I can think of a number of marketing innovators whose ideas I
admire, but the genius who brought us "scratch `n'
sniff " print ads is the only one whose water bucket
I'd actually carry. Why? Because he or she was able to add a
totally unexpected new sensory dimension to the most rudimentary
forms of advertising communication. During its heyday as an
advertising novelty (today it's used primarily for
perfume-strip ads), no one could pass by a scratch `n' sniff ad
without giving it the ol' nasal appraisal. Sure, it was
gimmicky. But it worked.
Since scratch `n' sniff, nothing has emerged from the
gurgling beakers and foaming test tubes of advertising
experimentation to give print advertising an added sensory
dimension. One day, perhaps we'll flip open our e-publications
and watch ads with dancing six-packs, smell ads for chicken soup
and hear the whir of blenders making iced mochas in coffee shop
ads, all on a little hand-held screen--complete with the digitized
sound of pages turning. But until we bid farewell to printing on
pulverized wood pulp, we need to use language and one-dimensional
images in a way that reaches readers.
Evaluate your advertising by asking: Am I using language that
really evokes a decision to buy? Am I reaching people at their
emotional core? What can I say or show that will inspire prospects
to want my product or service? What can substitute for actually
being there to help people experience the product or service first
hand, as the scratch `n' sniff approach attempted to do?
It's a tall order, but it's well worth the labor to create
successful advertising.
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That's my message to Dana Crawford of Caldwell, Texas, who
wrote recently. Crawford is a Registered Massage Therapist who runs
a facility called Water Therapy Centre that specializes in
relaxation and rehabilitation therapies using water and massage.
She plans to add facilities for the disabled, too, so she can offer
a full-service therapy center in a region where such services are
not readily available. The ad she's created doesn't point
out the benefit of having such an enterprise nearby; it merely
lists the types of services offered. So what can she do in a
small-space ad to reach her prospects at a sensory level--short of
having spa bubbles spontaneously rise up from the page?
Before:
This ad merely lists, it doesn't sell. I like its looks, but
fabulous fonts won't sell on their own.
1. We know what kind of
service it is, what it includes, what it's called and how to
get more information-but where's the benefit?
After:
This ad implies the benefit right from the start and the
undulating graphic supports the relaxation theme.
1. The headline grabs
attention with an unexpected exhalation.
2. The wavy graphic works
with the headline to transmit one clear message: relaxation.
Jerry Fisher is an advertising copywriter, consultant and
author of Creating Successful Small Business Advertising
($39.95), available by calling (800) 247-6553. If you'd like
Jerry to consider your materials for a makeover in this column,
send them to "Ad Workshop," Entrepreneur, 2392
Morse Ave., Irvine, CA 92614, or e-mail him at Jerry228@aol.com.
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