feel better after finishing a few small/minor tasks than they do after completing one big/major task. This applies to marketing because buying things is another task to do. Buying requires time & effort, especially if people feel they should seriously consider what to do before taking any action. Paying (close conscious) attention to & remembering your messages is another thing people do if they feel it's necessary. But they have long lists of important & urgent things to pay attention to & remember. Your advertising probably isn't on their lists. Please, don't try to force them to think. Help them constructively/positively reduce their mental loads, so they'll have less stress. You can do that by clearly stating which benefits (solutions to people's problems) you offer. Conscious mental processes require more energy than subconscious routines. Unless people like shopping often, shopping isn't a routine for them. Thinking about what to purchase is just another frustrating task (hassle). Owning something new is a novel experience, but shopping is often an ordeal for most of us. Repeat After Me, "Don't Take Pride In Redundancy" Why do people repeat the same lame things they hear & read? Garbage like this: "We're a proud sponsor of ..." It seems a bit redundant. How many times has anybody ever claimed to be ashamed of being a sponsor? If anybody isn't proud of being a sponsor, there probably wouldn't be an announcement (unless it's an apology). Besides that, it's overused - - worn out. They're so proud of the message they keep using it & others keep imitating it. Too many marketing & public relations messages/notices are bland & mundane. They seem so much alike, it's hard to distinguish them from any others, so people aren't likely to try. If a message looks/sounds the same as others, it doesn't seem important enough to pay attention time after time, again & again & ... They're easy to forget or totally ignore. It's about like somebody repeating the same stuff after possibly substituting a few words. People's minds are more drawn by variety than what's contemptibly familiar. (According to a cliche - Familiarity breeds contempt.) "We're Proud To Announce ..." "We're Excited About ..." Well, Isn't That Special? 'Isn't That Special?' is a rhetorical question. If I expected an answer, it would be 'NO!' 'We're (to fill in the blank, you may choose one or more of the following words - pleased, happy, glad, excited, sorry, disgraced, depressed, disgusted, ashamed) to be associated with/involved in ___.' Whoever 'We' are, they should at least write something interesting. The same worn out statements may be ignored or worse. If a promotional or public service message is lame, people may figure the featured product, service or event is/will be lame. When announcements are made, people will figure the messages are expressing positive thoughts & feelings unless shame or regret is specifically expressed. 'We're proud to announce the 99th annual Boredom Festival.' (Apparently, they're proud of the announcement.) Do people want to announce an event or do they just want to proclaim how they feel about the announcement or event? If you want people to get your point, get to the point! Media advertising staff (sales reps, continuity/copy writers, layout & graphic artists) should urge advertisers to use unique methods instead of copying others. In general, advertisers will have better results with uniqueness than if all commercials/ads monotonously blend in with each other's 'proven methods'. Unique marketing can have some similarities. Uniqueness doesn't have to mean strange or foreign. The Long & Vicious Road Today, I learned roads can (supposedly) "attack" vehicles. (Give me a break or should it be brake? It seems a bit over-dramatic.) It seems more like vehicles & drivers attack roads. Drivers need roads, so roads aren't enemies. Holes, slush, ice-melting chemicals, sand & dirt cause problems. Do filters, shock absorbers, struts, springs, etc. solve road problems? No, those products help drivers cope with road problems. It's best to be specific about what the problems & solutions really are. If you want protection from an attack, hire a body guard. If you want to avoid or solve vehicle problems, buy the right products or services. Incredible Is Unbelievable - Literally I often (too often) hear 'incredible' or 'unbelievable' in commercials. When advertisers claim their results are incredible & unbelievable, is that truth in advertising? "(Product name) is the one everybody is raving about!" I'm not raving about it & I haven't heard anybody raving about it - except in the commercial. So, I wonder what other lies are in the commercial. Exaggerations are lies. You can disagree if you want. Exaggerating is stretching the truth. When something is stretched, some gaps open up in it, which means some things (like what's true) are missing. What's in those gaps? Exaggerations aren't completely true, right? "Ask your friends who own one." What if people ask their friends, but none of their friends own any? Will you ever see results in 'No Time'. There's only one thing that can possibly happen in no time. Nothing (only nothing) can happen in no time. Something requires some time. Anytime anybody does anything, time is required. Puffery isn't always disregarded. People are apt to realize puffery isn't meant to be interpreted literally. Yet, if something isn't literally true, why use it? Sure, we shouldn't expect intelligent people to believe obvious exaggerations. So why does anybody who is intelligent try to persuade/convince people to believe a message by polluting it with anything that isn't true? Even if 'everybody' (supposedly) uses puffery, you can differentiate yourself & your business by not using puffery. Huff & puff & your house may be blown down. It isn't worth the problems. How many marketers have offered 'proven methods" & "secrets"? Can anything really be both? It's all hyperbole. Dennis S. Vogel thrivingbusiness@email.com For your marketing to be relevant, your business, products & services should fit what your market niche members experience. Please click here for free information. http://www.lakefield.net/~thrivingbusiness/ [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| So, That's What They Think About Us | Dennis S. Vogel | 00:36:42 03/25/15 Wed |
|
Forum timezone: GMT-6 VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB: Before posting please read our privacy policy. VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems. Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved. |