Why do you advertise? I wonder if people ask themselves that simple question carefully enough.

“Imagine you have a business. You've built it up through hard work and effort. It's worth $10 million to you. Suddenly the sales start going down. Your livelihood is in jeopardy. Your wife and your family's livelihood are in jeopardy. What do you want from me? Fine writing? Or would you like to see the goddam sales curve stop going down and start going up?” Rosser Reeves

Keep this vital question in mind “ To whom are you offering what ultimate advantage? ” - Irving Wunderman

What ’ s going through your prospects ’ minds? Compared to what? Why choose you? What will you do for me that none else can? Or can you do something better than anyone else can? Most creative simply does not address these questions in any detail.

19 possible reasons to choose you Are you unique? Cheaper? Quicker? Better value? Safer? The most trusted? The friendliest? The first? The top seller? The most proven? Give added service? The most advanced? The latest? The best regarded? The one doctors prefer? The most reliable? Sold in a special way? Easier to deal with? More helpful? Each question may give you the vital answer

A possible test When talking to pharmacists which is the most effective promise? –It works better –Consumers trust the name –It’s cheaper –You make more profit

Good creative work comes from good briefs “Be careful what you ask for. You may get it”. Many briefs are the result of wild surmises late at night in bars. These are then written on the backs of envelopes … And some are never written down clearly at all. A good brief comes from cooperation, not instruction.

Dull but essential stages You brief agency. If the job is important, or you like to deal with them directly, include creative people. Agency briefs creative and other relevant people and they discuss it Agency asks questions (do encourage them to) They respond with the brief as they understand it You and agency discuss to agree on final brief You sign it off – and try hard not to change it

Think of Michelangelo ’ s frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Here ’ s how he might have been briefed by his client Pope Julius II, or the Pope ’ s head of display advertising, Cardinal Alidos. The ideal brief

Brief A ‘ Please paint the ceiling. ’ This is certainly what was wanted but it gives Michelangelo no hint as to the solution. It leaves all the decisions to him.

Brief B ‘ Please paint the ceiling using red, green and yellow paint. ’ This is worse. It still doesn ’ t tell him what to paint and adds irksome and distracting restrictions.

Brief C ‘ We ’ ve got terrible problems with damp and cracks in the ceiling and we ’ d be ever so grateful if you could just cover them up. ’ This is even worse. It still doesn ’ t tell him what to do, and gives depressing information which implies no one cares what he paints since the ceiling will fall in anyway. How much effort is he likely to put in?

Brief D ‘ Please paint biblical scenes on the ceiling incorporating some or all of the following: God, Adam, Angels, cupids, devils and saints. ’ Better; now they are beginning to give Michelangelo a steer. At least he knows the important elements. This is an average brief. It covers all you need to know but doesn ’ t go that step beyond, towards a brilliant solution.

Brief E ‘ Please paint our ceiling, for the greater glory of God and as an inspiration and lesson to his people. Frescoes which depict the creation of the world, the Fall, mankind ’ s degradation by sin, the divine wrath of the deluge and the presentation of Noah and his family. ’ That ’ s the brief Michelangelo was given, more or less. Now he knows what he has to do and is inspired to do it well.

So the brief must explain what has to be done not only factually, but in spirit. The best work comes from briefs and people who not only fully inform: they inspire.

A good brief clearly answers 5 questions: 1.Who are you talking to? 2.What do you want them to know and do? 3.When is the best time to speak to them? 4.Where do you find them? 5.Why should they do what you want?

Let ’ s examine them in a little detail

1.Who are you talking to? What ’ s the relationship with you? How do they feel about you? How have they replied to previous messages, if any? What role do individuals play in the buying decision? What kind of people are they? Or what kind of company?

2. What do you want them to think and do? They think you ’ re cheap and nasty and don ’ t want to buy from you. You want to persuade them you ’ re better than they think.... so they should give you a try. You want them to give you information - e.g. complete a questionnaire. Stay loyal (i.e) keep buying!

Upgrade - e.g. buy a larger pack size. Buy more often – make it a habit Deal with you more, by having more links with you - e.g. they bought a sports drink and you ’ d like to sell them vitamins as well. Switch from, or ignore the competition. Recommend a friend. (Good source). Come back after lapsing. (Also good).

3. When will you to speak to them? How do they decide to act or buy? How long does it take? Where are they in the relationship? Or in their lives? They ’ re new customers: best time to get them acting. Maybe they ’ ve been with you a year: you want to thank them

It ’ s their birthday or New Year – time to stop smoking, lose weight, get fit. They ’ ve received a lot of mailings from you: they ’ re unlikely to be keen. They haven ’ t heard from you for a while: they may be more responsive. They ’ re not spending: time to remind them what you offer.

4. Where do you find them? What ’ s the medium? Who reads it, listens to it or views it? Make sure you do! If it ’ s a list or database selection, what details does it hold? Were they referred to you by a friend? If it ’ s a take-one, what ’ s the environment? If it ’ s door to door, what kind of area?

5. Why should they do what you want? Check the features: what benefits do they produce? e.g. mono-unsaturated fat may mean less heart attacks. Any emotional benefits - like being more attractive? What are the main benefits, and the lesser ones? What proof can you give? Compare with competitors ’ offerings. Consider relevant incentives.

Why do you keep repeating yourself? You are “ teaching ” your proposition. Teaching works by fixing things in the mind. It uses: Stories Involvement Surprise … and Repetition!

How advertising uses repetition If you don ’ t need immediate action: A simple message repeated many times. –This works, but is boring and wasteful. A simple message repeated in different ways. –This often works better, as people don ’ t “ tune out ”. Different aspects of your message each presented in different ads. –Works if you have a number of things to get over

How direct marketing works You want action now. You can ’ t afford to wait to deliver all the reasons to act. So you give all the arguments in one message. And you repeat those arguments within the message – the teaching process is accelerated. You restate when asking for action. And in the order form or coupon, which may get set aside for later review, or separated from the rest of the message. It should be like a mini-ad, able to stand on its own

Omit none of these 5 steps to getting response i. Attention... Benefits generally get most attention... followed by news... followed (a long way behind) by funny or odd approaches. ii. Interest... Amplify your opening. Never gain attention with one promise and then set off on a different tack.

iii. Desire... Enthusiastically enlarge on the benefits... paint word pictures... show how the prospect will benefit... or avoid what he/she does not want. Appeal to the emotions. iv. Conviction... Use testimonials, test results, statistics, examples... and clear, worthwhile guarantees.

v. Action... ask repeatedly with time-closes, reasons to act, reminder of the benefits at the point of asking. These steps may not be in the exact order given here, but you are unwise to miss any one out.