Fat ads? Or skinny ads?
“Pudding! Where can I find pudding?”
The question came from a rather large man and it was directed to an employee in my local supermarket.
The guy asking the question must have weighed 500lbs, and it prompted me to wonder “Er? Haven’t you had enough?” Fortunately, I had the good sense to keep my mouth shut.
On first glance you might think the question has nothing to do with marketing. But you’d be wrong. Why? Because when it comes to your marketing, is pudding the only thing you’re calling out for?
Is your message massively overweight and unaware of the strain it’s putting on the heart, joints, and circulation system of your business?
Are you heading for the diabetes equivalent of the business world? The need sometime soon to cut something off because you can’t control your hunger for lardy, fat-filled ads and marketing?
If all you’re interested in is marketing pudding, won’t your messages just wobble into people’s lives, get stared at, and get instantly categorized as somehow unappealing? Could it be that inside every one of your fat messages (the ones about you, your ego, the length of time you’ve been in business, and just how great you are) there’s actually a skinny message (about your customer and how your product can solve that person’s problem) trying to get out?
Put yourself in your customer’s shoes for a moment. What kind of message appeals to you? One that’s lardy and sweaty and that’s all about the person trying to sell you stuff? Or the one that’s lithe, toned, fit, appealing, and all about you?
An old friend in the UK, used to wear a t-shirt on which there was an illustration of a happy, 1940s era family, under which was the headline “They’re happy because they eat lard!”
No. I’m not kidding. But the more I think about this, the more I see the t-shirt slogan as a major message from the typical, brand-based ad agency. Their implication being that branding is everything and that advertisers ought to keep quiet and accept the advertising they get and to forget all this foolishness about direct response and measuring return on investment.
To my mind this smacks of the way Winston was treated in George Orwell’s “1984”. Winston was finally convinced that 2+2 = 5, something I think many businesses have been convinced of with their advertising.
Somehow, I’m not convinced.
Personally, I know I don’t have the body of an athlete. I used to be a regular cross country runner and not that long ago my wife Sue saw a photograph of me taken when I was 18. She said “Oh my God! You were so skinny!” Thank you dearest. I love you too! So yes, those days are probably gone.
But although I need to lose a few pounds (well, 20 actually!) my messages don’t.
They’re skinny.
Skinny messages inform and inspire. Skinny marketing tells of brighter futures and the world of the possible. Why? Because that’s where your messages take people when they see themselves using your product or service. People like to be around this kind of message because it reminds them of themselves, or as they want to see themselves.
The only thing a fat message broadcasts is “Look at me! See how lardy and self absorbed I am! See how richly I live because you gave me your money for the worthless, lardy things I offer!” Well, maybe we’re getting just a tad carried away here, but you get the point. Even though they talk a big game, fat messages generally offer very little, they have low self esteem and low self worth, and they offer the customer little value.
Skinny messages talk about the customer and about the things the customer can achieve through use of the product. Skinny messages talk about solutions. Fat messages talk about features and … lard.
If your messages are fat, all is not lost.
Through diet (focused attention on your customer and their outcome), exercise (repeating attention on your customers and your product benefits), and by cutting back on the bad stuff (ego and talk about you, bargain sales, and cuts in price, service, and value), and by including more good stuff (premium content, desirable offers, significance, rapport, trust, belief, and likeability) in your marketing meal plan, you’ll become leaner, faster, fitter, and stronger.
The practical upshot here is that the only thing that will get fatter—is your bank balance.
