Advertising is an art, not a science.  If any advertising source, i.e. Newspaper, radio, tv, etc. could guarantee results, they would have long ago put the other sources out of business.  The truth is your business can achieve results with any form of advertising, if done properly.  I’d like to share with you some background information that will explain some basic concepts of advertising, which will hopefully help you better understand the art and develop better ads.

There are 2 basic forms of ads: Transactional and Relational

Transactional ads typically feature specific prices on items, guarantee you the lowest price in town, and/or try to sell you something in the very near future.  (Imagine the used car commercials where the speaker rattles off a list of cars and prices… 1999 Chevy Cavalier only $4995, 2005 Ford Focus for $5900… yadda, yadda, yadda!)

The idea behind transactional ads is to get you to respond immediately. This is fine for getting the customer ready to buy at this very moment, but it ignores any long term branding possibilities.  Another proper use of transactional advertising is to let prospective customers know about a limited time event/sale/situation in which they can benefit.  But be careful…it’s illegal to have a never-ending “Going Out of Business” Sale. 

Relational ads take a longer term approach to helping a business.  These commercials typically feature “warm and fuzzy” moments that endear the business brand to the prospective customer.  If you are a coffee drinker, you’ll remember the famous Folgers’ commercials featuring the jingle, “The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup!” Or, you might have preferred the commercials from General Foods International Coffees that urged you to, “Celebrate The Moments of Your Life.”  This was particularly effective because it used the Lust trigger, which caused you to crave the coffee drinking experience based on your own positive personal experiences!  Unfortunately, most businesses don’t have the budget, or the patience, to effectively use Relational advertising. 

I’d like to encourage you to start looking/listening to ads and using the info from this post, decide if they are Transactional or Relational.  I think you’ll find this an interesting exercise.  It will give you a better insight into what other businesses are doing with their advertising, and what their motives are with each ad you see or hear.

For an even more in-depth, entertaining, and informative lesson on this topic, please view this video by the incredibly gifted Tim Miles, a Wizard of Ads Partner and a world-class copywriter.  His work has produced dozens of awards, and earned business throughout the USA & the world!  He’s a local, down to earth guy who finds more satisfaction in his family than his achievements.

You’ll notice I used the term, “lust trigger” a few paragraphs ago.  This is from an amazing new book by Sally Hogshead entitled, “Fascinate.”  Over the next few weeks I plan to write blog entries about each of the 7 Triggers of Fascination, and Sally has agreed to participate in a short interview, which I will post here!  Until then, why don’t you visit her website and find out what your Fascination Trigger (F-Score) is and then let me know! 

My F-Score consists of Primary Trigger: Prestige, Secondary Trigger: Power, and Dormant Trigger: Lust.  (It seems I need to start using more emotion in my life!)

Tags: advertising, coffee, Fascinate, Folgers, relational advertising, Sally Hogshead, transactional advertising, triggers
Categories: Advertising, Business, Business Development, Marketing, Media, New Business, Sales, Success.

Posted on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 at 10:59 am
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