Nothing fails like success…
>> It can make even smart people look stupid.
Years ago I was flattered when?The Week?told me they had adapted copy of mine to sell their new magazine.
They even invited me to a party to celebrate their success. But they didn't need my help - for the reason Louis Pasteur gave:
"Nothing in the world is as powerful as an idea whose time has come".
Why was?The Week?so timely that today it?also flourishes?in the U.S.
It's because you and I are drowning in information. How to sort out what matters to you from what doesn't?
The Week?gave their solution in one line: “All you need to know about everything that matters.”
That is the benefit they offer. But have they?forgotten what made them successful.
As?a wise American once observed, "Dance with the one that brung you".
The advertisement below shows that when people forget?what works and start being clever they do stupid things.
Firstly it ran in?The Week.
Why advertise in your magazine, which people are already reading? I guess some might come across a discarded copy on a train -?or a doctor's waiting room - if were open.
Even so, will an ugly picture of a brain attract your attention?
How will the fatuous "headline", needlessly punctuated by full stops and offering no benefit get you reading?
I have lost count of the times I have seen people get bored with their advertising and switch to something they?think clever or witty.
There is one simple rule for you:
Don’t change?until you have something that works better.
The only way to?.find out?is to test it.
The results may surprise you
Starting in 1973 I spent years running split run ads in newspapers to see what worked best.
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One half of a paper's circulation printed one ad, and the other half another.
I tested words, pictures, illustrations versus photos, faces, typefaces - everything you can think of.
Tests give you all sorts of valuable information:
Which words get more people to read?
What kinds of layout work best?
Where does the eye go when looking at an advertisement?
Is it better to pay for well-designed ads or settle for ugly ones flung together by an amateur (me)?and set by the newspaper? (The latter got far more.)
Nowadays, because I’m a curmudgeon, I believe a lot of these things have been forgotten -?for the worse.
Few things curse you more than having a lot of money and not having to fight harder.
You should never assume you have cracked it. Around the corner someone is working very hard to beat you, and when they do they will take you to the cleaners.
Prosperity breeds sloth. You don't have to worry enough.?
But my great friend has been fear of failure.
And my second greatest, having failed and paid the price. Repeatedly.
What these painful experiences taught me can be yours too.
And my colleagues, too, have experienced these lessons
Our clients benefit from a vast arsenal of marketing knowledge,
It can be at your service too.
Just drop me a line, and tell me how we can help.
Best,
Drayton
I teach business storytelling.
3 年Drayton Bird never goes out of style.
Digital Marketing & eCommerce Consultant
3 年Good article. Sometimes changing an advert (even if it's a successful one) is more about making it very visible to colleagues that the marketing team are busy instead of actually driving sales.
Consulting Copywriter, Maximum Results Copywriting
3 年Love reading these articles...particularly when they draw on contemporary examples. I remember years ago being told that advertisers tend to get bored with their ads before customers do...and hence to resist making needless changes. Here we have an example of just such a needless change...and from a company that probably knows better. Thanks Drayton for another reminder of an enduring principle in direct marketing.