The 12 “B’s” of Effective Advertising
“When asked about the power of advertising in research surveys, most people agree it works, just not on them.”
- Eric Clark
Advertisers continually ask “how do I create a successful ad campaign”? These principles will make your program effective and dollar-efficient.
• Be different. The very first thing you should do is take a look at what your competition is doing, and start doing something else. Place your ads on different mediums, create a unique and different message, employ a different style of message delivery, and create a different image.
If you want to stand out from the crowd, you have to be different. Huge gains can be felt quickly when you look, act and talk in a manner that is different from your competitors.
• Be familiar. People buy what they know and are familiar with. They also buy from the places they know and trust. You can become familiar and trustworthy by implementing a campaign that makes you familiar.
• Be emotional. All decisions are emotional. It’s either need or greed. Talk to the heart of the consumer. Make them want you. Speak in their terms. Step inside your prospects shoes and find out what moves them.
• Be the leader. Look and act like a leader. When you present your company as the leader, prospects will think that you are. Always be proactive and don’t react to tactics used by your competitors.
• Be consistent. Next to creating the most compelling message possible, consistency is the strongest force in advertising.
• Be decisive. Decide in advance what you’re aiming for. You’ll never reach your goal if you don’t know what the target is. Are you expecting your ads to bring customers in tomorrow, or generate calls, or capture names, create goodwill, build an image…? What do you want tomorrow, next month or next year?
