Gary Dahl. Advertising for Dummies
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Creative example: Developing a campaign
for a community college
My advertising agency handles student-recruitment advertising for two Bay
Area community colleges in California. In order to devise a fresh, new cre-
ative approach for this account, we went through the following process
(of which I go into more detail in the sections to follow):
1. We reviewed all the old advertising, from our campaigns and from the
competition’s campaigns.
2. We thought about what we were selling and what made these colleges
unique.
3. We figured out to whom we wanted to sell these college programs,
and why our target market should be interested in these particular
colleges — in other words, why our targeted students should “buy”
from the “product” these colleges were offering.
4. We came up with a creative hook for our new ad campaign.
5. We morphed our idea into a tangible campaign compatible for radio
and other media.
6. We reviewed the process and the results of our efforts.
Reviewing previous ad campaigns and the competitions’ ads
Our first step was to go back through all the colleges’ previous advertising
campaigns to see if we could identify any glaring flaws. We found the ads to
be . . . well . . . kind of boring. The ads just listed a bunch of facts and figures
(for example, which classes the colleges offered during certain enrollment
periods and how much those classes cost). They threw out their statistics in
the form of print and broadcast advertising and hoped for the best.
Unfortunately, the ads didn’t differentiate the colleges from the many other
junior colleges doing equally boring advertising (which we had checked out
as part of our research before creating a new campaign). As a result, our
client colleges’ advertising wasn’t getting very dramatic results, which is why
they came to us looking for something that would actually work.
Identifying the target market
To pinpoint your target market, you should apply the list of questions I pre-
sent in the section “Identifying and Targeting Your Audience.” In the following
list, I walk you through the various steps we took as an agency to produce
some new ads for the colleges — ads that have increased student enrollment
each and every time they’ve run:
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First question: What are you selling, and what makes it so unique?
Answer: We’re selling a quality education delivered by highly qualified
instructors in a beautiful campus environment.
Second question: To whom do you want to sell it?
Answer: To kids fresh out of high school and to adults who want to
upgrade their current job skills or to return to the job market after an
absence.
Final question: Why should people buy it from you?
Final answer: Because, unlike so-called trade private technology
schools (which can be quite expensive) or four-year colleges (which can
be downright unaffordable), our community colleges deliver a first-rate
education, providing day, night, weekend, or Internet classes, for just $7
per credit hour to California residents.
Finding a creative hook for the new ad campaign
After answering the questions from the previous section about our target
market, my agency developed a radio soap opera with the authentic sound
and feel of the old-time radio soap operas that were all the rage before televi-
sion came along.
We used our creative hook to challenge listeners to bettering themselves by
becoming more educated, and we did it in a fun, nonthreatening way. But
wait, you say. What do teenagers know about old-time soap operas? Well,
nothing, but they responded to retro concepts, and what’s more retro than
old-time radio soap operas?
Developing the campaign on radio
For our college soap opera spots, we decided to turn to radio to spread our
message. My agency created imaginary people with imaginary problems and,
by using really corny organ music in the background (just like the good old
days) and a completely over-the-top actor to read the copy, we introduced
each character, his or her problem, and a solution achieved through a quality
education from one of our colleges. Here’s an example of the copy one of our
scripts directed at young adults:
Emily awoke to the big day. She had spent a year as mustard squirter
(squirt), then ketchup squirter (squirt, squirt), then pickle placer (one,
two, three). But today, at the pinnacle of fast-food success, she would
occupy the drive-through window (. . . and did you want fries with that?).
This was big, she thought, really big. But after a day spent watching other
young women cruising through in BMWs, gabbing away on their cell
phones, Emily knew that what she needed was a career, not a job.
Especially not this job. No education, no career. No career, no BMW.
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Simple, huh? She called Silicon Valley’s winning education combo —
Foothill and De Anza Colleges (music change, upbeat, jazzy). With day,
evening, and weekend classes, as well as Internet and telecourses avail-
able, Emily could get top-quality instruction for just seven bucks a unit.
Foothill and De Anza offer an affordable way to earn a college degree or
to update job skills for today’s competitive job market. Do what Emily
did. Get back to school. Enroll now for fall classes at Foothill and De Anza
Colleges. Call 555-1212. That’s 555-1212.
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“We want to buy your friendship”
One of the other partners in an agency of which
I was a part owner made a presentation to intro-
duce our agency to a small, regional bank — a
bank that was having a terrible time competing
with the monolithic California financial institu-
tions like Wells Fargo and Bank of America. As
creative director, I was invited to attend a get-
acquainted session with the bank’s flamboyant
president. This guy was way ahead of his time.
He sported a closely cropped beard and always
wore his signature bright-red suspenders
(which he proudly showed off by strolling
around the bank without his jacket). He was, to
say the least, unlike any bank officer I had
ever met.
Located in a small regional strip mall in a Bay
Area suburb, the bank had come up with a very
generous interest rate on savings accounts as a
way to attract new deposits. The trick we had
to deal with was to tell potential customers
about the bank’s rate and other good reasons to
move money there — and to do so within the
parameters of a somewhat limited ad budget.
Because the president was such an unusual
character, a guy who truly humanized the bank-
ing experience, my best idea was to feature him
in all the ads.
Coming up with a great, new idea is one thing. In
the ad-agency biz, getting clients to agree to the
more far-fetched ideas is quite another. In this
case, the bank president was just egotistical
(and creative) enough to see the logic in, and to
go along with, the new headline I invented for
his bank, which was (I change his and the
bank’s names here), “John Smith, president of
Regional Bank, wants to buy your friendship!”
Instead of droning on about the bank and its
higher interest rate on money market savings
accounts, and then adding all the caveats and
details about minimum balances, I thought we
should go straight to the heart of the matter. We
would tell potential customers that, although
John Smith was being a bit mercenary in
attracting deposits with a promise of a higher
interest rate, he didn’t take himself too seriously,
and Regional may actually be a fun place to
bank.
We did a photo shoot of John wearing his sus-
penders and used it in all our print ads and in-
lobby display materials. We even designed and
silk-screened T-shirts with red suspenders in
the front and back, featuring the slogan “John
Smith Bought My Friendship” and the bank’s
logo. We also did a series of radio spots (which
we ran on economically priced regional sta-
tions) in which we went way over the top to
explain that Regional was totally different from
any other bank.
An off-the-wall strategy, you say? Exactly. And
it worked. The bank took in savings-account
deposits at a very satisfying clip. This campaign
proves that, even if your business is less
than exciting, you can write and produce eye-
catching (and ear-catching) ads with just a little
creativity.
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In addition to creating a series of spots directed at teenagers fresh out of high
school, we invented other characters and wrote spots directed at adults
stuck in go-nowhere, low-paying jobs or eager to return to the job market
after long absences — adults in need of an upgrade in skills. We placed our
commercials on radio stations specifically programmed to attract our prime
audience — everyone from young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, to
women between the ages of 25 and 54, or to adults in general. (For more on
creating radio advertising, see Chapter 8.)
Assessing the results of the new campaign
The results of our new campaign were more than gratifying. Our clients
entered the new radio commercials into various community college creative
advertising contests and took several first prizes. More important, enroll-
ments at both colleges went up and our clients remain happy. What more
could you want from an ad campaign?
An added bonus is that our spots were very cheap to produce. The most
expensive element of the whole campaign was the cost of the actor, who did
a superb job of reading (or, I should say, emoting) the copy. All in all, we
devised a creative campaign that left most of the client’s money available to
spend where it would do the most good — on radio stations with strong audi-
ences of prospective students (also known as buyers). For information on
how to advertise on a budget, check out Chapter 2.
Incorporating Your Creative Message
into an Overall Media Ad Campaign
When a great new idea hits you right between the eyes and the light bulb of
creativity suddenly shines brightly, you need to begin incorporating your
message into a full-blown ad campaign (or at least as full-blown an ad cam-
paign as you can afford). After you identify all the ways your product is
unique and put your finger on a hard-to-resist, eminently logical reason that
people should seek you out in order to buy it (see the previous sections of
this chapter), you need to find ways to make your idea fit into various forms
of advertising.
Often, your creative hook dictates what media you should use — the hook lit-
erally drives your campaign:
If your hook is visual, you’ll use print, collateral (such as mailers,
brochures, and so on), and/or television media.
If your concept is audio-driven (a skit between two people or a hook that
uses your own voice or a unique music background, for example), radio
may be your best bet.
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If your clever new idea is a catchy slogan or a headline, you can con-
sider using any variety of media, including billboards and bus cards.
You can’t buy a 50-pound ad campaign with a 10-pound budget, so you need
to pick and choose your media and adjust your message accordingly. See
Chapter 2 for more on working within your budget.
The good thing is that you don’t need to buy every media outlet in town in
order to get your message across. You can accomplish your goals not only
with a creative message, but also with a creative media buy. So, before you
start designing your campaign, you need to come to grips with how your
message will translate into various media and how much of this media you
can afford. The following sections show you the way and give you tips for
delivering your message in an effective, concise, and affordable manner.
Ensuring consistency of your message
in all media you choose
Whatever your unique message turns out to be — whether it’s a headline,
sentence, slogan, graphic, or other creative hook — be sure to use that mes-
sage consistently in all media. You need to apply the same message in all the
forms of media you use in order to establish it as yours and yours alone and
in order to give the consumer a better chance of remembering it. For exam-
ple, if your radio commercials talk about a half-price sale on a specific item,
your newspaper ads should feature the same sale terms for the same item.
Many small businesses (and a surprising number of large, national advertis-
ers) make the mistake of being inconsistent, and it only serves to confuse the
consumer and to water down the overall advertising impact (and budget).
The good thing about maintaining consistency from one medium to the next
is that translating your message is even easier. If you spend hours and hours
writing a 60-second radio script for an ad, and you decide to augment your
radio advertising with some small newspaper ads, your time isn’t lost. In fact,
your job is all but finished, because you can easily edit the same copy you
wrote for radio so that it works for print, thereby creating a cohesive adver-
tising message across both forms of media. One good piece of advertising
copy always leads to another as your campaign begins to take shape.
Keeping your message simple
The real challenge of creating your advertising is to devise a hook that will
cut through the clutter that consumers are exposed to each and every day.
For example, a really clever, creative two-column newspaper ad with a head-
line that reaches out and grabs your attention can stand head and shoulders
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above a full-page, four-color ad that completely misses the mark. Similarly, a
radio spot that takes a fresh approach will enjoy much more listener recall
than a spot that drones on and on without giving the listener a clear reason
to actually hear it.
The best rule you can use as you work toward creating memorable advertis-
ing for today’s marketplace is summarized in an acronym you won’t forget:
KISS, which stands for “Keep it simple, stupid.”
Why is keeping it simple so important? Because today, more than ever before,
consumers are deluged with information. Many people are connected to the
outside world every minute of the day. Computers, cell phones, Blackberries
and other personal digital assistants (PDAs), the Internet, radios, television,
and many other electronic devices keep people within reach of information.
The amount of data available is overwhelming, and the media throws adver-
tising into this cauldron of information. At the very least, you hope your ads
will be noticed; in a perfect world, consumers will remember them and act on
what they hear. The key to igniting consumer memory is keeping it simple.
Consumers choose to shop at a particular store when dozens of stores carry
essentially the same products because they’re captured by an ad that gives
them a clear, concise reason to buy — an idea presented in an eye-catching,
creative way. Perhaps they desire a great low price, a special that includes a
free gift, a discount on future purchases, or any number of things. Whatever
the consumers desire, an ad grabbed their attention, and they responded.
And, whatever the ad was, I’m willing to bet that the company presented it in
a very simple, easy-to-understand manner.
Using words that sell
Certain words and phrases, when used in advertising, have a better-than-ever
chance of attracting consumers’ attention. You see these words over and
over again in ads, but their overuse is a direct result of their effectiveness.
Different words or phrases work for different types of businesses, though.
Here are some examples of words and phrases that sell in the retail industry:
Clearance
Discount
Everything must go
Final closeout
Free
Going out of business
Grand opening
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Improved
Markdown
New
Overstocked
Sale
If ever you needed to use the KISS rule in full-force (see the previous section),
it’s in the vocabulary you use in your ads. The challenge lies in walking a
fine line between using simple, easy-to-grasp words and phrases and writing
the way people think (in everyday conversational English). Bottom line:
Make your ads simple in their language but creative in their content and
presentation.
If you offer a service instead of providing a product, many of the words from
the previous list still work. “Free,” for example, always gets consumers’ atten-
tion, as does “new.” The following appealing words and phrases, however, are
specific to the service industry:
Great service
Free pickup and delivery
On time
Trial offer
Professional
Family owned and operated
Guaranteed service
Money saving
Dependable (or reliable)
High quality
References available from satisfied customers
Go through your newspaper and look at the ads. Certain words and phrases
used by most advertisers will quickly become apparent to you. Now you
know what I mean when I say that these words sell. They form a similar
thread that runs through most advertising. If you can use any of these words
and phrases in your advertising, by all means include them. If they’re good
enough for the other advertisers in your area, they’ll most certainly be good
enough for you.
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Just as some words really sell, others should scare you off like a rat in a
restaurant. Don’t use swear words or most slang. And, in general, don’t use
words with more than three syllables. You can use some four-syllable words
(like incredible and absolutely, as in “absolutely incredible savings!”), but be
careful. Keep in mind that most people haven’t expanded their vocabularies
since high school (which is why most newspapers are written to the sixth-
grade reading level).
There are exceptions to these rules, if done creatively. For example,
Budweiser created ads some years back that used the word “Whassup,” and
the ads were fun and memorable.
Delivering your message with clarity
No matter what form of media you use for your message (see Part II for more
info on the types of media), be sure to explain your message in clear, easy-to-
understand terms. You want consumers to see at a glance what you’re selling
and then make snap decisions as to whether they want to read or listen
further.
Place your most powerful selling message at the beginning of a radio spot or
in the form of a headline for printed advertising or Internet banner ads.
For example, if you’re having a two-for-one sale, you want to get that informa-
tion out there right away. Don’t drone on for half a radio spot without giving
the listeners a reason to actually hear it. Get down to the nitty-gritty and then
explain the various details.
Here are two examples of opening copy for a radio spot to advertise a two-
for-one sale. See if you can tell which spot is better:
Smith’s Hardware, conveniently located in the Neighborhood Shopping
Center, a family owned and operated business for over 50 years, and a
store where you’ve come to expect the very best in top-quality merchan-
dise and friendly, helpful service, is proud to announce its annual two-for-
one sale!
Announcing the annual two-for-one sale at Smith’s Hardware — the sale
you’ve been waiting for since last year. Buy one gallon of paint, get
another gallon absolutely free!
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Both examples include similar information. The difference is that the second
example gets the most important point across immediately; the rest of the 60
seconds can be filled with the specifics about convenient location, store his-
tory, and other good reasons to visit. The first example may put listeners to
sleep within the first couple of lines. Nothing in the first spot makes con-
sumers want to listen.
Following the same rule in a print ad simply means that two-for-one sale
becomes the headline, with all the other information the consumer needs to
know placed beneath it (as briefly and succinctly as possible). In this case,
the two-for-one sale is the creative hook, because it’s the single element of
the ad that separates it from other ads for similar stores (see the section
“Concocting a Creative Hook to Get Your Audience’s Attention” for more on
creative hooks).
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Part II
Creating Great Ads
for Every Medium
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