Are You Sending The Right Message?

By Carisa Bendel at siraCreate           www.siraCreate.com           APRIL 2011

consider WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS WANT TO HEAR & TELL THEM WHAT YOU CAN PROVIDE.

Sometimes business owners mimic marketing/advertising campaigns they have seen in the past. This is an understandable action considering most business owners know their business and are not marketing professionals. The problem is that many of the TV commercials and print ads that are borrowed from aren’t tasteful or effective. It can be hard for a novice to the marketing world to know what will be effective.

For example: I watched an infomercial recently for a paint sprayer similar to an airbrush. The man talked excitedly about the sprayer and how it was so AMAZING and how very hard it is to paint with sloppy brushes and rollers. Meanwhile, the woman acted completely AMAZED and always in agreement with everything the man said. They both went on for 30 minutes in loud falsetto voices about the amazing sprayer. They even had a painting contest, he with the sprayer and she with a brush and roller. He, of course, easily and quickly finished the job, while she clumsily tried to paint with her brush and roller. She complained about how hard it is to paint with such awkward and sloppy tools. At the same time, he bragged about how easy and clean the job was with the sprayer.

The product didn’t seem like a bad invention to me, but something about this commercial really bothered me. Yes, it was a bit obnoxious and loud, but that wasn’t it. It wasn’t creative, funny, or entertaining, but that wasn’t it either. It took me a while, and then finally figured out what turned me off. I have painted with brushes and rollers in all of the scenarios they portrayed and never had the difficulties the woman had with the brushes and rollers. It seemed deceiving to me that they made it seem so difficult and messy to even hold a paintbrush or roller, and how terribly the woman’s paint job came out using them. They repeated these points over and over, showing the use of masking tape and drop cloths for the brushed or rolled applications and not so much for the spraying, of course.

What they didn’t focus on, and should have focused on, was how spraying the paint on deeply textured surfaces instead of brushing it on reduced pooling, dripping, running, and saved time. I know that whether I paint with a sprayer, brush, or roll it will be messy, I will have to use tape and a drop cloth, but I felt they were being deceitful about the difference in amount of mess I would have to clean up with the sprayer. If they told me about the true differences and benefits of using a sprayer instead of a brush or roller I would have been sold, but instead I’m just annoyed.

So here are some simple guidelines that can be applied to all of your future advertisements whether it’s print, web, radio, or TV:

• Don’t be obnoxious – don’t forget, loudness is a measure that can be applied audibly and visually

• Get attention with witty headlines, leading questions, interesting images, humor, or special offers

• Tell them what they want to hear – without being insulting, deceitful, or facetious

• Clarify what you have to offer – explain your product or service in detail and why it is different than others

• Keep it short and sweet – it’s good to repeat your brand or product name, but not negative competitor comparisons

Overall, the general public is tired of obnoxious advertising, but if you can be witty and entertaining about your approach, customers will gravitate to your brand or product.