I know it is hard to believe but I didn’t win the lottery…again. I thought I’d try to win without playing my kids’ birth dates for once. Oh well. Not that I play every weekend.  I’ve gambled on the lottery maybe ten times in the last ten years. I don’t feel bad about it. Five bucks now and then has about as much chance of paying off as money invested on Wall Street. We all used to believe that we had to have a portfolio of investments.  Many of my friends and family saw their investments disappear. We’re in baffling times.

More baffling to me is why companies gamble on commercial productions they put on TV. Especially now, when every dollar really counts! Judging from the ads, these companies skip all the vital steps to making an effective direct response TV ad and then wonder why it doesn’t pull leads.

What do I mean by vital steps?  Well for one thing, know your target audience, thoroughly. Not just the demographic.  Know what imagery they’re receptive to. Know what they “think” about products or services similar to yours.  Know what about your product or service they will respond to positively. Know what emotion your target audience is sitting in. Know what words and phrases they agree with. These are just a few of the things we research.

If you don’t know these things before beginning the creative part of making a custom video production, you’re going to miss your target audience. You’ll disconnect with your audience to a greater or lesser degree.  Like the guys who marketed the Chevy Nova in South America, where “No Va” means “won’t go”. Duh.

Here’s another example.  We’ve had clients come to us with a product named Klimadynon. It alleviates discomfort during menstrual cycles.   We tested some alternate names and renamed the product so it didn’t communicate that it was for women who act like a dinosaur now and then.

If you don’t know your audience you’re wasting your money.  You’re not just losing sales, you may be driving them away!   If you don’t know your target audience you’ve reduced the chance of your ad being effective by 70%. It’s like playing darts blindfolded. You can’t see the target.  How do expect to hit a bull’s eye? We see advertisements on TV all the time that miss the target audience. They don’t cause the phone to ring.  The sponsor has wasted his money. Is there a better way?  You bet ! We’ve used it for years on our corporate clients and we started using it on our TV commercials.  It’s proven and scientific.  It takes the guesswork out of marketing.

All advertising is a gamble. Our proprietary methods put the odds in your favor. Otherwise, you may as well play the Lottery.  Your chance of winning is lousy but at least you’re not throwing away so much money. A better way to go is to find out how we can help you win with an effective marketing plan.  It’s a sure bet.