Years ago I advised a nightclub whose owner insisted on talking about his new $75,000 sound system.
I told him, “Nobody cares that your new sound system cost you $75,000.”
That kinda hurt his feelings, because spending that $75,000 was a big deal to him.
“What will your patrons experience as a result of your new sound system?”
“A state of the art audio system!” he enthused.
“So? How will that affect your patrons?”
“They’ll enjoy the music more.”
“Why?”
(Exasperated) “Because it’s a brand-new $75,000 system!”
“Why does that mean they’ll enjoy the music more?”
“Look, at most clubs you’ve got the deejay on one side, separated from the crowd…even if it’s a small space. The music comes at you from the ceiling. But with this system, the floor literally vibrates to the music. It’s like…like you’re not dancing ‘to’ music; you become part of the music. It’s extraordinary. That’s why I spent $75,000 to buy —”
“Don’t tell me the name of the system.”
“Why not?”
“You’re not selling the audio system. You’re selling the extraordinary experience of becoming part of the music…and, I’m guessing, part of the entire crowd on the dance floor?”
“Exactly!”
We filled the club with our radio campaign.
Today’s Lesson That Applies To All Advertising Media
Talk to your prospects about things they care about, in their language.
Here’s a huge sign over a local dry cleaning establishment….
There might be dry cleaning customers who are looking for an establishment that uses “environmentally conscious” equipment and materials.
But there isn’t a single “civilian” anywhere who is looking for an establishment that has “the latest state of the art DF-2000 dry cleaning and special wet cleaning systems.”
Is it possible that DF-2000 paid for part or all of that sign? Yes.
Even if the store got the sign for free, would they have attracted more customers by paying for a sign that gives people a reason to want to patronize that store? Yes.
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“there are occasions selling where the what matters. Recording Studios for example. You better have a gear list on your studio website to say what is in the studio you hopefully will rent. But most of the people looking at that know exactly what it is. To the average joe, it’s a foreign language. Consider your audience.
At least you’re not a fair weather friend!
That dry cleaner’s sign is (sadly) like most ads, which use a whole bunch of words to say a whole bunch of nothing.