If You Want to Increase Your Sales, Then Sack Your Advertising Company Because You’re Being Conned
Discover why your Advertising reps are taking money out of your pockets, because there more interested in winning awards.
They believe their job is to make you look pretty promoting your brand, winning awards and being entertaining. And don’t forget those 3 hour lunches, they call a strategy meeting. And you’re paying for it.
Why your advertising rep doesn’t have a clue.
Your Ad companies are worst than pick pockets, have you seen how they trying to pull the wool over your eyes.
- Trying to make you look Funky, a real sales winner. Called spinning your wheels, looking good going nowhere
- Promoting your Brand, It’s OK if your McDonald’s or Coca Cola with a $100’s of million advertising budget
- Winning awards are nice but the only award that counts, go Ka-Ching Ka-Ching, stuffing money in your bulging cash registers.
- Being entertaining “Advertising is salesmanship, not entertainment.” David Ogilvy Confessions of an Advertising Man
Can you remember the last compelling ad, you saw a TV ad or a read in a glossy magazine ad or heard a radio commercial that, you wanted to grab your wallet and hand over your credit card? I gotta have it Now!
If you’re lucky, you could count them on one hand.
Remember the Pro Hart Carpet Ads.
This Great visual ad, gave artist Pro Hart fantastic exposure in Australia, when the ads ran on TV. He painted a massive dragonfly on carpet with spaghetti, jelly, wine and other weird food. Only to have his work rendered spotless by his enthusiastic and diligent cleaning lady, with the broad accent.
You know the one with the catch cry ‘Oh, Mr Hart, what a mess!’
Pro Hart is better remembered for his carpet-cleaning ad than the carpet being advertised.
Bet you don’t know which carpet Pro Hart was painting the dragonfly on?
This ad won numerous awards, looked fantastic. You couldn’t buy better promotion for Pro Hart, pity about the carpet company who paid for the ad No one even remembers the brand of the carpet.
The awards are nice but the only award that counts, when you clients hands over bags of money.
Just in case you’re wondering, the ad was for DuPont Stainmaster Carpets.
That’s one of the memorable ads, the rest a just forgettable.
Let’s face it, if you’re watching TV, are you watching the Ads? In my house it race to grab a beer or get a coffee or taking a pit stop. If you happen to get back before the ads finish, then its time to channel surf. What else would you rather do than watch these confusing and often boring ads? Do you think you’re the only one skipping the ads?
How much value does an advertiser get, when most of you don’t even bother to watch these ads? You rather be somewhere else. Hardly a compelling reason to advertise. I know some of you are saying, “what about McDonald’s or Coca Cola, they advertise all the time.” They sure do, but when you have more than $100 million advertising budget, then you can promote your brand.
It’s better to out think your competition than out spend them.
You see 98% of advertising companies have lost sight of their purpose. To sell your products.
You may think that I’m talking about some modern concept, selling your product. Because this may shock you but the advertising pioneers built their industry on selling products. If we look at the pioneers of Advertising, Hopkins, Caples, Bernbach, Reeves, Burnett, Ogilvy and others, sole purpose to create ads that sells.
Let’s see what the legends of Advertising had to say
“Advertising is salesmanship, not entertainment.” David Ogilvy Confessions of an Advertising Man
In 1903 Albert Lasker, The Founder of Modern Advertising became obsessed with one simple question:
“What exactly is advertising?”
One popular view of advertising at that time was “keeping you name before the people“. Lasker’s response to that was, “Well, suppose I can’t live that long. Suppose I go broke and I can’t keep my name before the people.”
In 1907 he hired Claude Hopkins on a massive salary of $185,000 a year, that’s a whopping $4,717,149 in 2009 dollars.
He found the answer “salesmanship in print”
“Advertising is salesmanship in print. Its principles are the principles of salesmanship… The only purpose of advertising is to make sales.” Claude Hopkins
Why am I sharing this information with you, because too many businesses are wasting money on slick glossy ads that couldn’t even sell water to a dying man in a desert.
The secrets that the advertising companies don’t want you to know.
These clever advertising companies employ the most highly trained sales people in the world to sell you ad space. They’re using powerful influencing techniques to get you to hand over your hard-earned cash to advertise in publications just because your competitors are all there too. This is called keeping up with the Jones.
Guess what there going broke too. It’s the best-kept secret in the advertising world – most advertising simply does not work!
Why is it so? These gun salesmen know how to sell you the on idea of advertising. The problem is that advertising campaigns hire “wet behind the ears” marketing people. These so-called advertising genius love pretty pictures and silly stunts .It’s all based on Image. There brains have turned to mush, confused with the latest gimmicks & shiny gadgets. They just forgot, advertising is meant to sell your products. Not just sell you space to show your image.
The modern Advertising houses have fallen for the illusion of brand advertising rather than time tested direct response advertising.
Why would you let these greedy charlatans wearing their $5000 Armani suits peddle their lies?
If you want to smell fear & see the advertising rep break into a cold sweat, ask them why they disregarded the golden rule of marketing.
- Advertising is Salesman in print
- And how do you test and measure it?
Then watch them squirm as you ask them. Did your ads mange to create an avalanche of sales. If any.
They will um and Ah and try to change the subject, ‘that’s so hard to quantify & it takes time, but it won an award’.
Who gives a rip? Is an award going to drag the cash into your business so that you can pay your wages?
Beware of the Gun salespeople
I know that these gun slinging advertising salesman are convincing. How else can you explain why business would sign off on these pathetic stupid ads on TV? They don’t even make sense.
Are You heading for Feast or famine?
For last 11 years business was booming, you made truckloads of money. It was not such a problem wasting bucket loads of money on useless advertising. For years EVERYONE was making so much money, it was almost obscene.
It was a license to print money.
With Surging Interest rates & sky rocketing petrol prices, you’re starting to feel the squeeze. As much as the politicians claim prosperity, you’re been bludgeoned with bad news.
- Housing boom on a downward spiral
- Surging Inflation, will we get another rate rise
- Rampaging unions trying to claw back some of their industrial muscle
- Swelling Transport costs have to be past on
- Tourism down turn, remember all those Japanese tourist with bags of money, there not coming
- Cyclones ripping through Northern Australia, try buying bananas $12.00 a kilo, Ouch
- Margins being squashed with vice grip ferocity
Consumer confidence is at all time low.
Why am I sharing this information with you, because too many businesses are wasting money on slick glossy ads that couldn’t sell water to a dying man in a desert?
Starving Businesses are feeling cash strapped. Now everyone is talking panic because all your sales have dried up.
How will your business react in the coming financial squeeze, with rising interest rates & shrinking sales?
How will your business react in the coming hard times?
- An economic turndown has really hurt your business. Things are slowing & Cashflow is drying up. You have to generate more business, and soon or face serious consequences.
- You’re doing okay, but many businesses are not. Whether it’s from a soft economy or a decline in your particular industry, your colleagues are hurting. And while you’re doing okay now, the question “Will We be next?” keeps you up at night.
- Things are going gangbusters for you. But you know the economy is cyclical, and every business and industry has ups & downs. You want to put strategies into place that ensures your business continues to be profitable in both good times and bad… ride out any weakness in the future
I don’t want you suffering sleepless nights worrying about your business, I can guarantee your advertising rep won’t lose sleep if your ads don’t work. Oh well that life, he find another mark to sink his teeth into.
Just in case you’re thinking. “Hey I’m doing Ok” Why are you working 70 to 80 hours a week or more?
Don’t let your business are struggle, because you don’t have to live hand to mouth.
It time to put a stop to this madness. Don’t pay for advertising that does not work. Why make another down payment to the Advertising Rep’s new Porsche.
Your task: Analyse all your advertising to determine its true effectiveness. If you’re not tracking your results you have to figure out a way to do it now. Why? Because Claude told you so.
Get a your own Free copy of Claude Hopkins’ Scientific Advertising
SEO Copywriting with Karon Thackston
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