I Shipped My Pants

       Virtually every broadcast account executive has had a business owner ask, “How can I make my advertising stand out?”

The short answer is, “Quit playing it safe.” ‘Safe’ advertising is what causes most businesses to disappear into the never-ending landscape of competitors, versus becoming a landmark in that landscape.

You can click on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL4lSavSepc to view one of the most popular ‘viral’ ads this Spring.          Kmart’s, ‘I Ship My Pants’ ad, is a daring example of an advertiser willing to take a little risk to clearly stand out, and more importantly, make their point memorable.

The ad has customers saying ‘I ship my pants’, or ‘I ship my bed’ and ‘I ship my nightie’ to make it clear that consumers can now have the convenience of going online to have Kmart purchases shipped to their door.

Account executives who help their clients create more effective ads invariably are your station’s highest producers.

Those same business owners who ask how to make their advertising stand out, also ask, “Which media works best?” The answer to this question is also short and simple….”There is no such thing as a media that does not work, there are only messages that don’t work.”

The ‘I ship my pants’ message would have been even more thought-provoking on radio without the video….try just listening to the soundtrack only and you’ll see what I mean.

If you can convince your advertisers to take a risk to make their ads stand out you will be able to prove the effectiveness of radio advertising once and for all.

Click here to inquire how ENS Media’s SoundADvice e-marketing system can help your salespeople and local advertisers understand how to use more radio more effectively and increase your sales.

           There has always been some scepticism towards advertising caused by unscrupulous advertisers even though media companies and their governing bodies exercise a degree of control over advertising claims.

The internet has created the wild west of advertising, with little or no control, the unregulated online landscape is rife with exaggerated or downright fraudulent claims.
You might want to share this humorous 30 second video with some of your clients. It is an example of questionable internet advertising with some of your clients.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_CgPsGY5Mw 

            Wary consumers now demand transparency in your marketing and advertising. “Transparency” requires openness, communication and accountability. That same transparency can help broadcast account executives close more sales.

For Your Advertisers

            One way to make your advertising more credible and transparent is to admit your weakness up front. Your customers don’t expect you to be perfect, and a little candid transparency is more likely to earn their trust than trying to hide your blemishes or claims to be perfect.

A classic and successful advertising case from the 1960’s that is still studied in marketing classes today is the Avis Rent-A-Car’s “We Try Harder” campaign. Every Avis ad at the time began with admitting they were number two, thereby making the “Try Harder” campaign much more credible…..consumers found it believable that number two had to try harder to please them to win their business against the huge Hertz rental franchise.

For You

            When you expose your negative, your customers will often find the corresponding positive more believable. Advertisers often ask us “Does anyone really listen to radio anymore?” This question, or questions about the impact of the internet or satellite radio on your station is often not asked of radio sales people because advertisers might not expect transparency in your answer.

Try admitting a negative to make your positives more believable. For example, rather than claiming satellite or internet has no impact, try saying something like:

“All media are under pressure from fragmentation and new platforms. In fact all  industries are under pressure from fragmentation. McDonalds has more fast food  competitors and the once dominant big three auto makers have more competition from more countries than ever before.

Media fragmentation has caused our listeners to get involved with other media  and to listen to us for shorter periods of time. While they don’t listen as long, or to us exclusively, our actual weekly reach has gone up. We now reach more people every week than ever before.”

Simply saying “Our actual weekly reach has gone up and we now reach more people every week than ever before” without admitting the negative up front can be somewhat unbelievable, even if it is true.

          In his book, The Psychology of Persuasion, Dr. Robert Cialdini identifies psychological reciprocity as one of the six most powerful influences on human buying decisions.

Psychological reciprocity is defined as “a deep-rooted subconscious need to return effort to those who put forth effort for us.” Psychological reciprocity is one of the most powerful sales levers radio sales professionals can develop.

Even Hare Krishna, the unusual 1970’s group with shaved heads and ill-fitting robes, capitalized on people’s deep-rooted subconscious need to return something to those who give you something.

They discovered their likelihood of receiving a donation from unwilling travelers at the airport increased dramatically, if they first gave the passersby a rose.

They also learned it didn’t matter if their target donors wanted the rose or not. In fact, the robed team always had one member scurrying about the airport collecting the roses travelers threw in garbage bins, to give them away to another unsuspecting traveler.

Do you have plans in place to generate psychological reciprocity among your advertisers and prospects?

Perhaps you can offer to give some selling tips to a prospect’s sales team during a sales meeting. Maybe offer to be a “mystery shopper”, an exercise that will help you and your client uncover strengths and weaknesses in their business.

Our research has revealed that delivering a series of 5 to 7 valid business contacts, contacts which benefit your prospects and clients, increases your credibility and your sales.

At ENS Media, our sales training uncovers a long list of valid business reasons (VBR’s) you can deliver to generate psychological reciprocity and increase your sales. Contact [email protected]  to learn more about our training and revenue generating programs.