MARKETING MATTERS

Marketing Matters MARKETING MATTERS

Expert advice to improve how you promote and sell your products or services

DAN SAGER FOUNDED THE FAB-BIKER PR agency in 1996 and has been advising businesses in the motorcycle industry on marketing matters ever since. Here he shares some of the most important lessons he’s learned during that time. fab-biker.co.uk

THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY

Advertising – paying for a space to promote a product or service. Whether it’s on a page, a a product or service. Whether it’s on a page, a billboard, a screen or the airwaves, someone has paid good money for that space, so they should fill has paid good money for that space, so they should fill it with something that encourages consumers to part with their hard-earned cash. That’s a (good) result. Unfortunately, sometimes brands get it wrong, sending out a message that leaves potential customers feeling cold (which is bad) or actually upsets them so badly they actively avoid the brand altogether (an ugly situation)

Should’ve gone to Specsavers – a campaign that was so effective it’s actually become a popular saying. The short-sighted shepherd shearing his sheepdog and the myopic vet struggling to find a pulse on his nurse’s furry hat are humorous reminders that our eyesight is important. Now, whenever we think of poor vision, there’s one name that springs to mind, and that’s what makes this simple message so powerful.

THE BAD

In this context, a ‘bad’ advert is one that fails to generate a response. Pretty much every fragrance advertised on television would fall into this category. Whether it’s a Hollywood A-lister driving around the desert, digging up random objects, or a supermodel giving a falconry demonstration on a girder bridge, can you recall the brand of perfume being advertised? If not, what’s the point? Cillit Bang salesman Barry Scott might have been annoyingly over-enthusiastic, but we can all remember what he was selling, (mainly because he kept repeating the name very loudly).

THE UGLY

Rare, but by no means unique, ‘ugly’ campaigns are so poorly judged, or targeted, that they cause customers to question the integrity of a brand or, in extreme cases, avoid the product or service altogether. Earlier this year the government ran an advert on social media urging people to “STAY HOME. SAVE LIVES”. The image beneath the headline showed women at home caring for children and doing the housework. The only man depicted was sitting on a sofa! There was, unsurprisingly, an immediate and very noisy backlash, accusing

the government of stereotyping women and being sexist. In the uproar, the message was drowned out, the government lost credibility and the advert was withdrawn, wasting the money spent creating it.

Many bad adverts are highly creative and often beautifully made, but frequently lack relevance to the product

WHAT LESSONS CAN BE LEARNED FROM THIS?

Perfectly good adverts can turn ugly in the blink of an eye if you use words or images that stereotype people. How many times have we seen ‘bikers’ presented as men with beards and leather waistcoats chugging around on cruisers and thought “they don’t have a clue about us”?

Many bad adverts are highly creative and often beautifully made, but frequently lack relevance to the product. You may have sponsored an Olympic gymnast, but what’s that got to do with your small city car? And which brand is it anyway?

Good adverts tend to be refreshingly simple. We all know that a Mars a day “helps you work, rest and play” and that Carlsberg is “probably the best lager in the world”. There’s nothing complicated about either statement and it’s easy to remember which brand is being advertised. 

around on cruisers and thought

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