To Brand Or Create Response?
How About Both?
By Chuck Mancino
Many companies that approach advertising for the first time think the advertising world should be a black and white affair (not literally). They think – or hope – that when they run their first ad, it should cause people to pick up the phone and order like crazy.
Oh, if only it was that simple - it would be a dream come true for publishers, ad executives and advertisers everywhere. But, in the real world, it's just not that simple. In the real world of advertising, ads do not make it rain sales – not immediately, anyway.
Advertising is like brushing your teeth: You don't just do it well for a week, month or even year; it's a job that should be done consistently for life. And as soon as you stop, you will regress progressively.
When I was out hitting the pavement, working trade shows and approaching the little "mom & pop" exhibitor, inquiring about the prospect of advertising, I'd be humored by the consistent response each time I approached: "We get business through word of mouth and we can't afford to advertise." It's funny how they proclaim that all they need is "word of mouth" and in the next sentence admit they are still small. Maybe "word of mouth" isn't quite getting the job done.
Where to Begin?
It is difficult to track the impact of your advertising and marketing dollars. But even though that's true, it doesn't mean you have to blindly spend money on advertising and do nothing but hope for the best. Ignorance isn't the answer. Getting a better grip on ad expectation and accountability is. And to do so, you need to determine the goals of your ad campaign. Advertising basically boils down to two types: brand advertising vs. direct response advertising. Brand advertising makes your audience see your value and feel confident in your company and products. Direct response advertising makes them respond and – hopefully - buy your product or service.
The Chicken or the Egg?
The more familiar the end-user is with your brand, the more likely they are to buy it and the more they will pay for it. Managing your brand well increases the buyer's confidence. Many companies opt for direct mail campaigns so they can perfectly measure the success of the effort, but don't realize: If their brand/company/product is not familiar to the audience, it's unlikely that a direct mail effort will work if they don't know and trust the brand.
I‘ve had more than one vendor tell me they need to run print ads, because if they don't, people tend to walk right on by their booth at trade shows, as the attendees are not familiar with their company. Only after an ad campaign, they tell me, did people stop and say "Hey, I've seen you guys" and conversations ensue.
So, bottom line, one way or another, creating brand awareness is necessary. Even though the advertisers would love a world where direct response marketing (i.e. direct mail) was all that was needed, it's usually not the case. (Per usual, there are exceptions, such as L.L. Bean, etc. But in the majority of cases, brand awareness through print and other mediums makes other efforts more effective.)
If you're like most people, when it's time to buy ketchup, you probably reach for Heinz or Hunt's. And if you have varied off that path, you were probably disappointed. Most of us pay the extra 50 cents without ever giving it a second thought. Why? Because those ketchups have a reputation, as in they have been "branded." If you receive a coupon in the mail for "Smith's ketchup," and you've heard of it before, you aren't likely to use the coupon - even though you'd be saving money (unless you are a starving college student eating ketchup sandwiches. Yes, I've been there, done that.)
Ads That Create Response
Now for the stuff most marketers and company owners really covet: advertising that creates qualified leads and sales. Most marketers – especially in business-to-business markets – aren't very enthused to hear they need to spend money on "vague" branding advertising. But advertising and marketing that actually creates tangible sales? Now that's a sexy topic!
Let's start with the headline. The most common error companies make with their marketing is to use their company name in their headline. Sometimes we mistake what is dear in our hearts to what is dear to others. If you have successfully created a company that makes a good product, etc., you may sit down to create and ad and feel your company name is most important. It isn't. Not to your audience.
We live in a highly compressed society – people just don't have much time. They race through magazines, web sites, skim through their email and mail - with a hair trigger wanting to turn the page, hit delete or toss mail into the trash. People want to know – instantly – "what's in it for me?" So, your headline better express – quickly and concisely – what your product offers THEM.
Features and Benefits
The old school mode of advertising is to illustrate the features and the benefits that the features provide. Assume you have about three seconds of the reader's attention. Listing all the features isn't necessarily needed, and can clog up the ad. Each individual instance is unique. For instance, a car enthusiast may care a great deal about the features that make that Porsche model achieve the horsepower it does. They are hyped by the specific technology that achieves the end result. But, the features of practice management software may bore the health care professional to tears. The ad, web site, etc. may be better off just explaining benefits to the target reader without delving into the features that make it possible. Know what your audience wants.
Call to Action
If you create a message that gets your prospect's attention AND instills the value of your offer, it can all be for naught if you don't create urgency for them to ACT. In other words, they may "get" why they should buy your product, but that might not be enough to make them pick up the phone or go to your web site if you don't give them a reason to ACT NOW. They may read your ad, shake their head in agreement and think to themselves, "I should buy that" but if you don't give them a reason to do it today, they may never get around to it.
One obvious call to action is to offer "'X' percent off if they call now," but that offer is a bit old fashioned and may not be your best option. A more effective offer may be to include some additional free add-on product. Or, offer some kind of free appealing information or report related to your product. Bottom line: You must give them a reason to respond NOW as opposed to relying on them buying at some undetermined future date.
Brand and direct response advertising are two different animals, but both are necessary to create maximum selling potential. And branding isn't something you start one day, and then quit doing down the road. If it were, Coke, Pepsi, Merrill Lynch, MCI, IBM, etc. would have quit long ago. Notice that they all are firmly established brands, yet they continuously spend money on branding. I had one advertiser tell me "We found out the vast majority of people buying are people who are already customers" and quit their advertising completely. Even though their statements were true, halting all advertising will still put you in a descent. One year later, they were back in publications, running full pages again.
Most of the advertising in the alternative health care niche is for specialty products and services. With a smaller ad budget, the primary goal should be creating responses and directly increasing leads and sales. Most companies can't afford or benefit enough from pure brand advertising; you need your ad dollars to have a direct impact on generating more sales. This is best done by using impactful headlines, communicating benefits and including a strong call to action. You can accomplish both by being thoughtful about the presentation of your brand in your direct response ads and remaining consistent in all promotional mediums.
About the author
Chuck Mancino has been involved in business-to-business advertising, PR, publishing and marketing for 23 years, the past six-plus years specializing in the alternative health care market. You can reach him at 904-280-5433 or e-mail cmancino@gmail.com.
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