Want a recipe for marketing disaster? Read on! I’ll serve it up for you just the way you like it… with all the juicy, dumb, dumb details. I’ll show you a company who messed this up so bad that their no-brainer-for-success business model crashed and burned and sent the company into bankruptcy… not once, but TWICE!
Could it really be the marketing that caused the company to experience such dismal results? Certainly there were other factors involved… but you tell me–if your company spent MILLIONS of dollars on advertising for which most people couldn’t even tell what was for sale, let alone what the value proposition was, do you think you’d be far from bankruptcy? Beware of the big, bad advertising agency that wants you to brand your company with something stupid like you’ll see here below.
The company in question is Berge Telecom (name changed (slightly) to protect the not-so-innocent). Their value proposition is very simple. Due to deregulation of the telecommunications industry, they have the ability to sell “Baby Bell” services for 15% to 30% less than the Baby Bell’s themselves. Make sure you understand that: they re-sell the Bell’s services–same lines, same network, same everything–just cheaper. No less quality, no less service (probably better service). It just costs less money. It would be like a new car dealership that opened and sold $25,000 Hondas, straight from the Honda factory, for $18,000 to $20,000. A no-brainer for success, right?
Wrong. Enter the bone-headed ad agencies. Let’s take a look at what they came up for this wonderful company.
The ad has a close-up shot of a frisky looking dog’s head holding a computer mouse in it’s mouth. It has a headline that says, “One Dot Com Minute.” And has some basic copy underneath that says, “Fess Up. Your office needs beefier internet access. So call Berge. We bundle router, line, service in one package, at frisky rates. We include the router, saving you hundreds. And we back it with 7-day a week tech support. Could it be any easier? Call Berge. We’ll come running.” Now remember this is for a telephone company that is trying to sell high speed, or what it calls quote unquote “beefier” internet service for less money than the Bells.
So what is the Activator in this ad? Is it the headline, “One Dot Com Minute?” No, it’s the dog. Remember that an activator is what snaps you out of alpha sleep and into beta alert mode. So you’re thumbing through the newspaper. If you’re somebody who’s interested in dogs–in either a positive or negative way–your reticular activator will signal your brain that there’s something on the page that’s familiar, unusual, or problematic. For most people, it’s familiar; or in other words, they like dogs, so their brain says, “Hey, look at the cute doggie over there on that page.”
Result? If you like dogs, there’s a reasonably good chance you will see this picture and it will pull you out of alpha mode and into beta mode, all of which will happen subconsciously, in a split second, without your being aware. Just like somebody calling your name in a crowded airport baggage claim area. It will force you to look at that ad and then your brain starts searching for additional, clarifying information. “What’s with the dog?” So you’ll read the copy to figure out what’s going on, and you’ll realize that it’s an ad for internet access. Then your brain will begin to short circuit. It’ll say, “dog, internet service, dog, internet service, dog, internet service.” It will struggle to make the connection as to why there’s a dog associated with internet service. See, these two things just don’t normally go together, so it’s a tough connection to make. It’s a false beta.
Now here’s a couple of distinctions for you. Number one, people who don’t like dogs aren’t going to look at this picture no matter what. Their reticular activator won’t flip the switch, so to speak. To them, the dog’s not familiar, unusual, or problematic, so it’s not an activator. So everyone who needs internet access and is not interested in or familiar with dogs will never be pulled out of alpha into beta to consciously see the ad and even have a chance to be sold. Do you see what I’m saying? Why would you put a dog as an activator for an internet service? Because the only people that you are going to reach with this dog are people that like dogs. Is it possible that people who don’t like dogs need internet service? I think it probably is. This is like driving to the corner 7-11 store via Branson, Missouri! You might eventually get there, but you sure traveled a long way to advance a short distance.
Well let’s see, some people do like dogs, so they’ll look at this ad and then they’ll see that it’s for internet service and certainly some people who like dogs will also need internet service so Berge will have a chance to sell to that subset of people. So here’s the question: Why wouldn’t you just go ahead and make the activator based on a hot button–something that’s important and relevant to everyone who needs internet service? A hot button for people who need internet service would be all of the problems that they would potentially be having with their current internet service, or lack thereof.
If you look in the copy, they talk about bundling the router, line, and service in one package. They talk about the availability of tech support, and they talk about saving hundreds of dollars. So I’m guessing some of the hot buttons would be, let’s see–not having the router, line, and service bundled, lack of available tech support, and costs that are way higher than they should be and could be. Now I don’t know if these are the actual, legitimate hot buttons or not, but I know on thing for freaking sure: the dog in this ad ain’t the prospects’ hot button! See, the dog is an activator, but not a hot button. I’ve taken the liberty to write a new ad based on the hot buttons we culled out of the text of the original ad. Notice how the hot buttons take the center stage now, and how the ad follows the formula of interrupt, engage, educate, and offer.
(This article was originally published and copyrighted © by Richard Harshaw, and is re-published here with permission).
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