I love this German proverb. This is the board next to my workspace, and I carry a copy of it in my wallet, too.
I’m not sure why, but it’s seems to always be true: Marketing departments aren’t doing enough or they are trying to do WAY too much. The former is easy to tackle so let’s talk about the latter.
Initiatives, ads, events, trade shows, blogs, websites, landing pages, direct mail campaigns, Facebook Fan pages. Whatever it is, things are tackled with full energy, then abandoned. Or started and left unfinished. There’s so much going on, there’s no time to actually measure what’s working and what isn’t.
While we do a lot things for our clients, our goal is always to help them do a few things, really well.
Bill Gates once said,
…only through focus can you do world-class things, no matter how capable you are.
Consider your current marketing efforts. Where are you investing your energy? Your money? How much time are you spending doing things just because it’s what you’ve always done?
Does it matter to your customers? Your prospects? Is it a brand driver? Are you sure?
Do the research, then focus your efforts in the few, best places that will make a difference. You’ll be glad you did.
Getting a prospect’s attention is tough enough, but let’s say you are able to break through. Now that you have their attention, can you keep it?
Think your prospect will read four pages of copy to learn how you are different? Think again.
We live in a sound-bite culture where scanning—not reading—is the norm.
Sure, you can use Flash and other multimedia tools to help you get your point across, but not all users will be able to view it on all platforms.
That’s why I’m a fan of good-old-fashioned illustration.
The best example I’ve seen using illustration to describe a complex idea is for Google Chrome, a new browser Google will offer in beta today.
Google created an online comic book featuring the project’s developers.
I had no idea this was a comic book when I started reading it, but 38 pages later, I had powered through the entire thing. More importantly, I believe I now have a strong understanding of the major technical differences this browser will offer.
Notice I said “technical” differences. This was done so well, even a guy with limited technical knowledge like yours truly got it. If this is as good as it looks, Google will have another hit on its hands.
The next time you have a complex idea you want to communicate, consider illustration.
If done well, it will help you get—and keep—your audience’s attention.
Have you seen illustration used to make something complex easier to digest?
Last week, I spoke at the Northwest Career Colleges Federation Annual Convention about Responsible Marketing. It was the third time I’d spoken to the group, and quite frankly I was surprised I was invited back. You see, I’ve prattled on about how poor advertising is in the education category.
So often, education marketing falls into one of the categories below:
Amateurish, busy campaigns that are so bad, they are almost painful to watch.
Slightly better campaigns that feel like they are part of a direct response marketing template (because they often are). You know, these are the ads with the CSR’s with headsets saying, “call now!”
Advertising that tries too hard to be be ‘authentic’ and connect with college-age students. Kinda pathetic, like the 40-something white guy in the office talking about ’street cred.’
Some unholy amalgamation of the above.
Because of this, I always enjoy finding something good in the education category, in any medium.
I discovered the following ads today from UNICID, Universidad Cidade De S. Paulo (roughly, The City University of São Paulo). I wish I found them sooner.
The Headline:
Competition starts earlier than ever.
Stand-out with a post-graduate degree from UNICID.
Click on any of the following ads to view a larger version.
So often, advertising tries to cram so much in so little space. And so little is actually read.
But these ads are simple, creative and confident.
One glance and you get it. The concepts are strong so the copy reinforces more than it explains.
By keeping it simple, UNICID zigged when this category typically zags. Bully to them for having the nerve to say less.
And by keeping is simple, it makes UNICID look pretty smart, indeed.
If you’ve seen good marketing in the education category, I’d love to see it.
Advertising Agency: FabraQuinteiro Comunicações, São Paulo, Brazil
Creative Directors: Paschoal Fabra Neto, Marcelo Aragão
Art Director: Bruno Cirello
Copywriter: Ricardo Frezza
Photographer: Marcelo Ribeiro
Image Retouch: Fernando Vido, Burti HD
Published: November 2007
In the three minute video below, direct marketing copywriting guru Herschell Gordon Lewis attacks an undecipherable email, then shares how Mary Had a Little Lamb would have turned out had the email author written it.
I’m sure you are wondering what “The Godfather of Gore” has to do with this. Well, this is really a second career for Lewis. Here’s the first paragraph of his Wikipedia profile:
Herschell Gordon Lewis (born 15 June 1929, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.) is an American filmmaker, best known for creating the “splatter film” subgenre of horror. He is often called the “Godfather of Gore”, though his film career included works in a range of exploitation film genres including juvenile delinquent films, rural-themed comedies, nudie-cuties and even two children’s films.
Doh!
Proof positive that great ideas are all around us, sometimes from the people we’d least expect.
So, what’s the strangest place you’ve ever received a great piece of marketing advice?
Comment below to weigh in.
. . .
Inspiration from the this post came from Shel Horowitz at Principled Profit. Thanks, Shel!
Google’s initial success was due to the fact that they eliminated nearly everything from the search page. Remember what search engines looked like before Google? So often, less is more. Two ideas are better than three. But one idea is best.
Some claim this sound bite was the single most important quote by either candidate during the 1984 Presidential election. It completely neutralized all concerns regarding Ronald Reagan’s age and quashed all hopes that Walter Mondale might beat the incumbent.
What are your key messages? Can you state them clearly and convincingly?
6. Replace the “elevator pitch” with the “pass in the hall” test.
Increase your photography budget, use stock photography that doesn’t look like stock photography, and don’t be afraid to hire a professional photographer.
Great photos are a marketing asset worth having.
8. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what’s a video worth?
If you were forced to walk to the nearest source of water—a river, a stream, a pond—on foot, how far would you have to travel?
And how would it make you feel—deep down—if you had to give your children dirty water to drink after all that?
That’s the simple but powerful premise of the above charity: water public service announcement (PSA).
As New York City’s taps go dry, a mother walks to Central Park and is forced to haul dirty water home to her family.
Just as millions of mothers do in Africa every day.
Here’s what charity: water is working to solve
Right now, 1.1 Billion people on the planet don’t have access to safe, clean drinking water. That’s one in six of us.
Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation causes 80% of all sickness and disease, and kills more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Many people in the developing world, usually women and children, walk more than three hours every day to fetch water that is likely to make them sick. Those hours are crucial, preventing many from working or attending school. Additionally, collecting water puts them at greater risk of sexual harassment and assault. Children are especially vulnerable to the consequences of unsafe water. Of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation, 90% are children under 5 years old.
Great marketing with no excuses
So many non-profits use their non-profit status as a crutch, calling in favors to create their marketing and communications materials. Usually, their marketing looks like, well, they’ve called in some favors to create their marketing and communications materials.
That’s not the case with charity: water.
The organization has worked their connections and managed to pull together some top-shelf work. For the video, award-winning cinematographer Ellen Kurasbuts, Hotel Rwanda director Terry George, and Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly all donated their time to the effort.
Their website is better than most commercial companies.
Their branding, messaging, copy, photography….are all playing well together.
And if you think they spending donations on marketing, think again. 100% of all donations are being put to use. All work is being done in-kind.
Bottled water?
But why are they selling bottled water, when bottled water is terrible for the environment? They’ve tackled that one head on on their Isn’t bottled water evil? page:
Question: “Isn’t bottled water evil? Why are you using plastic water bottles?”
Bottled water has gotten plenty of bad press lately. The industry is now $16 billion a year, and 38 billion plastic bottles get tossed into landfills each year. And 24% of all bottled water is actually just tap water repackaged by Coke and Pepsi.
What could be worse? We think the fact that 1 in 6 people on our planet are forced to drink polluted water is worse. We think seeing 4,500 kids die each day from diseases like parasites and diarrhea is worse.
We are not a bottled water company. We want to give everyone on earth access to the same clean, safe drinking water that comes out of our taps. Our $20 bottle was created in response to the gratuitous excess of wealth and waste we see everywhere. There’s nothing special about the actual bottle. We pay 34¢ for each one, and the water comes from a spring in upstate New York. What is special, is what that $20 does for people in need. Early on, we pledged to always give 100% of the money away – very much unlike for-profit companies whose bottom line matters most.
There are hundreds of non-profits and for-profit organizations using bottled water as a tool to raise money for worthy causes. But charity: water is doing it better than any of them.
What’s the best PSA you’ve ever seen? In the non-profit space, who ‘gets it’ when it comes to marketing?
Before you read ahead, play the video below and take the test. You won’t need paper or pencil, just your full concentration. It will take you one minute.
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This is powerful in so many ways.
It’s short and simple: One video. One minute long. 30 words. No fancy graphics. Just a single powerful message.
It engages you. It’s almost impossible to not participate once you’ve started watching
You are rewarded for paying attention
It’s word of mouth worthy – you want to share it.
The budget was tiny
British accents are just so cool
Okay, maybe the last item is a stretch, but this video is more proof that execution is important, but the best idea wins.
This video has a message for any marketer trying to break through the clutter today. “It’s easy to miss something you’re not looking for” applies to your marketing.
Think about it: When someone is reading that magazine you’re advertising in, are they looking for your ad?
Nope. They’re there for the content. They’re counting the number of passes the white team makes.
And I’m pretty sure your ad isn’t as entertaining as a moonwalking bear.
