|
2.
Translate that inherent drama into a meaningful benefit.
Always remember that people buy benefits, not features.
People do not buy shampoo; people buy great-looking or
clean or manageable hair. People do not buy cars; people
buy speed, status, style, economy, performance, and power.
Mothers of young kids do not buy cereal; they buy
nutrition, though many buy anything at all they can get
their kids to eat -- anything. So find the major benefit
of your offering and write it down. It should come
directly from the inherently dramatic feature. And even
though you have four or five benefits, stick with one or
two--three at most.
3. State
your benefits as believably as possible. There is a world
of difference between honesty and believability. You can
be 100 percent honest (as you should be) and people still
may not believe you. You must go beyond honesty, beyond
the barrier that advertising has erected by its tendency
toward exaggeration, and state your benefit in such a way
that it will be accepted beyond doubt. The company
producing Mother Nature breakfast cereal might say, "A
bowl of Mother Nature breakfast cereal provides your child
with almost as many vitamins as a multivitamin pill." This
statement begins with the inherent drama, turns it into a
benefit, and is worded believably. The word almost lends
believability.
4. Get
people's attention. People do not pay attention to
advertising. They pay attention only to things that
interest them. And sometimes they find those things in
advertising. So you've just got to interest them. And
while you're at it, be sure you interest them in your
product or service, not just your advertising. I'm sure
you're familiar with advertising that you remember for a
product you do not remember. Many advertisers are guilty
of creating advertising that's more interesting than
whatever it is they are advertising. But you can prevent
yourself from falling into that trap by memorizing this
line: Forget the ad, is the product or service
interesting?
5.
Motivate your audience to do something. Tell them to visit
the store, as the Mother Nature company might do. Tell
them to make a phone call, fill in a coupon, write for
more information, ask for your product by name, take a
test drive, or come in for a free demonstration. Don't
stop short. To make guerrilla marketing work, you must
tell people exactly what you want them to do.
6. Be
sure you are communicating clearly. You may know what
you're talking about, but do your readers or listeners?
Recognize that people aren't really thinking about your
business and that they'll only give about half their
attention to your ad--even when they are paying attention.
Knock yourself out to make sure you are putting your
message across. One hundred percent of the audience should
get the main point. The company might accomplish this by
stating in a headline or subhead, "Giving your kids Mother
Nature breakfast cereal is like giving your kids
vitamins--only tastier." Zero ambiguity is your goal.
7.
Measure your finished advertisement, commercial, letter,
or brochure against your creative strategy. The strategy
is your blueprint. If your ad fails to fulfill the
strategy, it's a lousy ad, no matter how much you love it.
Scrap it and start again. All along, you should be using
your creative strategy to guide you, to give you hints as
to the content of your ad. If you don't, you may end up
being creative in a vacuum. And that's not being creative
at all.
Copyright 2003, Guerrilla Marketing Association
Have a
wonderful and profitable week!
Jay
Jay Conrad Levinson
The Father of Guerrilla Marketing
|
|
