Category: The Power of Persuasion

Surprise! It works (almost) every time…

November 11, 2010
Filed under: Marketing Strategies, The Power of Persuasion, Observations From the Field — @ 9:04 pm

Kudos to Stan Gelber & Sons Heating & Cooling of Uniondale, NY.  Never heard of them?  Neither did I…until I got this direct mail piece from them. 

Of course, all my snail mail marketing usually goes right in the trash (sorry, if you’ve sent me any)…but this darned dog caught my eye on its journey into the wastebasket. 

I fished it right out, thinking…why is that dog wearing a hat and scarf?  Then, I actually read the entire card, front and back. 

And then I thought…damn.  They got me.  I don’t often think about heating or cooling systems…heck, I don’t even have a dog.  But this card suddenly made me wonder if my heating system is ready for the winter.

What arrested my attention was the element of surprise.   Even if you think it’s goofy, you cannot help but smile (c’mon, admit it) and be a little curious about this photo. 

The point is:  it broke through the clutter.  Five other direct mail marketing pieces went right into the trash at my house that day, but this one got fished out. 

Your lesson from this?  Before you can even begin to market to someone, you’ve got to get their attention.  And who doesn’t love a good surprise?

Less words…more meaning.

July 31, 2010
Filed under: Writing Tips, The Power of Persuasion — @ 11:52 am

I recently drove past a billboard on I-95 in New England which advertised an area bank.  This is all it said:

183 Years.  0 Bailouts.

How utterly brilliant.  With those “four” words, the reader’s takeaway is…this bank is sound, fiscally responsible, trustworthy, stable, and (most importantly) my money will be safe there.  Moreover, without saying a single actual disparaging word against its competitors, it clearly states:  they suck, and we’re better than them.

Audiences have short attention spans, so when seeking to persuade them, you can use fewer words by employing meaningful ones that enrich your statements beyond their actual face value.

This strategy works with all communication types, but of course, it’s particularly vital with billboards.  Look at that entire paragraph of imagery that got planted in my mind with just a 2-second glance, stolen while whizzing by on a (blissfully) traffic-free interstate.  Granted, I was doing the speed limit (40 years.  0 Speeding Tickets.) but it would have worked even if I had been driving past at 100 miles an hour.

Of course, then the need for the bailout would have been mine.