Business Marketing Advertising

I was reading a Chinese magazine the other day. In the magazine, there is an ad showing a good looking, muscular top less guy holding a bowl of rice. A BOWL OF RICE! I immediate turn to my friend and show that ad to them. They are selling sex appeal on a rice ad. Rice in Asia is like bread or potato in the US, nothing really sexy about it. But the advertiser trying to get you to think… eating their rice is sexy and healthy. It helps you to build a lean and muscular body, and of course, attract opposite sex.

This ad is interesting, and I think it is quite effective… it got me to show it to the people around me It is not cheap to have a full page ad in a popular magazine after all.

If you are running any advertising for your products or services, think about what you are trying to sell to your target audience. Think about the ads that you see day to day. For instance, beer ads always show a good looking guy getting attention in bar. They know their male customers want to get attention from the ladies, and the ad is trying to get into the mind of their customers, and give them what they want. Drinking the beer will get you attention in the bar. Did it mention anything about the taste of the beer? Not really.

If you are selling a exercise equipment or weight loss products, the people who purchase these products want to be fit, have a great body, be healthy, and be confident. Selling all the features of the machine might be effective, but selling the end result to them, let them imagine what they will look like after using your machine, will be more effective. That’s why you see a lot of before and after pictures in the weight loss ad.

The car industry, perfume industry, the jewelry industry, and the beer industry have master this technique. Look at the ads around you and you will realize.

So, if you are trying to put all the features and benefits of your products in your ad, but the ad is not converting as well as you would like, try changing the focus of the ad to something else. Think about who your customers are, what they want to be, how your products would help them to achieve what they want to be (sexy, have a great body, attract opposite sex, be confident), and convey your message in your marketing material. Try to get into your customers’ mind when you write your marketing material.