By Duane Sprague
A branding campaign is a series of similar ads with a
strategic continuity, usually four or more, each one like
a different chapter in the book. Each ad within the campaign
series, has the same tempo, feel, and direction. The Motel
6 branding campaign for example, with the legendary Tom
Bodett ran for at least 14 years on radio.
A true branding campaign provides the listener with a positive
mental image of the product, the experience, and the company/dealership.
The branding ad has credibility because it admits and addresses
how people already feel about the people in the business.
It doesn’t sugar coat and pretend away the perceptions
people have about car salespeople.
The branding ad also provides a mental escape, so it pulls
the listener in. Their defenses are down, their imagining
themselves in this wonderful experience, and before they
know it, it’s an ad for a dealership. But it’s
not pounding our chest, it’s all about what’s
in it for them. The experiences they will or can have. They
don’t care about us. They only care about themselves.
So we don’t talk about us, we talk about, and directly
to them.
Typical ads that sound like ads get subconsciously tuned-out,
because people are bombarded and overloaded by thousands
of ads every day, from every direction. They’re tired
of ads. They hate ads. Ads that answer the question nobody
is asking (who, what, when, where). Ads that speak to them,
but not about them. Ads that talk about the company, and
the sale price, but never stir the soul, speak to the heart,
fire the imagination, solve the yearning, or create a desire
for the experience that the product can deliver.
A true branding ad is a welcome sound. An escape from the
mundane, from the ordinary, from the predictable. It reads
like poetry, using unpredictable words in unpredictable
ways. Causing it to lodge deeply in the memory. To be recalled
easily when the individual is in the market for a car. To
be thought of in a positive light. Like a song, which is
really just poetry written to music.
Advertising is not about screaming, it’s about seducing.
The screamers are amateurs, the seducers are masters. Masters
use powerful words with emotional impact. They use verbs,
and they place the listener inside of their story, their
temporary escape from all that is dreaded in the toil of
daily life.
A branding campaign will include a series of similar ads,
all pulling the listener in, and ever closer in heart and
mind to the dealer who knows their plight, and understands
their needs and desires.
In order to make a branding campaign work, you need a 3
frequency per week, 52 weeks per year, on as many radio
or TV stations as you can afford. It will take 3 months
to see the benefits of the campaign. Within one year, your
business volume will increase by 50%. After two years, it
will increase by 100%. By three years, you won’t be
able to handle all the business.
A branding campaign builds “equity” and creates
a “position”in the mind of the audience. A strong
equity and positioning message creates a positive mental
image, which is essential to product category dominance
in the mind of the consumer. When you have an equity position,
the consumer thinks of you first in that category, and tends
to shop you first, and refer other people to you.
By creating a positive image and perception of your dealership
before the public is even in the market, they have become
persuaded to not only shop you first, but to be less price
sensitive when they do.
With a branding campaign in place, your price & product
sale ads will be far more effective. Why? Because now you
enjoy the power of top of mind awareness, an equity position
in the mind, and a positive feeling about your company.
Branding Ads vs. Sale Ads
Studies have shown that despite all their efforts and expense,
companies who only run “Sale Event” ads do not
build top of mind awareness, equity or positioning in the
mind. Time sensitive urgency type ads are not retained in
the long-term memory. There is no echoic recall of a time
sensitive sale event ad.
Another fault of only running sale ads, is what happens
to the validity of the MSRP when everything is always “on
sale.” MSRP becomes meaningless when it’s just
one continuous sale. In other words, the “sale”
price becomes the beginning point of negotiations, instead
of the MSRP.
Constant sales erode the credibility of future sales and
the real deal. It’s like crying wolf.
Also, sales that aren’t really sales falsely raise
expectations to un-attainable levels, and thereby reduce
CSI. When your advertising causes people expect big savings,
a wonderful experience, and excellent service, and they
don’t get it, they experience what is known as “cognitive
dissonance,” or what I call “reverse value.”
Cognitive dissonance occurs when all along you are lead
to believe something to be true, and you are comfortable
with that belief, and counting on it to be real. And then
a new experience causes the foundation of your belief to
be false. This causes an emotional discomfort and anxiety
as a result of having two contradictory, or incompatible
thoughts or beliefs.
A Branding Campaign is Part of the Value Equation
“Value” is the difference between the actual
price, and the anticipated price. With constant sale advertising,
we actually create a “reverse value.” Reverse
value is when the actual price is higher than the anticipated
price.
To create value on the other hand, we must create an upscale
environment and experience that causes the consumer to actually
expect and anticipate a higher price. Then, when they pay
close to MSRP, they are surprised at the low price. Nordstrom
does a great job of building “value.” They created
a classy , rich environment, with elegant lighting, furnishings,
decor, displays, and well dressed, well groomed, and well
mannered employees. Supported with excellent customer service,
and good quality products. All delivered at prices that
seem surprisingly low for the overall ambiance and experience.
This is value. Because the consumer expected to pay more,
and were pleasantly surprised when they paid less.
Creating a branding campaign, with an actual experience
that delivers value, will cut through the competitive clutter,
stand apart from the competition, increase profitability,
and improve CSI.
A reverse value, or cognitive dissonance on the other hand,
will always erode CSI.
Integrated Marketing Communications
Is Critical To Branding
A branding campaign is most likely going to include a unique
selling proposition (USP). And it is going to promise a
certain level of service, experience, selection, quality,
speed, convenience, ambiance, etc. It is critical that the
customer experiences whatever is promised when they call
or visit your business as a result of the advertising message.
Every customer contact point must be in unison, and delivering
the same level of service in a fully integrated and consistent
manner. See “Integrated Marketing Communications Is
Your Competitive Advantage” online at djsprague.com,
by Duane Sprague.
Why We Don’t Create Branding Ads
Who has the kahunas to actually create an ad that doesn’t
sound like an ad? An ad that doesn’t repeat our name
5 times, our address and phone number 3 times, and doesn’t
answer who, what, when and where? Our other dealer buddies
and “car guys” will think we were insane. We
would be laughed at, ridiculed, and embarrassed.
Ads are supposed to sound like slick ads. Yell, scream,
makes lot’s of noise. But, maybe we can’t read
the label from inside the bottle. We are too close to our
own industry to see what the public sees. We are so impressed
with our own story and message, and that of other dealers,
that we say what we want to say, and not what the consumer
wants to hear. Is this possible? Are we too biased to see
ourselves real?
Another reason we don’t create branding ads, is because
we compare all forms of advertising to the newspaper. It’s
true that the paper gets immediate results, simply because
that’s where the “now buyers” are looking.
But newspaper will get all the results it’s ever going
to get immediately. There is no building of equity, no pulling
people into the market, and no reach beyond the now buyers.
Newspaper will only build a business and market share as
large as the now market is.
TV and radio on the other hand, build equity and echoic
recall. Electronic advertising drives more traffic to the
paper, and more traffic that would never have read the paper.
Electronic creates reach and frequency beyond the limits
of the paper. Electronic reaches the younger demo not reached
the paper. Electronic reaches the less educated and the
less affluent, also not reached by the paper.
Electronic advertising has emotional impact. Print does
not. It has been proven time and again both in sales and
advertising, that people need to be motivated by emotions,
and then justify their decisions with logic. The paper is
all about logic (price & product).
Motion Requires Emotion
Too often, we think of advertising and sales as two separate
and distinct functions. When in fact, advertising is simply
the precursor to sales. Great advertising sets-up the sale.
It creates the initial emotional impact that stirs the soul.
Great advertising using a branding approach in electronic
media, will increase the effectiveness of price and product
advertising in the print media.
We know from basic sales training, psychology, common sense
and experience, that in order to be successful at sales,
you must first:
· Do a proper “meet and greet” in order
to make the prospect feel comfortable (make an initial “emotional”
connection).
· Ask a lot of questions about their needs, preferences,
wants, and desires (uncover their “emotional”
hot buttons).
· Communicate with, talk with, relate to, and find
common ground with your prospect (make a deeper “emotional”
connection).
· Get them to like and trust you (“emotional”
feeling).
· Look them in the eye, and call them by name (“emotional”
connection).
· Sell the benefits more than the features (“emotion”
more than logic).
· Instill a sense of fear or loss if they don’t
act or buy now (“stir their emotions”).
· Boost their ego by showing them how smart they
are for making the right choice (tap their “emotions”).
When someone is not committing or buying, we often say
“they’re not moving on this” or “I
can’t get them to move any further.” What we
are saying then, is that sales requires “motion,”
and motion is fueled by “emotion.” Every sale
is made based on an emotional appeal or emotional charge,
and then justified using logical facts and data.
Why are movies and music so popular? It’s more than
just entertainment. It’s because they carry with them
an emotional charge. Music in fact, is simply poetry (lyrics)
written to music. Every great song writer is also a great
poet. Poetry stirs and moves the emotions, because it uses
emotionally charged words, and unusual words used in unusual
combinations.
So I ask you, why is it that when it comes to advertising,
we throw all emotional appeal out the window, and simply
rely on who, what, when and where? How exciting and emotionally
charged is that? How is a logical ad going to stir the emotions?
Have we completely lost the subtle art of persuasion and
seduction when it comes to advertising? Are we so stuck
on price and product ads that we have completely lost touch
with the human psyche? Have we forgotten that people are
purely emotional, pleasure seeking, ego gratifying, narcissistic,
acceptance oriented creatures?
Now I ask, who is easier to sell, and do so at a descent
profit, the person who walks in holding a price and product
loss leader ad with payment and terms, and says “I
want this truck right here, and I’m not paying a dime
more.” Or the person who walks in and says, “I’m
looking for a new truck to pull my boat.”
Emotion Requires Sound
In order to appeal to the emotions, you must utilize the
intrusive power of sound.
To motivate emotionally, you need to utilize words with
emotional impact, verbs, and unusual words used in unusual
combinations.
You need to tell a story that places the listener inside
of the action. You need to speak to the listener, and about
the listener. You need to cut through the clutter of ads,
and break into the listeners subconscious mind with powerful
imagery.
Print advertising is passive, and cannot generate the reach,
frequency, or emotional impact available only through the
power of sound.
The long-term recall of ad slogans, jingles and songs is
proof positive that the intrusive nature of sound, combined
with frequency and consistency will create an equity position
in the listeners mind.
Echoic Recall Requires Frequency
In order to establish a top of mind awareness in your product
category, you must have at least three repetitions per week,
every week of the year. Which is exactly how you remember
the lyrics to popular songs on the radio. You simply hear
them over and over.
Summary
· Use an emotional appeal with strong copy
· Involve the listener with the use of “you”
and verbs
· Tell your unique story that benefits the listener
· Use the intrusive power of sound
· Build frequency, consistency, and continuity
· Use a USP and IMC
· Build value
The General Population
100% of the Market
Market Responds To/Requires:
• Branding
• Top of Mind Awareness (TOMA)
• Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
• Equity Position
Creates:
¨ Product Category Dominance
¨ Competitive Posturing
¨ Long-Term Growth
With:
n Echoic Recall
n TV
n Radio
Requires:
_ 3 Weekly Frequency, 52 weeks per year
_ Emotional Impact
_ Strategic Consistency
_ Integrated Marketing Communications
_ Value Creation
2 Completely Different Markets
Everyone is in one market or the other, and they move
back and forth.
A branding campaign on TV and/or radio, makes the price
& product ads work better.
The “Now Buyer”
1.3% of Adult Population
Market Responds To/Requires:
• Reticular Activator (stimulates embedded thought
or memory)
Creates:
¨ Immediate, but Short-Term Results
With:
n Iconic or Echoic Stimulation of Reticular Activator
n Newspaper
n Auto Trader/Auto Mart
n Internet
n Direct Mail
Requires:
_Price & Product
_ Sale Event
_ Promotion
