People love ideas. I certainly do. That is why I like good advertisements like those that Duval Guillaume makes for our airline, Virgin Express, once again voted best short-haul airline in Belgium. The creative advertising agencies brands like Virgin to continue to capture the attention of our customers–a tough act, I can tell you. They have turned what could be grey company messages into great entertainment. Whether you are in the marketing business or just interested in advertising, this amusing little book will not teach you how to become a great advertiser–but at least it should help you understand why you’re not. Sir Richard Branson
DUVAL GUILLAUME www.duvalguillaume.com
SIMPLE TRUTH ABOUT ADVERTISING
of the world have made it possible for global
Simple truth about advertising
It was the end of the century. The end of the millenium. Earth had turned into a village of five billion people. Everybody could talk to everybody, no matter where they were. Companies sold their products all over the world, and in order to stay familiar to their customers, they had to advertise in such a way that people believed they lived next door. Oh, life became complicated.
And then, suddenly something happened. Out of nowhere, written on the back of a beer mat, came...
Duval Guillaume's
Simple truth about advertising
About
BRIEFINGS
SHOULD HELP YOU SEE, NOT MAKE YOU BLIND.
8
9
About
THE
THICKER THE STRATEGY, THE THINNER THE IDEA.
10
11
About
THERE
IS NO WAY TO FEEL SAFE ABOUT A BIG IDEA.
12
13
About
IT
IS GOOD FOR YOUR BUSINESS IF THERE IS A LINK BETWEEN THE AD’S IDEA AND THE BRAND’S PROMISE.
14
15
About
A
BRAND IS A PROMISE. IT CREATES THE
EXPECTATIONS THAT THE PRODUCT HAS TO DELIVER.
16
17
About
TO
TURN A
BIG BRAND
INTO A
GREAT BRAND, HUGE IDEA.
YOU NEED A
18
19
About
OVERESTIMATING
THE MARKET POTENTIAL
IS AS DANGEROUS AS UNDERESTIMATING IT.
20
21
About
RESULTS
AREN’T RESULTS UNTIL YOU SEE THEM.
22
23
About
YOU’RE
NOT ALONE OUT THERE.
24
25
About
IT
HELPS IF YOU CAN TAKE A POSITION THAT NO-ONE ELSE HAS TAKEN.
26
27
About
WHEN
YOU LOOK AT AN IDEA, PRESENTED
TO YOU BY ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST AGENCIES, DEVISED BY THE WORLD’S GREATEST CREATIVES, SUPPORTED BY YOUR ENTIRE MARKETING DEPARTMENT AND YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO THINK ABOUT IT... GO HOME AND ASK YOUR WIFE.
28
29
About
IT
IS HARD TO INVOLVE EVERY LOCAL
MARKETING DIRECTOR AND STILL APPEAL TO THE CONSUMER.
30
31
About
UNLIKE
MOST OF YOUR EMPLOYEES,
CONSUMERS DON’T DO THINGS
“BECAUSE
YOU TELL THEM TO”.
32
33
About
THEY’RE
THE RIGHT WAY TO ATTRACT PEOPLE FOR THE WRONG REASONS.
34
35
About
YELLING
36
ISN’T SELLING.
37
About
CONSUMERS
ARE ATTRACTED TO THE MEDIA
BECAUSE OF ITS ENTERTAINMENT AND INFORMATION VALUE, NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE DYING TO SEE YOUR LATEST AD.
38
39
About
BRANDS
THAT FEEL SMALL TEND TO SIGN OFF WITH A
40
BIG
LOGO.
41
About
THEY
WATCH TOO,
DON’T MAKE THEM FEEL TRAPPED.
42
43
About
FIRST DO WHAT THE CLIENT WANTS. THEN DO WHAT THE CLIENT NEEDS. IF THE TWO HAPPEN TO BE THE SAME, YOU CAN GO HOME EARLY.
44
45
About
A
CAMPAIGN IDEA IS AN IDEA THAT GIVES IDEAS.
46
47
About
IT
IS EASIER TO SELL AN AD TO A BOARD OF DIRECTORS
THAN TO THE MAN IN THE STREET.
48
49
About
GREAT
DANCERS AREN’T NECESSARILY GREAT LOVERS.
50
51
About
MOST
AGENCIES AGREE THAT AWARDS
HAVE NO IMPORTANCE.
(A
PERCEPTION
THAT CHANGES BRIEFLY AFTER THEY’VE WON ONE.)
52
53
About
WHEN
YOUR AGENCY IS A BIG SUCCESS AND YOU’RE NOT, BOY DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.
54
55
About
LET’S
PUT IT THIS WAY:
THEY’RE AFTER YOUR BUSINESS.
56
57
About the role of Advertising
NO
58
COMMENT.
59
About
THERE’S
A THIN LINE BETWEEN GAINING A CLIENT’S CONFIDENCE AND KEEPING HIS RESPECT.
60
61
About
THEY’RE
62
STRANGE.
63
INDEX: About AWARDS ............................................................. p 52 About BIG BRANDS ...................................................... p 18 About BRANDS ............................................................. p 16 About BRAND POSITIONING ..................................... p 26 About BRIEFINGS ........................................................... p 8 About BUSINESS FORECASTS ................................... p 22 About CALL TO ACTION ............................................ p 32 About CAMPAIGN IDEAS ........................................... p 46 About CLIENT’S EXPECTATIONS .............................. p 20 About CLIENT SERVICE .............................................. p 60 About CREATIVE COMPETITIONS ............................ p 50 About CREATIVE PEOPLE ........................................... p 62 About DEBRIEFINGS .................................................... p 44 About EXISTING CLIENTS .......................................... p 42 About GLOBALISATION .............................................. p 30 About HARD SELL ........................................................ p 36 About MARKETING ...................................................... p 24 About PRESENTATIONS .............................................. p 48
Copyright ©1997 by Duval Guillaume. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher
About PRIVATE LABELS .............................................. p 56
Published by: Duval Guillaume Written and illustrated by: Guillaume Van der Stighelen
About PROMOTIONS ................................................... p 34
Copies may be ordered from: Duval Guillaume (info@duvalguillaume.com)
About RELEVANCE ...................................................... p 14 About RESEARCH ......................................................... p 12 About SUCCES .............................................................. p 54 About THE DECISION PROCESS ................................ p 28 About THE MEDIA ....................................................... p 38 About THE ROLE OF ADVERTISING ......................... p 58 About THE SIZE OF THE LOGO ................................ p 40 About THE STRATEGY ................................................ p 10
ISBN: 804230 Printed in Belgium, at Gillis nv/sa - Brussels Paper: Bioset 115 gr/m2 ✒ by GPG Papier, tel. 02/755.12.11 - fax 02/757.05.11 e-mail gpg.papier@skynet.be First edition: March '1998 Second edition: March '2001 Third edition: May ‘2004