So, after all the partying, hangovers, reminiscing and resolutions; we are greeted by the daily grind.
In advertising, that means more last minute rush jobs, late nights, over-the-weekend special bonuses and new business pitches. No one said it was going to be easy, but I think we addies somehow enjoy the pain.
Here’s to another year of adver-chaos, no matter where you are. But for us in Boleh-land, don’t worry, CNY is just round the corner. You just got to love Malaysia sometimes!
Possibly what you can expect all over again this year, thanks to Advergirl:
Suddenly, on a late Friday afternoon..But, but... it's the weekend?All hands, heads, legs on deck!Who's paying the pizza guy?And they actually bought it; really?
I must admit it; I was rather cheesed of with Maxis to start with. And then they go and air that stupid ad claiming they put customer service first. Of course, I sharpened my pencil and gave them a piece of my mind lah.
Maybe I was slightly rash and less eloquent in that post. And since this is a blog about marketing communications; let’s see what really went wrong with Maxis in that perspective.
Screws come in many shapes and sizes. So who's screwing you?
Here’s what my favourite branding blog – Brand Strategy Insider – had to say about Brand Arrogance.
“Consumers don’t value brands; they value the idea the brand represents to them. This idea will always be worth more than the product, or the actual bricks and mortar of the business enterprise. When marketers behave arrogantly, the value of the idea people care about is instantly diminished. And once this happens, the road to redemption is long, difficult and expensive”
Simply put, you like a brand not because the logo is red or that the product is great. Consumers actually value the personality that the brand projects more than anything else.
It makes sense because telcos offer essentially similar products and services. But what made you choose Maxis or Digi or Celcom? Think about it.
It’s like making new friends. You only click with certain types of people; as you do with brands. But once a ‘friend’ crosses you, it becomes really hard to be good friends again. There is just something intrinsic about this process that science can’t explain.
Once you screw up with a customer (especially a loyal one), you usually have to work really hard to win him over again. And most times, the defected customer will never return.
There’s a classic Direct Marketing adage that goes like this:
It’s more profitable to retain a loyal customer, than to attract new customers
For all the advertising and promotions brands conduct to conquest new customers, why not sincerely care for existing customers instead? Those who are already customers may even advocate the brand to their friends and family for free.
And we all know nothing beats the power of word-of-mouth communication.
Clearly Maxis does not see it that way. I guess we are nothing but Ringgit signs that make their cash registers go Ka-Ching!
Even Amazon – one of the world’s largest web retailers – is using an age-old direct marketing technique to sell on its homepage; the humble sales letter.
Most people think direct marketing is junk mail, especially the letter, who the hell would want to read a boring, wordy letter?
Then why would Amazon post-up a sales letter – the longest one I’ve seen online – right in the middle of its homepage?
Click to enlarge >>>
No, the people at Amazon have not gone nuts.
They just know that if you want to sell, then there is no other marketing discipline that works harder, more effectively and for a fraction of the cost than direct marketing.
In this case a piece of eloquently written letter signed by Jeff Bezos, carefully targeted to those who’ve previously bought books at Amazon (I think), promoting the new Kindle Fire.
I think this is a brilliant demonstration of how direct marketing – via a single sales letter – can still work online amidst far aesthetically superior interactive communication methods.
Right smack in the middle of the homepage... a letter!
A few of my observations:
Note that a catchy, punchy or hard-sell headline is non-existent. Amazon must have really gone nuts, huh?
The letter starts with a story about how they are cheaper, without sounding cheap; a story well told in these economically uncertain times
Paragraphs after paragraphs of honest, friendly tone of voice supported by hard product features and facts
The Founder and CEO’s signature reassures the reader that the claims in this letter are not empty promises
The letter ends with a postscript or PS; which most ‘experts’ think is useless. It is proven that the PS is the most read element of a letter after the headline and first line of copy
So DM detractors of the world, if Amazon’s letter-based sales pitch is anything to go by, then direct marketing still rules.
The concept is mind-blowing. The art direction will make one cry. The copy could sell a bootleg DVD to a Unifi user. But if you disregard what should be the superstar of any piece of communication, then even the greatest creative could become B-grade.
This critical ad element is called a Call-to-Action; and you’re losing potential customers if you don’t have a strong one.
Believe it or not, consumers want to be told what to do. Dance boy, dance... ACTION!
The purpose of almost all marketing communications is to make people do something: call, SMS, walk-in, log-on, click or purchase. The thing is if you want someone to take a specific action, you actually have to ask them to take that specific action.
Yes, this belief is borne from my many years as a direct response copywriter. But here are recent researches on the matter to help illustrate why a strong call-to-act is important:
1. A research done by Marketing Sherpa to their e-newsletter readers show that a specific call-to-act increased response by over 8%.
Click-through Rates on different Call-to-acts:
“Click to Continue” = 8.35% “Continue to Article” = 3.3%
“Read More” = -1.8%
2. A research done by University of Connecticut asked 2 groups of people to mail back a stack of 30 post cards, 1 each for 30 days.
– The first group was given the request while under hypnosis
– The second group were just asked nicely
The result? The second group mailed back more postcards, which goes to prove that people will usually do as they are asked; as long as you ask nicely of course.
And this is true across all media; be it print, TV, web, social, radio, BTL, POS and what-have-you. Clear, powerful calls-to-action can make or break a campaign.
Ask and you shall be given. Now share this post with a zillion people, please? Don’t make me hypnotize you!
When it comes to marketing, doing what everyone else is doing is a recipe for disaster. So screw what everyone else is doing if you want to stand out from all the monotonous clutter out there.
Yes, granted, sometimes copycat marketing works. But doing so will only get you a share of an existing pie but will not make you your own pie. If you’re saying what your competitors are already saying, then you are just another business saying the same old shit in the eyes of the consumer. There’s no strong reason for consumers to buy from you, and only you.
Copycat marketing is as old and battered as the Roman Colosseum
It’s quite common where something printed, that was on air or seen online is made as a basis for drafting your own communications. I mean it is okay to emulate, but never imitate. A few examples:
1. If you’re selling energy drinks: instead of saying “gives you energy” say “makes others lazy”
2. If you’re selling cars: instead of saying “travel in comfort” say “it’s like you never left home”
3. If you’re selling pizzas: instead of saying “the best-tasting pizza” say “tastes like a real pizza”
4. If you’re selling beers: instead of saying “refreshing, satisfying brew” say “never satisfying, if you stop at one”
5. If you’re selling handmade cookies: instead of saying “handmade every step of the way” say “machine-hating cookies”
Let’s face it. If you’re selling something, chances are someone else is selling pretty much the same thing too. Anything opposite of what your competitor is saying, something that evokes a little curiosity or perhaps adds on to what is already being said is good to go.
All the better if your product has that one Unique Selling Proposition (USP) that none of your competitors can’t live up to. But that’s a product issue, which goes to reiterate the fact that even the best marketing can’t sell a lousy product.
And don’t be afraid to change up when it’s not working; at least you won’t be called a failed copycat.
The thing is I am angry. Yes, angry. Not cheesed-off, neither dissatisfied nor unhappy. I am mad. I created this blog so that I can have an opinion. And have a freaking opinion I will
You know, I wanted this post to be a meaningful, heartfelt review of my online escapades of 2010. About how I made a humble yet determined start to create an online presence, which culminated in this site being listed on Page 1 on Google if you’d searched “Copywriter Malaysia”; for a very brief period that is. But screw that and let’s get down to business.
In my 12 years in the advertising industry, I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. And I’ve also seen many more committed by brands, marketers, agencies, advertisers and the like. And among all the mistakes; the biggest most unforgivable sin that a brand or company can make is taking their customers for granted.
And I have recently been given the middle finger by a company/brand that I’ve been loyal to for 12 years.
Ask any direct marketer worth his salt and he will tell you that once you become a customer, you should immediately be put into a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) programme. And most of the time, it doesn’t take much to keep a customer. A hello once in a while, maybe a small discount for purchase and perhaps a free gift or two; if budget permits of course.
The point is you want to keep your existing customer happy or at least contented. Just to let them know that they are valued for the business they’ve been diligently giving to you. And as long as customers know they enjoy just that little bit more than non-customers, everything should be well and good.
So for 12 years I was a happy camper with Maxis. No real issues or crisis-like situations, I simply got what I paid for. And then one day, I stumbled upon the fact that I was paying RM30 more than new customers for their broadband service. I was surprised and honestly thought that this was a small problem that their customer service will easily fix. Boy was I wrong!
Things between me and Maxis turned sour... oh lemons!
Here’s the gist of the conversation:
Me: Hello, Maxis Customer Service?
MCS: Yes sir, how may I help you?
Me: Well, I’m just wondering why I’m paying the old price of RM98 for 3GB broadband whereas new customers only pay RM68?
MCS: Well, you must be still under contract sir?
Me: No, my contract ended just last month. Correct?
MCS: Yes, sir your contract has ended.
Me: So why am I not enjoying the reduced price of RM68 for the 3GB package?
MCS: Well sir, you purchased the package for RM98, so you will have to pay that amount indefinitely.
Me: What?! Nonsense! Are you telling me that new customers can enjoy the new price but old customers still have to pay the higher price?
MCS: Yes sir.
Me: So what do I have to do to enjoy the RM68 price?
MCS: Well you have to terminate your current broadband account and return the modem. Then register again to enjoy the RM68 price.
Me: (not believing this shit!) Errr… you mean I have to cancel and register for the same thing over again?
MCS: Yes sir, that’s the only way.
Me: Errrr… (WTF!… lost for words, hang up)
If the price of a good or service goes up, I don’t see any company saying “oh, you can still pay the old, prior-to-increase price because you have a contract”. They don’t just make the new customers pay the increased price while the existing customers pay the old, under-contract price. But when the price is reduced, every effort is undertaken to make it difficult for old customers to enjoy the new reduced rates.
We don’t even have to look at this from a marketing, CRM or customer service point of view here; just see it based on freaking common sense! Some of my friends claim that I am a bit of a diva here. They say I should just go to the Maxis Centre and re-register to enjoy the reduced rates. But why the fuck should I? I don’t want to go along with the idiotic process of re-registering for the same bloddy thing because that would make me a bigger idiot.
Maxis is seriously deluded and very arrogant to think that I would succumb to their plain bullying. I think I am going to the Maxis Centre after all, but the re-registering will certainly happen someplace else. Yes, I think I’m going to take my business (Broadband + Principal Mobile Line + 2 Supplementary Lines) elsewhere because loyalty obviously doesn’t matter.
P.S. I gave Maxis close to 3 months to explain themselves, during which time I’ve been letting my RM30 a month go down the drain. After contacting their Customer Service, I recently raised the issue in their Facebook Page (with my name and account number). I have since received no acknowledgement whatsoever… not even a squeak.
It’s not always about being the biggest, strongest, longest, smartest, fastest or other chest-thumping claims. Some brands – especially start ups – can and should take the humble route in their communications.
Everyone loves an underdog:
Rocky Balboa: an unknown prize fighter who took on the champion
Frodo Baggins: the least expected carrier of the One, precious ring
Jake Sully: the wheelchair-bound savior of the Na’vi alien race in Avatar
Or in Malaysian brand terms:
Perodua: introduced the diminutive Kancil and is now the No.1 automaker
Ramly Burger: started from a mobile kiosk and now a household name
MarryBrown: took on the fast food giants and now has over 200 outlets regionally
The pint-size, often ridiculed Kancil; paved the way for Perodua to become the nation's top automaker.
An underdog’s tone and manner is always relevant and relatable because each and every one of us have been dismissed as not worth it (or underdogged) in the past. And we always like to hear stories where the protagonist goes against the odds or does something beyond his or her means to save the day.
One good example of this is the still-classic advertising campaign for Avis Car Rental. In 1963, Avis launched a campaign declaring “We’re Only No.2, We Try Harder”. In my books, a headline can’t get any better that this: it tells the truth, it immediately promises a benefit and it puts a smile on your face.
Needless to say, the campaign knocked the then No.1 Hertz Rent-a-Car from the top spot. And even to this very day, Hertz has to live with the stigma of being one-upped by Avis. In fact, I don’t think they really recovered from the “punch” in Avis’ tagline.
However, an underdog claim not only has to tell the truth, but must also be able to act the part. You can’t be an established, top player in your business category talk about the hardships you face. It’ll be like De Beers explaining the adversities of extracting diamonds from war torn Sierra Leone. Believable? Not in a million years.
Could a piece of advertising communication really kill? I am not interested in ads that have made a killing in the creative circle or anything like that. I’m thinking about ads that could really land someone in ICU or worse, 6 feet deep.
Yes, I am talking about ads that can literally kill. We all know how bad advertising can be sometimes: misleading, over-promising, irrelevant, annoying, irritating, in-your-face, and the list goes on. But those kinds of ads can be easily ignored, and wouldn’t cause more than an inconvenience.
Excuse my morbidity, but I have been fascinated by this subject matter for quite a while now. Simply because I am quite certain that the act of creating ads can be seriously injurious to health, to the extent of being fatal. Surely many of those who make ads have given their lives to the rumble and tumble of the industry, and continue to do so to this very day.
If an ad can kill the makers, it should be able to take down an audience or two. Could someone – while taking in the aesthetic beauty of an ad, made by the very people who literally give up their lives for it – actually meet their maker?
I think I have found an answer in this wonderful billboard for Wonderbra:
Errrrr... excuse me, but the full effect could be deadly.
You see, it’s a 3D billboard that depicts a very ecstatic model decked out in a Wonderbra . The thing is, if you put on a pair of 3D glasses and view the billboard, it actually accentuates the model’s boobs. I must give the guys who created this visually pleasing billboard the thumbs up… well done!
But then they go and place this billboard at a busy intersection in central London. Now, all it needs is some idiot to drive pass, clumsily trying to put on a pair of 3D glasses, and then crash into oncoming traffic. The full effect will indeed be experienced.
That’s it isn’t it? The full circle of making a sale, and perhaps earn a few more leads at the end of it. No complicated marketing or advertising mumbo jumbo; just plain clear and simple.
It's a deal!
Whether you’re selling a product, writing copy, pitching for a new client or looking for a girl/boyfriend (minus Refer of course), these steps could help you close the deal or at least put you in the right path:
Know You
I remember in college when A.I.D.A. was drummed into my skull. Getting Attention, then creating Interest, which leads to Desire and ultimately Action in the form of a purchase. But for AIDA to work, the prospect must Know You or better still Like You. Would you pay attention to someone you don’t know, no matter how hard he’s trying to get your attention? Even of you do, would you actually buy from him? So for a sale to happen, you must take the effort to introduce yourself to your prospects. And if they want to Know You more, then you begin to work on the next step.
Like You
Okay. Now your prospects know who you are. It’s time to develop the relationship and get them to Like You. Freebies are good, but not a great way as most prospects can see through your gimmick. You should instead begin to persuade them in a compelling manner with hard facts thrown in. Anticipate a problem that requires solving or a need that has to be filled. If a prospect likes what she’s hearing, she’ll most probably begin to Like You as well.
Trust You
Trust is a powerful influencing factor. You can get people to join a cause, divulge their innermost feelings, get into bed with you and of course, spend their money buying your product or service. But just because someone Likes You, doesn’t mean he or she Trusts You. Here’s where the saying “Seeing is Believing” comes into play. Any form of visual representation of your product or service in action could do wonders to alter your prospects perception. Testimonials or endorsements are also good, as others’ trusting behavior could lead your prospects by example.
Contact You
When someone, on their own accord gets in touch with you, then you’ve pretty much done the job. Your prospects may Contact You for a number of reasons: to enquire, take up an offer and hopefully to purchase. The ball is now at your court to live up to their expectation: either by solving a problem or fulfilling a need. No hard-sell is required at this stage (or any of the previous steps for that matter) as your prospect – believe it or not – Knows You, Likes You and Trusts You. Now, it’s all about turning your prospects into customers by giving them exactly what they want.
Refer You
This is the bonus round so to speak. You can do without it, but it will be such a waste. Because referrals are great for building trust. More often than not, you can skip the Know You, Like You and sometimes Trust You steps through referrals. If a satisfied customer passes the word to his friends about your wonderful product or service, then your job becomes so much easier. Peer to peer “word of mouth” is still the most effective form of advertising, nothing beats it, nothing ever will.
My previous post got me thinking. Since advertising is among the least trusted professions, what form of advertising would be the most trusted? Yes, I agree that there is a sense of irony in the question, but it is a question worth asking.
If you’ve read some of my older posts, I talked about how the internet is changing the ad game. How what was hard and fast rules are being re-written. And how the advertising of the future may not look like an ad at all. I even went as far as to predict the demise of advertising as we know it in perhaps just a few years.
Recently I stumbled upon this piece of research from Nielsen:
The most and least trusted forms of advertising
The first on the list, garnering an exceptional 90%, are consumers who trusted recommendations from people they know. Well that’s quite a no-brainer. Peer-to-peer, word-of-mouth communications will and always be the most powerful form of advertising.
It’s the second and third on the list that’s quite interesting. Online consumer opinions and brand websites are the most trusted form of advertising, in an un-trustworthy industry. The 70% score is way better than the traditional TV and print ads. The poll results do seem credible. When was the last time you were convinced by a 30-sec TVC or a FPFC Centre-spread? But I bet you remember the last time you checked out a product or service online after your friend said something about it on Facebook though.
I now have proof that online consumers, especially in a social media setting, will become the holy grail of advertisers in the future. And I can also console myself that I am at least in the positive end of the advertising industry, where people trust my copy just a little bit more.
