Feb 08, 2018
The Super Bowl is a spectacle beyond just the game - amongst all the hype, the hours of pregame shows and the halftime extravaganza are the TV commercials.
This is one of the very few times people look forward to the commercials, to see what the big companies are going to come up with to WOW us.
Celebrities making fun of themselves, wild computer animation, inspiring, even tear-jerking mini vignettes are all there for us to enjoy.
But there is an inherent marketing problem here, one I want you to avoid.
These companies are spending millions to entertain us, and to have bragging rights to the "best" Super Bowl commercials, but do these ads do the one thing ads should do? Do they drive sales?
What most of these ads do is called Branding, or building brand awareness, but often they are so clever they fail to do even that.
Many times I can remember the commercial, the punch line, but I cannot tell you what product it was for, nevermind making me want to go out and make a purchase.
What almost all these ads are lacking is a call to action - telling the consumer to do something specific to make a purchase.
None of the ads are direct response.
Now for Doritos, this is not necessarily a problem as they have vast amounts of money to spend on brand awareness.
But we music teachers have to spend our advertising dollars and efforts a bit more wisely.
We need to focus on the student, their problems, and then tell them our solution and how they can get it.
That's direct marketing.
If you simply list your credentials and let people know you teach voice or guitar - that's just branding.
There is nothing in that message to compel the potential student to act.
You want to make sure your focus is on the potential student: their problems and then your solution.
And then tell them EXACTLY what you want them to do.
No talking animals or celebrities - but increased business and sales? Yes, I will have that, please.
To better business!
John Henny