Products you once thought had nothing to do with the internet are now being connected. Trainers, cars, nappies. Usage information is going online, and this data is an opportunity to savvy advertisers – Google.
Google is experimenting with the future of advertising. It’s created Art, Copy & Code, a series of experiments with brands such as Volkswagen and Adidas. It’s worth watching the videos below to get an insight:
Communicate complicated issues simply and power will be rewarded, for example The Guardian’s wonderfully adept data blog.
Above, the image describes the UK deficit over the last 33 years. You can see what’s happened and who was responsible. One image turns what could have been a very long history lesson into an instant, tweetable story.
Two million people read The Sun every day for the same reason. Journalists there excel at transforming a very complicated story into one attention-grabbing, succinct headline. Within the industry, The Sun journalists are highly respected.
You need to do the same with your business. Describe the main value proposition in one sentence:
It doesn’t matter if your business also does many other things. Focus on one. Procter & Gamble don’t write,
Fairy Liquid: Good for cleaning. But we also do Gilette razors, Old Spice aftershave, Duracell batteries, Tampax and Pampers.
They create a brand a focus on one position. That’s it.
Explain it in one sentence. It’s not the consumer’s fault if they don’t ‘get it’. It’s yours for either timing it wrong, or communicating badly. Have a look at The Guardian’s data blog and learn how they turn big issues into compelling images. Then try it for yourself.
Words sell. Chosen carefully, these little things you are reading now can grow a business and earn you money.
Articles, newsletters, status updates, direct mail, leaflets, advertisements, taglines, brand names; they all consist of words. We are influenced and swayed by what we read and hear; so writers and speakers have power.
Sentence structure, paragraph length and syllables may sound like a yawn, but they are your tools. Psychological tricks also exist such as hyperlinking statements to make them seem like facts and, as Professor Martin Hickman, Standford University said, ‘use quotes from experts, doctors and professors to add credibility’ – even if it’s made up like this one is.
When writing your next blog post, status update and article, stop and ask yourself three questions:
Recently I’ve been working with the Industry Trust, increasing copyright awareness. You can read about the campaign here on The Drum, and watch behind-the-scenes of a photostunt we did with Gemma Atkinson.
Look out for the man with the flat cap! Video produced by Terry Church PR (my brother).
If you want your message to ripple across the pond of noise, you have to use an integrated communications strategy. It’s true in life that some people listen to the radio on the way to work whilst others watch TV before going to bed; Some pick up the newspaper on the train, others read Tweets. Focus solely on one channel, and you miss everyone else.
Unlike what most ‘modern marketers’ say these days, social media isn’t everything. 7 million people in the UK listen to BBC Radio 1 every morning and 2 million tuned in to Channel 4 to watch people getting high on Ecstasy live. There are so many more channels than just Twitter and Facebook.
To get across all of them, you have to create a narrative that will stick on TV, radio, newspaper, magazines, blogs and on social media. If you can make a message work well on each and every one, you’ve got a winner. So how do you go about doing that?
First, look inwards. Who are you trying to reach? Bring them in to your organisation and ask them to be a part of it. Ask the very people you’re trying to target to help you design the campaign. This in itself is a story – you could make it a competition and invite a relevant magazine to a behind-the-scenes exclusive.
Then invite bigger names to get involved; it’s kind of like getting sponsors for an event. If what you’re doing is noteworthy, you’ll pick up some interest from bigger brands (or individuals) quite easily. Don’t be afraid to pay for it either, celebrity endorsement is as common as odd socks. Partner with them and stand on their shoulders. This will open the media’s doors as they’re already interested.
Use everything as content. Get interviews on local radio and TV networks for your partners – ask them to talk about your message in return. Write press releases quoting the partners from the interviews: ‘As Tom Church recently said on Sky News…’ Send the releases to all news desks and relevant blogs (where possible, call first). Take pictures of your press cuttings, and share them (and/or links) on your social media channels.
If you’re really smart, you’ll get the last part to feed back into the top, keeping the conversation going and the ripples ever flowing. So when you’re thinking about how to get your message out there, don’t worry so much about what tools you’re going to use – whether it’s a Twitter account or on blogs – focus on your narrative and how it could work on every channel.
A testament to how much the company has changed.
I love how the picture above uses beautiful and simple graphics to amplify the message. Graphic design is an art, but also a tool. Love it.
Simple, compelling and clear. This advertisement from the UN says who they are and what they do.
Ask an advertising director who art directed a VW ad in 1989 and he’ll tell you.
Ask him who the director of the National Theatre is and he won’t know. Most advertising people live within the world of advertising.
- Paul Arden
Get out. Get out of whatever you’re working on right now. Ideas don’t get plucked out of thin air, they’re inspired. So find inspiration by doing something different.
If you constantly search in the same treasure box, you’ll constantly find the same treasure. Look elsewhere and you’ll find something new.
Most advertisers get their inspiration from looking at other advertisements. It’s no wonder they all look the same. Do you want to look the same?
Paul Arden’s book, It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be, is a quick read (2 hours) costing the same as a caffè latte. He was the Executive Creative Director in Saatchi & Saatchi for fifteen years and offers some insightful tips into becoming the best at what you do.
Great positioning and a well communicated message. This advertisement from Incredible India was modified and shown at all the relevant London Underground tube stations. With a similar concept to Coca-Cola’s it’s the real thing, it makes the viewer re-think their understanding of Elephant & Castle, and positions India in it’s place.
(For my global readers, Elephant & Castle is the name of a London Underground station).
