This print ad will have John Caples spinning in his grave.

In printed advertising the headline is the most important part of the overall design.

It must get the attention of your target audience, shaking them out of whatever it is they are thinking and making them read your advertisement. And it has to engage him or her to carry on reading the rest of the advertisement too, which might be written to make the reader take some kind of action.
Research by the late advertising legend John Caples highlights that headlines, and advertising messages in general, can be broken down into three types:
1, Self interest.
Statistically the most successful. These typically use the word ‘you’ a lot and really talk to the reader. And after all, we are all human and want to know what’s in it for us.

2, Announcing news
People love news and being informed of new things. This is particularly true in business-to-business advertising where professionals are always looking to improve their specific knowledge or keep up to date with technological advances.
3, Curiosity
Statistically the least successful headlines but nonetheless they can still be effective. These advertisements try to arouse your targets curiosity to make them read on.
So look at the advertisement below that was kindly brought to my attention by law firm marketing expert Stephen Fairley. It’s for Godwin Ronquillo PC, a law firm based in Dallas and Houston, USA.

To be honest I can’t really tell if this is printed on an outdoor space or is a static image on a TV screen. Nonetheless , it says absolutely nothing. It’s all about the advertiser not the potential client. And even then, it doesn’t really say much about them either.

I wonder if this advertisement was conceived by a marketing expert or a lawyer? I have a sneaky feeling it was created by the stars of the show, none other than Mr Godwin and Mr Ronquillo themselves.

Stephen Fairley is based in the USA. And I think Godwin Ronquillo PC could do a lot worse than give him a call.

I’ve created lots of press adverts, outdoor and direct mail, but this is my first cinema effort. And I’m pretty happy with it too.

It will be played before every feature film shown during Summer Nights, a fantastic cinema initiative by Derby Quad which brings classic and contemporary films together with fabulous locations throughout Derbyshire. All presented on a giant screens.

Flint Bishop is the headline sponsor of Summer Nights and as part of a wider promotional mix we get to show an advertisement before each film. And I decided the best way forward was to capture the essence of the festival whilst communicating the Flint Bishop brand delicately.

So I shied away from ‘over killing’ our credentials and services as, to be honest, I think this would just irritate people and give a negative, rather than positive, feeling.

I’m pretty happy with the results and a big thank you to Phil Higgins, the Digital Producer at Derby based independent design studio Katapult.

I’d love to know what you think?

http://tinyurl.com/74z9gpn

What is ambush marketing? And will brands add it to their promotional mix for this years’ Olympics and UEFA European Football Championships?

In answer to the first question in my title, ambush marketing is when a brand intentionally tries to make itself seem associated with an event for which it has purchased no rights and is not an official sponsor.

Typically, due to large TV audiences and human attendees, these events tend to be sports related – and to a lesser degree music.

The reasons brands use ambush marketing as part of their promotional mix varies. For instance some choose to do it to attack rivals; whist for others it’s a way to gain awareness and engagement using meagre marketing funds – stealing impact from their bigger, richer competitors.

But no matter what the strategy is behind the tactic – it is both creative and parasitic in equal measure.

And there have been lots of examples of this in recent years. For example:

On a major road leading to the 2008 French Open tennis tournament in Paris, sports brand K-Swiss parked a car that appeared to have been squashed by a giant K-Swiss-branded tennis ball. Across the street, a K-Swiss van distributed gifts and marketing materials highlighting the brand and its involvement with tennis.

But the problem was that K-Swiss was not an official tournament sponsor and hadn’t paid a penny for involvement – yet managed to get some great awareness and engagement with the public.

15 Love to them then!

And ambush marketing can create a David and Goliath effect too

This is because if the brand doing the ambushing is significantly smaller than the official sponsor, as it was in the K-Swiss example, the public often side with the small guy! Particularly if the big guy stops the small guy giving something away for free. After all, who doesn’t like something for nothing?

But ambushing a major event doesn’t have to include free giveaways to be successful.

For example in 1992 American Express launched an advertising campaign using images and scenes from Barcelona – which was the host city of the Summer Olympics held in that year.

Their adverts were accompanied by the line “You don’t need a visa to visit Spain”.

This was of course American Express’ attempt to ambush the Olympics, shifting impact away from the games official sponsor, and their major rival, Visa.

Although I should point out that, far from being proud of the tactic, American Express denied any wrong doing, stating that the adverts did not directly refer to the Olympics and was not an attempt at an ambush.

And of course, who could forget those clever marketing people at Dutch beer brand Bavaria for their cunning marketing stunt during the Holland versus Denmark game during the South Africa World Cup Finals – click here to read more

But brands should consider their long-term impact on events

This is because major brands, who see their ROI diminished by successful ambushes, might simply withdraw from spending millions on official sponsorship. And let’s be honest, if this kind of marketing tactic isn’t stamped out, why should they invest their money? And without these large sponsorship deals, major events may suffer from a severe lack of funds.

So will brands use ambush marketing at this years sports events?

My money is on yes.

A great example of how not to convert a hot lead into a sale

Last week I was doing some research for an online training tool I’m developing. I contacted a company that have a very similar product to the one I want – in fact I’m pretty much stealing their idea.

They were very courteous and generous with their information and gave me the contact details of the company that built their tool.

As most folk do these days, the first thing I did was visit their website for more background information. And the website was pretty good as it happens. In fact within about 3 clicks I got the name and number of their Marketing Manager, and on top of that, it also had a big photo of her smiley face too. Next to her face were the words “If you would like to talk to me for a free and no obligation quote please give me a call.

And this is where it all went wrong!

As when I telephoned the Marketing Manager two things happened:

1. Firstly she said to me that nobody at her firm was called the name I’d asked for. After about 30 seconds of confusion I realised something. She was being incredibly sarcastic as I’d pronounced her surname slightly wrong. In my defence she has an unusual surname.

2. To add insult to injury the second thing she did was truly amazing. As she demanded, in a very aggressive tone, that I explain “What on earth I wanted from her as she was busy and where I’d got her details from”. I responded, politely, that I was inquiring to see if she was interested in building me a training tool for my £20k budget. And I quickly followed that up with “But I am no longer interested in talking with you”. I then put the phone down.

If you are in the business of selling things, and most businesses are in one way or another, I suggest you get polite and helpful people to answer your telephone. Not rude ones that lose you sales – and in this case that sale was £20k.

Also, don’t employ people that are so full of their own importance that a conversation with them almost makes you vomit.

Unfortunately such people are common in marketing roles.

Rant over.

A great and completely free marketing planning and strategy app.

When I was studying for my Chartered Institute of Marketing qualifications a website that I used constantly was Mindtools. The website gives templates and easy to follow explanations on tools like the BCG, ANSOFF and Porters Five Forces.

I recently found out they had a completely free Mindtools App which I downloaded from the App Store. I’m not sure if they have released it on Android but I guess they would have.

Anyway I just thought I’d give it a plug as you might find it useful. If you’d like it you can download it from here.

Carl

This should help you get more sales. Apparently it’s the greatest sales letter of all time.

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I’m ok at marketing. But what I’m really trying to do is get better at developing direct marketing. And to clarify, what I mean by direct marketing is communications that make the recipient actually do something that I want them to – rather than chuck my messages straight into their trash!

That ‘something’ might be to call me for a discussion, attend an event or instantly buy what I am selling.

To get better I’m using the age-old method of study. I’m reading anything and everything I can get my hands on. Preferred texts so far have been written by Drayton Bird, Chris Fill and David Ogilvy. However during a recent internet search I found what was described as “The greatest sales letter of all time”. This grand statement was followed by an even grander one “This letter has generated over $2 billion in revenue for The Wall Street Journal”.

I’ve read it. In fact I’ve read it several times. So what do I think of it? Well if I’ve learned anything during my study so far it’s this.  It doesn’t really matter what I think of it. What really matters is if it works or not. And to quote Chris Fill, direct marketing communications should always be “recipient-centric”. And given that I’m not, and probably never will be, an intended recipient of the letter – my opinion is worthless.

Anyhow, if you’d like to read it to help you develop direct marketing messages and stop your letters and emails being trashed within seconds of being received, you can download here for free: The Wall Street Journal Sales Letter

Mick Jagger couldn’t get it. But this might help you give it. Free literature review of satisfaction in the legal market.

Good, if not great, customer service is as the very heart of marketing. There has been tons of academic writing on the subject and one of the leaders in this area is Professor Sally Dibb of the Open University.

In simple terms, if your customer service exceeds customer expectations (which will be based on your marketing mix and communications) you’ll push people up the loyalty ladder so they become ‘advocates’.

The reason for wanting advocates is simple. They move past being repeat purchasers of your service (which is pretty good anyway) to becoming insistent on only buying from you – therefore making you more money!  And if that wasn’t enough, they also become walking advertisements for you too – telling anyone that will listen just how good you are and why they should buy from you too.

Want proof of advocate power? Just think about the people you know who buy Apple iphones. The only thing they do more than talk about them is play with them.

On the other end of this spectrum is my father-in-law who will only go into pubs in Nottingham that sell Castle Rock beer brands. Castle Rock, by the way, is a fantastic example of great marketing. The pub market seems to have been shrinking by the day as our nation seems to prefer getting drunk at home with half price bottles of wine from Tesco than going down the pub.

However Castle Rock, a Nottingham based micro brewery and small pub chain, has developed a real niche and reputation for quality real ales (award winning I think), great quality grub and traditionally decorated pubs that attract nice folk. They are by no means the cheapest pubs around but their business seems to be booming.

I’m sure you could analyse their offering with Porters Three Routes to market, as their model seems to be based on focus and differentiation – but I might be wrong.

Anyhow, I am currently talking to a research consultancy about a project for Flint Bishop which I think would increase customer satisfaction and build on our differentiation.   The consultancy, called Customer Plus, recently sent me a helpful literature review of client satisfaction in the legal sector which is a short and interesting read.

Download free literature review of client satisfaction in the legal sector.

PS: A word of warning on customer service. Always remember that no matter how many polished marketing communications messages you give, just one bad experience will undo the lot. Period.

PPS: If you want to find any gaps in your customer service perception and the reality of the actual experience you deliver, SERVQUAL is a good start.

Cathy Pacific AD campaign pulled containing uber ironic slogan.

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The Hong Kong based airline has recently delayed a high profile advertising campaign, due to launch next month, after photographs of crew members allegedly engaging in a sexual act were published on the internet.

The slogan for the campaign was to be: “Meet the team who go after the extra mile to make you feel special.”

You couldn’t make it up!

Advertising on a woman’s arse is fine, just don’t encourage people to take photos!

Advertising is everywhere in modern society. From TV, magazines and billboards to the internet, back of bus tickets or someone’s forehead! Put simply, wherever potential customers look, marketers will stick an advert.

Therefore I was interested in the recent story, and criticism, about Britain’s top-ranked female beach volleyball team selling advertising space on the back of their bikini bottoms.

Betfair, the world’s largest Internet betting exchange, has apparently paid £10k to advertise a barcode which, when photographed with a smartphone, takes the user to the company’s website.

In reaction to this Sian Norris of the Bristol Feminist Network commented: “Do we want these women to be seen as athletes or are they walking advertising billboards?

I find this comment stupid at best. Money makes the world go round. Period.

Take a look at almost every sport you can think of and you’ll see advertising in all kinds of places – and most of these sports people probably don’t need the money half as much as our beach volleyball team.

For example you can stick your advert on:

• The breeches and boots of jockeys.
• Waistcoats worn by snooker players.
• Anti-glare strips worn under the eyes of cricketers

In fact when my good friend Kelvin Eatherington was marketing manager of a law firm in Barnsley, he turned-down the opportunity of advertising on the back of Barnsley Football Club’s shorts for the FA Cup semi-final match against Cardiff City at Wembley. Given the amount of publicity this gave CK Beckett, the firm that eventually did buy the ad space, he’s regretted it ever since.

A quick look online also shows tons of advertising all over bikinis worn by female volleyball players for brands including Nivea, Visa and Gillette – not to mention branding for the manufacturers like Speedo, Nike and others.

This is a great PR stunt for Betfair and their marketing team. I guess their £10k investment for the advertising space has been paid back 10-fold by the public relations coverage they have gained!

For me the real problem here is not sticking advertising in places where people look, it’s encouraging people to take photos of woman’s arses!

English and Welsh lawyers are waking up to a new competitive threat. It’s called bullshit, also known as PR.

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Law firms inEnglandandWalesare preparing themselves for battle. In October this year the Alternative Business Structure comes into force, opening up the market to a new glut of competition. 

In addition to this, and the seemly increasing number of unqualified Will writers and employment law charlatans exchanging crap advice for hard earned money, is QualitySolicitors. This is to my knowledge the UK’s first legal franchise which is being fronted by everyone’s favorite TV show panel judge for the mentally ill –  Amanda Holden.

The QualitySolicitors concept has taken a hammering from the legal world who, by and large, feel they are cheapening the profession. Whist there is a real danger of this, most comments I have read by lawyers could be translated into: “we’re scared and don’t know what to do.”  

I actually think that their approach, and that of the Alternative Business Structures, might result in law firms taking an objective look at themselves and sharpening their own marketing efforts. In addition law firms might benefit, by which I mean make more sales, by ‘piggybacking’ on the back of a general increase in awareness of the need for their services – for instance that 4 out of 5 people still don’t have a Will.

Anyhow, aside all that, law firms will start to understand just what a dog-eat-dog world we live in and how marketing can have a massive impact on their fortunes. This brings me on to my main point, public relations. A marketing tool that wields huge power but is very rarely used to full impact by law firms.

This is clearly not the case at QualitySolicitors. A couple of weeks back Amanda Holden appeared on ITV1’s This Morning programme promoting the brand she is paid to. She apparently commented: “You can walk into WHSmith… there is a list that is now recommended by the public, for the public, of solicitors who are kosher, who are not going to rip you off and who can help you. And it’s completely free, you get advice free and then you can get any information you need.”

Asked who drew up the list of solicitors, she suggested QualitySolicitors had official Law Society backing as she continued: “There’s a governing body for solicitors and what they’ve done is they’ve gone to each town, they’ve picked the best solicitor from each town so there’s not a whole load of them and they’ve done a survey, they’ve contacted the clients… listened to the feedback, picked the cream of the crop and put them on that QualitySolicitors list.”

This is bullshit of the highest order that has got thousands of solicitors up-and-down the land moaning on websites and contacting the law society to issue a clarification.

However law firms need to wake up as this is how the competitive world of business works. At every opportunity businesses try to get valuable media coverage, preferable via a celebrity, to promote their brands even if what is being said is questionable. Even if an apology was made by QualitySolicitors or a clarification issued by the Law Society the message is out and the damage done. Now I am not condoning lying about your service and marketing proposition, I’m just being honest about the reality of business and the tactics used.  Law firms need to stop obsessing about competitors marketing efforts and look at how they are going to compete in a new competitive world.

Follow @carl_weston