raahh! why advertising sucks and how to fix it. book extracts

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Page 4: RAAHH! Why Advertising sucks and how to fix it. Book extracts

ADVERTISING WAS ONCE GREAT. Not all of it, butmost of it was OK. The fact it went down the drain hasnothing to do with the end of the golden age ofconsumption (we don’t consume less today) or a changeof media habits from TV/Radio to Internet/mobile, as Ioften read. Even if, for sure, ad pressure hasn’t helped.

ADVERTISING WAS A CRAFT. That’s why it was great.Real time, money and expertise went in it. As well as afew unorthodox irreverent quick-minded folks. Period.

NOW IT’S BECOME AN AMATEUR SPORT, supervisedby bean counters. Time, who has it in today’s businessworld? We all run after mindless tasks, nonsensicalprojects and empirical deadlines. Money? Cost cuttingwaves have left little to corporate mid-management toinnovate in any field, more so marketing where preciousbudgets must bring a hefty ROI. And for all the talksabout intrapreneurship, I see most advertisers live in aconstant state of risk avoidance and fear.

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Page 6: RAAHH! Why Advertising sucks and how to fix it. Book extracts

LET’S BE HONEST, EVERYONE IS ADVERTISING.Saatchi’s Paul Arden contended that even priests sellwhat they believe in - God. From your Facebook accountto your resume, I’m sure you’re guilty of more falseadvertising than you’d tolerate from your favorite brand.

AND WHY SHOULDN’T WE ADVERTISE? We havebeen since the dawn of Humanity. There is just no surerway to sell, recruit, raise funds, enlist, bring people instore, get a job, find love or whatever your goal is.

IT’S JUST OFTEN POORLY DONE. That’s why peoplehave come to massively hate it and routinely ignore it.

SEE IT AS A SERVICE. Call it customer experience ifyou like and treat it as such. Some have. Successfully.

NO SNAKE OIL. If you sell undifferentiated crap, poorlyproduced and always on sale, all advertising can do ispush your wares to an earlier grave.

THE GAME HAS CHANGED but making sure you’retalked about in a good way is still the name of the game.

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Page 7: RAAHH! Why Advertising sucks and how to fix it. Book extracts

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- Just get on with it. The night of May 12, at 11:47pm, you clicked on a banner. Why?

- Honestly, it was a mistake.

Page 8: RAAHH! Why Advertising sucks and how to fix it. Book extracts

WE FOCUS ON LAUNCHES, ON MARKET ENTRIES,on a whatever day sales. We work around big tent poles.We spend months preparing for those big events. Wededicate large sums and many people to these.

WE BET BIG ON A COUPLE OF LARGE OCCASIONS.For the business owner, it’s that one yearly tradeshow.For the corporation, it’s the unveiling of this year lineup.

SOFTWARE MAKERS USED TO WORK LIKE THAT.Think about Microsoft. But they were all the worst at it,with delays you’d count in years. Steve Jobs himself hadto create a parallel organization to ship the first Mac in1984. The industry has now shifted to agile methods,shipping updates continuously. A flux in place of ahandful of erratic stressful mega-events.

SOME MARKETERS TOO OPERATE LIKE THIS NOW.Direct mail marketers have done it for years. Socialmedia requires this lean perpetual approach. The key isto avoid the ego that goes with pompous occasions. Andthat is a hard premise for most ad/marketing people.

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Page 9: RAAHH! Why Advertising sucks and how to fix it. Book extracts

GROWTH HACKING – A BUZZWORD that may vanishbefore I publish this. If you’re going for an agile, nimble,test-oriented, repeatable method, good for you. But thatis nothing new. Marketers were doing it a hundred yearsago. If you’re just into the hype, well…

ONE WORD ON TESTING: in my own experience, yousee this getting butchered: not set up properly, withoutthe correct hypotheses, measurement and actionablefindings. Great if Google can test 40 shades of blue for abutton (true story); are you that advanced? Start simple.

UBERIZATION, ANOTHER STRATEGIST FAVORITEthat might go the way of Groupon. Meaning you candisrupt a whole industry with a new approach. Will youreally plan your go-to-market strategy based on abillion-dollar losing model?

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, I LOVE THEE. Theapotheosis of consultant and corporate neolingo for“shit, we didn’t see that one coming”. Man, the Internetis old enough to order a drink in New Jersey. ReadDarwin. Dinosaurs died. Period.

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Page 11: RAAHH! Why Advertising sucks and how to fix it. Book extracts

YOU’VE GOT A GLIMPSE. MAYBE 5 SECONDS at best.So, there is no alternative:

IT’S AN ARM RACE, SO BE CLEVER. What will promptyour target individual to spend a bit more time perusingyour ad? What will get her to not do something moreinteresting instead? We love puzzles and excitement.

“I SEE WHAT YOU DID HERE.” That’s what you wantpeople checking your ad to go to instantly. Yes, it’s goodto have people think, but don’t take a chance. You canhave long copy (especially with captive audience likesubway commuters), but Each. Word. Must. Count.

WHAT’S NEXT? “Turn right”, “download guide”, “buynow”. Unless it is blatantly obvious (or you just want todo “branding”), call it out. You’re not begging, you’redoing your future user or customer a favor at that point.

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Page 12: RAAHH! Why Advertising sucks and how to fix it. Book extracts

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Eye-catching visual with a tongue-in-cheek before-after benefit hook

Headline mentioning a rational benefit and an emotional one

Copy set with headings

BTW, that copy uses a lot of good tricks too.

A call to action with an incentive

Page 13: RAAHH! Why Advertising sucks and how to fix it. Book extracts

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I couldn’t print it bigger here. Find Posters on raahh.com

Page 14: RAAHH! Why Advertising sucks and how to fix it. Book extracts

IN THE 50’S, THE PRODUCT MANAGER WAS KING.It was all about the product, its production and itsfeatures. Then the 80’s saw the Brand Manager’sadvent. Advertising had defined Branding. Brands andwhat they stood for got front stage.

NOW, THE WEB HAS GIVEN EACH OF US A VOICE.Consumer experience and authenticity have prevailedover the top-down brand. Seth Godin captured it well inhis book “All marketers tell stories”. We have enteredthe era of the Story Manager.

STORY MANAGER. DOESN’T SOUND SERIOUS. I canhear marketers and their bosses pushing back on thattitle. Yet, managing the company story will be their topmission and only way to make the cash register ring. Allactions and investments will only serve that purpose.

BE THE STEWARD OF YOUR STORY. Convincingpeople, a fifties thing. Grabbing their attention? Soeighties. Tell the story as often as people will let you andas truthfully and engagingly as you can. And pray thestory gods people will get it and tell it again.

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Page 17: RAAHH! Why Advertising sucks and how to fix it. Book extracts

ROCK ADVANCED EXCEL, ROCK YOUR JOBMarketers should not be afraid of numbers. Numbermanipulations, functions, pivot tables, statistics add-on.They are your best allies to show marketing savvinessand rise above the pack. Tools of the trade.

KNOW YOUR WELLS, BERNBACH, OGILVY…You’ll be in the 10th percentile easily if you can rely onthe experience and great work of industry legends. Thehistory, the way of thinking, the best practices. Bediscerning, but be a voracious student of your trade.

MANAGE EXPECTATIONS & STAND YOUR GROUNDMarketing is tricky because it is often a matter ofopinions and guesses. So, set expectations and updateabout tests, hypotheses, advancement. Also, forgeopinions and be ready to defend them. While beingopen-minded.

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