Joe Bayliss and Roy Furr
Earlier this week we were working on a critical piece of marketing copy for Television, for one of our financial advisor clients. I say “critical” because the stakes are high when you consider the cost of TV production and media — so, there’s little room for error. Expensive media requires discipline that cheap media does not.
At one point, we were brainstorming the title and main content. Trying to decide how much to change or repeat a proven message for this particular iteration.
The obvious question was asked…
“Are we changing this because we need to — that is, the message has stopped performing, stopped getting results? Or are we changing this because we want to — because we’re tired of it and feel the need to tinker, even though there’s no good reason?”
Often the answer is more want than need — somebody simply got bored with the marketing copy.
And often, the person driving the change is not even a good prospect for our services! Maybe we’re the ones who are bored and ready for something different, because we’re closer to the ad than anyone else. Maybe it’s your neighbor who tells you every time they see you on TV. Or the relative who can’t help but point out that they’ve seen the same show 5 times. Or the employee who is over-eager to be helpful but who isn’t privy to the actual results of those repetitions.
Almost always, it’s someone who pays a lot of attention to you but who is not a “buyer,” and who doesn’t know or care about the return on investment of that advertising.
Even if it’s a dear loved one, you can’t make your advertising decisions based on their perceptions. It’s the next buyer discovering you for the first time through that ad that matters.
This reminds us of a quote from the advertising great, David Ogilvy…
“You aren't advertising to a standing army. You are advertising to a moving parade. Three million consumers get married every year. The advertisement which sold a refrigerator to those who got married last year will probably be just as successful with those who'll get married next year. An advertisement is just like a radar sweep, constantly hunting new prospects as they come into the market. Get a good radar and keep it sweeping.”
Brilliantly said.
Here’s some proof that underscores this point…
We’ve been running the same marketing platform, on the same medium, on the same day and the same time, with the same copy for nearly three years. And every week it consistently spits out (qualified) prospects like a machine.
If we were marketing to a “standing army” (as referenced by David Ogilvy) the results would have stopped long ago.
And if we’d pulled it at any time during the last three years because we got bored with it, we’d be leaving untold amounts of money on the table.
This is one of dozens of examples where one great piece of copy, one great message, one great ad can continue paying off long after we’ve grown bored with it.
So the next time you think about changing your marketing message, evaluate your current results. Is the platform still generating high qualified leads? Is the new marketing copy really better than what you have now?
And if you have a piece of marketing that’s not doing what you think it should, in terms of leads or other results, reach out to us. We offer a free copy review to qualified financial advisors who are looking to generate more leads.