The Ad Tune-up Checklist
9 essential elements to advertising that persuades.
Nobody likes advertising.
Nobody trusts advertising.
What’s going to make your advertising any different?
Advertising is about influencing people. But there’s no proven method
for getting people to do what you want them to do. Mind control
devices don’t exist (yet). So advertising is inherently more of an art form
than it is an exact science.
However, modern advertising has existed for over a century. And really
smart people have observed the patterns of persuasion. Leverage these
principles and tactics properly, and you will stack the deck in your favor.
Don’t leave it up to chance. Follow this 9-point tune-up and you'll soon
have more customers knocking at your door.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1. Positioning
You don’t exist except for in the minds of others. So, how do you want to exist?
Volvo means safe when it comes to cars.
Subway means healthy when it comes to fast food joints.
Apple means simple when it comes to technology.
Before you run your first ad, you need to know how you want the public to think about
you. Being a really good _________ company isn’t specific enough. There are too many of
those.
If your advertising doesn’t point back to a consistent, meaningful story people won’t know
where to place you in their mental rolodex.
What do you want to be known for?
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
2. Surprise
Advertising doesn’t work if it’s not persuasive.
And you can’t be persuasive if you don’t gain and hold attention.
Broca’s Area is the region of your brain responsible for word association and anticipation.
You brain is a party. Broca is the bouncer. It decides what information or stimuli gets in and
what gets ignored.
Broca knows you’re busy so it doesn't allow any unneeded information to enter your
working memory. The only information Broca lets into the party is information it doesn’t
already have. (Predictability is the enemy of good advertising.)
Surprise Broca and he’ll grant you entry into the minds of your customers.
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
3. Contrast
If not for night, there would be no day. If not for sadness, there would be no joy.
If not for your competition, there would be no you.
Surprising Broca is the best way to gain attention. Achieving divergence or contrast is the
best way to hold it.
The best way to differentiate yourself from your competition is to… be different. Your
points of contrast shouldn’t just be mentioned. Contrast is the tightly-woven fibers that
shape the fabric of your advertising.
Determine how you’re different and reinforce it through sound, shape, movement, music
and tone of voice.
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
4. Mental Images
It’s a shame too many ads say this…
“We keep our nose to the grindstone to provide the experience you deserve.”
When they could say this…
“You’d think we’ve been sniffing glue the way our nose is stuck to the grindstone for you.”
We don’t go anywhere in the real world we don’t first go in our minds. Your job isn’t to
convince someone to do something. Your job is to make someone see themselves talking
the action(s) you want them to take.
Avoid cliches. Paint vivid mental images through your advertising and you’ll get more
people both remembering your ads and “going there” in the real world.
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
5. Relevance
An actionable message strikes a powerful balance between relevance and credibility.
Too often people boast of their credibility. (Why I should trust you.)
“We’ve been in business for 50 years.”
“We’re accredited by the Better Business Bureau.”
Without speaking to relevance. (Why I should actually care.)
When you have relevance without credibility you’re offering hype. But when you have
credibility without relevance you’re answering a question no one is asking.
Good advertising always gives people a reason to care about what you have to say.
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
6. Precision
You and I are at the driving range. You just finished your bucket but you want to hit 5 more
balls. I throw them all at once to you and they all hit the ground. Then I toss 5 more. One
at a time. You catch every one.
Traditional advertising is an interruption medium. You’re trying to interrupt people with
messages they don’t want to hear at times they (probably) don’t want to hear them. And
chances are you’ve only got 30 seconds.
Every ad should have one message. One idea. One call-to-action.
Got another message? Another idea? Create another ad.
Family these messages together with a consistent style and overall positioning strategy.
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
7. Values
Reason, logic and language are controlled by your brain’s prefrontal cortex.
Emotion, intuition and decisions come from your limbic system.
That’s why sometimes it’s so hard to explain why you did what you did.
The punchline? Human beings are largely irrational decision-makers. We choose based on
how things make us feel. We choose things that remind us who we are and/or who we see
ourselves becoming.
Most people drink Starbucks because the brand aligns with what matters to them as a
person, not because it’s the best-tasting coffee.
Appeal to your audience’s values and you’ll bypass logic all the way to the bank.
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
8. Frequency
Every night you go to sleep and your brain erases memory from the previous day.
Low-relevance memory is the first to go. (Some memory is so highly-relevant that no
amount of sleep can ever erase it.)
Your advertising is at the bottom of your prospects’ totem pole of relevancy. That means
you need to advertising at a frequency that outpaces sleep’s ability to erase your
awareness from the consuming public.
If your advertising schedule isn’t achieving the proper frequency (which we’re happy to
share with you), you’re not penetrating the market like you should.
This creative little video should really help nail down this concept for you.
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9. Expectations
How often do people buy a mattress? Once every 7 years? Maybe?
How often do people by a cup of coffee? Almost every day?
How quickly your advertising produces results is in direct correlation with your product
purchase cycle. If you have a long product purchase cycle, chances are less than 1% of the
population is in the market for your product/service at any given moment.
The mattress store that cancels its campaign after 3 months had unrealistic expectations of
its advertising and never really gave it a chance.
A good ad campaign won’t start producing optimal results until at least half the length of
your product purchase cycle.
9
Use a checklist to fine-tune your ads.
Positioning - Your ads categorize you specifically in the minds of the consuming public.
Surprise - Your ads surprise Broca with something different or unexpected.
Contrast - Your ads starkly diverge from most ads, especially those of your competitors.
Mental Images - Your ads paint vivid mental images in the minds of your audience.
Relevance - Your ads give people something to pay attention to and/or care about.
Precision - Each ad has only one message and/or one call to action.
Values - Your message aligns with the values and worldview of your target audience.
Frequency - You advertise frequently enough so your message isn’t erased by sleep.
Expectations - You don’t give up on your campaign before it’s had a chance to succeed.
Wanna talk about it?
Contact me if you have any questions or would like to schedule a free audit of your
advertising campaign.
CJ Maurer
Marketing Navigator
Of the Sea
Phone: (716) 218-3080
Email: [email protected]
Thank you.