1/29/2010
Does Your Ad Have a Big But?
Friday Fun and Link Love
Don't Let This Be Your
The other day I came across a striking advertisement in our local newspaper. This was really something, because most newspaper ads go in one eye and out the other.
It was a whopper – a half page ad, color. The ad announced the grand opening of a gourmet restaurant, and the copy made me hungry – and thirsty. They’d be featuring wines from Argentina and Brazil. The head chef – showered with awards from various culinary institutes and a winner of a regional Iron Chef competition. The graphics were elegant, inviting. And to top it off, free dessert at the grand opening when you present this ad. Perfect strike on the target market, plus a scrumptious call to market. I was ready to go.
BUT
There was no phone number or address on the ad.
Being in a different town several miles away, we had no clue how to get there. Perhaps the ad was targeted to folks who lived specifically in that little community. Too bad. They might have pulled in lots of customers simply by adding one line of text to an otherwise brilliant ad. Result. Instead of soaring to heights of marketing brilliance, these folks crash landed right in the heart of Big But City.
Over to You
Don’t we tend to miss the forest for the trees? How do you avoid missing the obvious in your content creation and marketing activities?
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Having gotten real busy with work since the new year began, I completely missed the fact that I had published my 800th Word Sell blog post. Never thought I’d see the day, and as it turned out, I was right.
Also, a heavy workload has crimped the “Link Love” portion of this new Friday series. I didn’t have much time to explore blog posts this week, but what’s lacking in quantity I’m going to try to make up for in quality. This post from TopRank, Survey Results: Impact of Blogging on Search Engine Optimization, is a real gem. It has all sorts of FACTS that demonstrate what many of us already know – blogging is a fabulous way to improve search engine visibility for small companies, big companies, b2b companies, and b2c companies.
14 Responses to Does Your Ad Have a Big But?
Congratulations on 800 posts, Brad. And special congratulations that they’re 800 good ones.
Hi Lillie, So nice of you to stop by with such kind words. One reason I enjoy writing all these posts is that it makes it possible to meet wonderful people like you out here in the blogosphere.
Great post, Brad.
I love the writing and the hook in the title is what brought me from Twitter (see @Starbucker ‘s tweet).
So often we have the brilliant creative without a well-thought-out execution. I see value and NEEDED information sliced to the editing-room floor just to save space or make a logo bigger (don’t get me started on that one).
I love creative. I love execution. But I love success more. If they can work together, then everyone wins!
Keep Cooking
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef
Hi Andrew, Thanks first of all for visiting my blog, second for you kind words, third for commenting, and fourth for sharing how you got here. Very considerate and helpful to know things like that. The battle between form and function in advertising design must be bloody at times – I can only imagine. In this case, space certainly wasn’t the issue. There was tons of it, making the oversight all the more incomprehensible.
Great point, Brad!
It’s so easy to overlook the obvious! Like you, I let an important blog day go by, as well: my third blog anniversary (if you can believe it). On January 27th, I’d been blogging at Writer’s Notes for three whole years. Just put up a short post about it, though I’m writing another post now, which I’ll put up later or tomorrow. Anyway, all this demonstrates just how easy it can be to get so involved in the details (of life or whatever) and totally overlook the big picture.
Enjoyed your post!
Jeanne
Jeanne, Congratulations on your third anniversary! You are a real blog veteran, and you should be proud. I love the writing tips and resources you’ve shared over the years: many have proven quite helpful to me, and I’m sure your other readers. Now … if we could only get you on WordPress and Twitter!
Thanks, Brad! Glad you’ve found the info I’ve posted at Writer’s Notes helpful during the past few years! I feel exactly the same way about the info you post at Word Sell
(Sorry I didn’t reply to your comment sooner. Left after posting mine, and I’ve been gone much of the day.)
Ah, yes…WordPress and Twitter! Will definitely have to give those two platforms some serious consideration!
Yay Brad! Congratulations on 800+ spectacular posts! Also, wow so true about missing the forest for the tress. I could write a book on it an sadly I would have many personal experiences to contribute.
You should follow up with the restaurant and point out the error, could lead to a new client.
Karen, Thank you. The first 800 posts came and went in a hurry, too. Does it seem that way to you on your blog? Good idea about the follow up – thanks for the push.
This is an eye opener. Indeed, we often miss what is significant. That’s unfortunate for them. I should remember that too. There are times also that the “contact me” link is everywhere, making it “overkill”. Moderation should be the key in everything. Thanks for an informative post. All the best.
Hi Jena, Overkill is a problem, too – the opposite of the one we’re talking about here, but still a real issue. I’m not sure which is worse, trying to sell too hard, or not trying to sell hard enough!
Hi Brad,
Congratulations on 800 interesting and insightful posts. (It looks like you’ve got two readers called Andrew these days)
This is a great example of the type of thing I was driving at in my comment here the other week – regardless of the medium (classified ad, web site or whatever), it’s no good having the best sales pitch in the world unless prospective customers are given clear methods of doing business with you. In the case of a restaurant, this means providing a clear address or telephone number so that customers can easily contact you or locate your premises. In the case of online transactions, this means giving customers a clear and easy way by which they can actually place their order (a ‘purchase now’ button or something).
Andrew, you are exactly right. For online marketing efforts, you really need to have a balanced attack – SEO and content. Too much of one and not enough of the other won’t get the job done.
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