In order to look ahead to a new advertising idea, sometimes it helps to take a look at the past. When an advertiser has been in business for a number of years, there are plenty of possibilities.
Let’s take a look at a few idea-starters. Although there’s some natural overlap, it helps to examine each one separately:
By themselves, these facts don’t mean much – and in fact, could indicate that the company is outdated and out of touch with today’s consumers. The secret is to connect an age-related statistic to a specific benefit: “Our service team has 312 years of overall experience. This means we have encountered – and successfully diagnosed – just about every plumbing problem.”
This kind of information could become the main subject of an image ad campaign – or be shortened to be used as a tagline throughout that company’s marketing.
Your advertiser could throw a party to celebrate the anniversary of when they opened their doors. They could invite customers to drop by for a slice of birthday cake or have a sale featuring “throwback prices” on selected products.
You might be surprised at what you find: internal newsletters, early brochures on products that became best sellers, maybe even old copies of ads that announced special events.
When a company has been around for a long time, change is a consideration. Obviously, some older things have been good enough to keep and some things are newer and better. Those things – both old and new – can be selling points.
Have the advertiser’s product lines expanded since the beginning? Are there new locations? New hours?
Does the company still have the customer service focus it had in the beginning? Is that philosophy in a frame – and can it be photographed?
It adds up to this: sometimes, a blast from the past is just what the idea process needs.
COPYRIGHT LINE
(c) Copyright 2022 by John Foust. All rights reserved.
CREDIT LINE
John Foust has conducted training programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house training. E-mail for information: john@johnfoust.com