I haven’t the faintest idea how to advertise and sell Coca-Cola. That’s not my line.
But when it comes to high-ticket products and services with a story to tell, I am convinced that the future calls for a new kind of print advertising.
It will be four-way advertising that, as much as possible, (1) attracts prospects’ attention; (2) advances the sale; (3) stimulates visits to the advertiser’s Web site; and (4) encourages brand familiarity and trust, all at the same time.
But too many agencies and their clients are still clinging to the past. The advertisers spend gobs of money constructing complex, informative, persuasive, interactive Web sites, and then do little to tell prospects about it and encourage them to visit — in fact, they sometimes seem to be trying to keep the site a secret.
The MailFrontier ad chosen for makeover here carries this as far as it can go and then a little further. It figures to knock readers off their chairs with an ad that is virtually a blank page. All it says, surrounded by an orgy of pure white space which must have thrilled the art director, is “Introducing Nothing.” Then at the bottom, in small, pale, sans-serif type, “No spam. No email fraud. Just the messages you want.”
But why should I believe them? Without any substantiation, it’s a claim anybody could make, and many software companies do.
So I decided to go to MailFrontier’s Web site and see if it would add Something to the Nothing. But where is the address? Ah, what is that teeny-tiny vertical line of type in the upper right-hand corner? They tried to tuck it in where it would least despoil all that pristine white space. But a few determined readers undoubtedly will find it there anyway.
Then I went to the Web site, despite the ad’s effort to discourage me, and found everything I needed and everything I wanted to know.
All these makeovers I do would not be possible were it not for the heroic efforts of unknown, unsung writers toiling in the basement turning out thousands of words of information and persuasion. There I can extract for my makeover just enough to whet the reader’s — correction, prospect’s — appetite for more.
And to those of you who keep writing to complain that my makeovers are too “copy heavy,” I can only reply: If that’s true, what about those copy-heavy Web sites? If “nobody reads long copy anymore,” then aren’t these Web site operators making a huge, costly mistake?
But surely nobody, including my critics, believes that they are. As I’m fond of pointing out, it’s true that readers don’t read all that copy, but prospects do.
My makeover seeks to accomplish all four of the aims of the informational advertising of the future that I’ve noted.
- It catches prospects’ attention
I like the use of an appropriate, arresting visual as an attention-getter as much as the next guy. But here I was stumped — until I found what I was looking for on the Web site. If the prospect is someone in a company worried about spams and scams, what could be more electrifying than a screen shot of an actual fraudulent e-mail followed by a headline about the problem?
- It advances the sale
The problem in the headline is followed by the solution in the subhead: Come to our Web site for advisories on current dangers like this. In the copy, the claim of product superiority is supported by a powerful customer testimonial.
- It sells the Web site
In addition to the motivation provided in the headline and subhead, the copy gives three more reasons for visiting the Web site: (a) get more information on the product advertised and what it can do for you; (b) download a free trial version; and (c) download a demo of a low-cost desktop version.
- It encourages brand familiarity and trust
Instead of associating MailFrontier with empty space, empty claims and a wise-guy attitude, as its ad does, my makeover associates the MailFrontier name and logo with helpfulness — helpful products, helpful information, helpful free demos and helpful public service in the form of advisories on current e-mail frauds to watch out for.
What do you think? Would my makeover pull 100 times as many responses from bona fide prospects as theirs? Or only 10 times as many?
THOMAS L. COLLINS is a veteran direct marketing admaker, agency creative director and co-author of four books on marketing. He is currently an independent marketing consultant and copywriter based in Manhattan.
If you see a direct response ad that you think is crying out for a makeover, clip it out and send it (unfolded, if possible) to me at 166 E. 34th St., #17-B, New York, NY 10016. To e-mail comments and opinions: thomas.l.collins@verizon.net.
