What some people forget in Advertising

[Ankesh]

Originally Posted by Joetrevison

1. The first time a man looks at an advertisement, he does not see it.

The whole trick is making the prospect not only see the ad the first time, but be impressed by it, remember it - and maybe even buy the product now if he likes needs it.

The bigger the impact you make with your ad, the better your chances of prospect buying your product after the first time.

But creating "impact" is not an exact science. And thats because an ad that had a strong impact on me could have none on you. It differs from person to person.

Your job as a promoter is to find "triggers" that create strong impact in the highest number of people it possibly can.

It's very helpful to refresh your mind with copywriting 101. The AIDA principle.

A = Attention
I = Interest
D = Desire
A = Action

(GJA has a few more alphabets... but I'll keep it simple here.)

All ads should try to have all 4 of these AIDA factors in it. And take people from noticing you to buying from you now.

Ok - so how do you win people's attention?

By being unusual or outrageous. By doing something people don't expect.
By "associating" yourself with a celebrity.
Or maybe by creating a "friends-help-friends" campaign - a viral campaign. When a friend talks to me recommending something, he has my full attention (most of the times.)
By using props.
By using smell, sound, lighting effectively.
By faking your sales pitch as an important news item or a story.

How do you make people interested? And build their desires?

By making sure you pinpoint the problem they have. And provide a solution.
By creating barriers to exclusivity.
By comparisons.
By providing people with testimonials and case studies.
By showing best-case-scenarios to people.

And how do you make people act?

There are 2 types of action you want people to take - depending on their situation.

i. buy now if they need your product
ii. remember and recall you for when they need your product

You use scarcity and bonuses to get people to buy now. You "build" your offer to become irresistible. You show them what they will miss by procrastinating.

You add "anchors" to your ads so that its easy for people to remember you.

All this AIDA is relatively easier to do in long sales letters. It is much harder to do in 10-15 second spots.

And usually - these stories about getting people to see your ad 20 times before they buy originate from radio and TV - where salesmen make more money by selling on frequency. And where very few people create very strong impactful 10-15 second ads.

But - you can incorporate the entire AIDA in 10 seconds too. Spend some time on it. Learn from the masters. And you'll save a lot of money in reducing the frequency of your ads.