To get noticed, get to the point

The look of marketing and advertising has changed significantly over the past few decades, but many of the essential truths haven’t. Among them is that it’s critical to present your most important message immediately and clearly.

You’ll rarely have the viewer or reader’s complete attention for the entire piece, so you need to identify the message that matters most and make sure it’s memorable.

You may find similar thoughts from the newer generation of marketers innovative, but the concept is older than their grandparents. Back in the pre-“Mad Men” days, legendary adman Rosser Reeves identified what he called the unique selling proposition (or USP) for every client. What makes M&M candies unique? If you responded that they melt in your mouth and not in your hands, you can thank Reeves for pounding that idea -- among many others just as memorable -- into your brain.

What is different is the way today’s viewers and readers consume media. When Reeves walked Madison Avenue, the world moved at a leisurely pace and media choices were limited. People thought nothing about reading longer print ads or sitting through one- and two-minute television commercials. Marketers could take their time and romance their target audiences.

Today’s reader or viewer is overwhelmed with an astounding number of media choices and channels, and absolutely pummeled with thousands of marketing messages every day. We’re exposed to so many messages that we actually notice fewer of them and remember even fewer.

Movies and television know we’re so saturated with messages they’ve changed their own products to grasp our attention. In the early 1980s, TV shows like “St. Elsewhere” and “Hill Street Blues” were considered groundbreaking largely because of their intensity. Watch either today, and you’ll probably find it plodding compared to the energy of today’s material. Directors cut from shot to shot more quickly, dialogue tends to be delivered in shorter bursts -- even the background music throbs instead of soothes.

What does this mean for marketers? A generation ago, you might have introduced your company or product by talking about the big picture before gradually working your way into your sales message. Many companies still do it. Visit their websites and you’ll notice they promote what they’re doing today by talking about the past.

Am I saying that pride in a corporate history is unimportant or useless? Nope! It’s just important to the wrong people. It means a lot to the company’s founders, the executive team, or longtime employees who still remember the good old days. But it usually means zilch to the prospective customer who is comparing your business to other companies. Competitors who provide relevant information right away are going to capture customers’ attention -- and their business.

The opening paragraph on your website, in your brochure, or in your ad is your most valuable piece of real estate. What is the one thing you want people to know about you? That’s what you need to put there. If you provide significantly better service than everyone else in your market, lead with that. If your product offers value that nobody else can touch, say that before you get into anything else.

Put your company’s history or similar information somewhere where people who are interested can find it easily, such as in a link from the “About Us” page of your website. Keep what viewers and readers see first for what’s most important and most relevant to them.