It’s called “reactance.” When someone tries to tell you what to think or do — that automatic resistance you feel is called reactance by psychologists. And for advertisers, there are plenty of work-arounds for reactance.
Too often, a company uses their marketing to push their features and benefits - ‘Best location, Best Product, Best Service, Best Employees’ - but these are not clingy and sticky. Features and benefits are slippery and rarely remembered.
McCartney rocks and Shakespeare roles and both showmen move their audiences with antithesis. Steal a gift from Paul and Will. Use antithesis in your writing.
If you’ve ever had a song or a jingle stuck in your head, that’s an earworm. And advertisers can and should use this phenomenon to their advantage. Seinfeld even built an episode around this phenomenon.
The goal is to move shoppers from an objective, consumer-reports mindset to an enthusiast’s mindset. Put plainly: if you’re selling premium products or experiences, you need to understand the power of portals.
Creativity is the second most important factor in advertising effectiveness, according to over 50 years of quantitative data.
When done right, THIS is the stuff that creates a distinct voice and personality. I’ve seen a few scores of them over the years, and 95% have been utterly worthless.
Verizon couldn’t afford to lower rates or compete on price. Instead, they had better advertising.
The day Rick posted his 2003 Ford F 350 on Kijiji (a weird Canadian Craigslist), there were 66 other listings for the exact same truck. Rick’s rig sold in 23 minutes...to a Texan.
Is it better to have a bunch of little 15 second ads or a full 60 second ad? Is a quick postcard better than a long letter? And how can we leverage entertainment?
"Sell the Sizzle, Not the Steak” — or so says Elmer Wheeler. And if you’re in marketing or sales, either you like that phrase, or rather strenuously object to it. Those who object say things like "If you sell sizzle without the steak you’re a con artist."
Now, I don’t subscribe to the notion that “hey, they remembered you…and that’s all that matters.” It’s very easy to be outrageous and “get remembered.” The job of your ad is to “get remembered” and sell some stuff.
Without a consistent theme, you probably don't even have a campaign. And then at that point, what are you doing? You're not branding. You're not bonding.
Shared values and tribes are the life blood of bonding campaigns. And you can’t have attitude without a point of view.
Howard McMann once said of his partner, “He’s slippery, he lies beautifully, and he has a great head of hair.” Legend has it, Tate once told a subordinate “If the client loves it, I love it! If the client hates it, I hate it!”