Superbowl commercials can be highly entertaining. Some are really brilliant. But then there are others that have you scratching your head and wondering what it was you just watched.
Take for example, etoro on “The Power of Social Investing”. Is it investing as a social group? Investing in social causes? Is it actually about investing?
Then there was the Pong game styled ad from Coinbase. It was a QR code that was bouncing around the screen and changing colors when it hit a wall. I have no idea what it was really about as I did not point my phone to the ad. If you did let your phone snap the QR code, they probably captured your number and assaulted you with texts. Don’t know. Creative but unclear.
Let’s not leave out the ad for the electric car charging station from Wallbox. The main character apparently had some sort of reaction to electricity and things would go out or blow up. But somehow this Wallbox car charger was different?
This confusion in advertising is not limited to just TV ads. A billboard ad for an insurance company has so much copy that it must have been written by a group of lawyers.
Postcard mailers for electric terrain vehicles. There is so much going on in such a small area that I am not sure where to turn, what the big idea is, or the message.
And there was an ad in a magazine that covered an extremely serious subject, depression and suicide, one that we should all be aware of but decided to have electronic links in the printed ad.
And big companies make just as many mistakes as small companies. Coca Cola over the years, while we know what the main subject is, I think so, but the messaging around it can be so confusing. Usually, Coke’s creativity does provide some very clear messages. Just not this one.
The point of this is that CLARITY IS KING!
Your message needs to be clear to everyone, and most especially to your intended audience. Creative, the images, logo, photos, etc., are used to support the message, not cloud it. When creative takes precedent over the clarity of the message, you will not only not get sales, you can actually lose sales.
When clarity and supportive creative used in the right balance on one platform, make sure it also works on other platforms, ALL platforms.
How do you achieve clarity?
One way that I have used is work with the concepts of design theory. In design theory, we usually think of what or how we are going to make a product. In this case, we are going to translate that into your message.
Step 1 – Who is it for?
You can’t say everyone. Not every product is good or wanted or needed by absolutely everyone. So, stop saying that. Your product is for a particular kind of person or customer. Your message needs to address that person.
Instead of “everyone”, you could say “it is for an existing homeowner who wants to keep their house but demands better performance and energy savings”. It isn’t for all homeowners, not for new homeowners, but a particular kind of homeowner.
Step 2 – What is it for?
You can’t say “for what ails you”. Way too broad. But you could say “to help the business owner achieve a better balance of family and work, while relieving them of frustrations or the feeling of getting stuck at work”.
It doesn’t matter what the product or service you are trying to sell actually is, you must answer these two fundamental questions in a very clear message to achieve success.
Step 3 – How will they feel after they buy?
Do they get more sales? More profits? More productivity? Reduced stress? When you can, be as specific as possible. The idea is to talk about benefits or objectives – not the features.
Achieving clarity can be hard. It takes time, it takes editing, lots of editing, and even more editing.
When you are writing your message STOP TALKING TO YOURSELF. All of struggles with this from time to time. It can be difficult to talk about ourselves and how we are going to help someone. When you have a message, show it to others. Show it to friends, or family that can give you an educated response. Pick a few really good customers and show to them. Look to your advisory group and show them. Listen to their responses, not just hear the response. They are trying to help you. If it is a negative comment, it isn’t you it is the message. Remember that.
Not everyone can be a specialist in everything. Hire out a copywriter or editor. Hire a marketing person or agency. You can make it project based which contains your costs, but you have an educated person working on the messaging.
Remember that creative is used to support the message. There are a lot of creative services out there. One that is both good and popular is Canva. They have a lot of templates for a variety of promotional platforms, and they have lots of images and styles. Their free version is a great place to start. When you want or need more, you can upgrade to the paid version which really opens up the possibilities.
Look to your industry for ideas you like and that resonate with you – BUT DON’T STEAL. Look outside your industry for ideas as well. Just be careful in translating that idea into your market and product. And you can hire a designer if you don’t have the designer’s eye.
After you have added the creative, be very critical. Did you use jargon or language that many may not understand? Do you have images that truly relate to the benefits of what you are providing? Does it help tell the story of your business? Can it be adapted to all of the different platforms without losing anything? Remember that monitors are usually horizontal but print pages are vertical. Instagram is vertical and Facebook and LinkedIn are square or horizontal.
Once you have decided on the messaging – PUT IT EVERYWHERE!
Update Facebook company pages and LinkedIn profile. Make sure posts on all platforms connect with the message. Update your website, handouts, booth graphics and brochures. You will be tempted to hang on to old material because you paid for it, don’t. Dump it, Dump it all.