Jack-Rabbit UTOPIA

If you didn't read last week's memo, please give it a scan before you read on today. Click here.

Today I would like to tell you a new Turtle and Rabbit story.

The Rabbit represents 97% of advertising going on in the world today. It is made up of a series of sprints no one remembers. I'm not saying they are not effective, I am saying they are not remembered over the long haul. Rabbit advertising reaches people who are in the market right now for your products and services. (Exactly, who are they and how do you find them?)

I've learned how to write sprint ads as well as anyone. I however choose to call them "Event Ads" and I rarely write them. One of my mentors, heroes and friends is Chuck Mefford. Almost a decade ago he taught me how to write a proper event commercial. For short he called it a U.T.O.P.I.A. ad.

I want to make something clear. Just because I know how to do something, does not necessarily make it the right thing to do. I don't even think Chuck still teaches this. It was helpful to me when I first got into advertising.

Urgency---You have to give the public a time limit or an impending event that gives the them a short window in which to participate in the opportunity you are offering. If the shopper does not make a move right now, they will miss out. They will lose something they need or want, forever.

Theme---What product or service is this?

Offer---Why do I (the customer) care?

Price---How much is this going to cost me? Can I (the customer) afford the total price, the payment or the interest?

Item---Specifically what am I getting and what am I not getting?

Action---A call to ACTION. Ask the customer to take some kind of step in your direction to find out more, where to go, what to ask in order for them to take advantage of this "once in a lifetime" chance.

Car dealers are the masters of Jack-Rabbit-UTOPIA. The ads are crammed full of hype, dates, prices and impending event closing lines. The goal of most car ads is to reach people who are in the market this very second for a new set of wheels.

Jack-Rabbit UTOPIA has two major challenges:

1. Only about 2% of the public is in the market for the average product or service at any one time. This may be less and may be more depending on the product or service and the publics buying cycle of it. Buying Cycle is how often the public needs or wants your service or how often the public needs or wants to buy your product again. If you own a Bar-B-Que restaurant, this might be once a month. If you own a car dealership it could be every 2-3 years. If you own a furniture store the buying cycle can be up to every 7-9 years!

2. The other main problem is these types of ads are erased from our brains as soon as the date passes. Sleep erases your short term electric memory of all things no longer relevant. Face it, your event or big blow out sale is no longer relevant one second after it ends. NO LONGTERM BRANDING TAKES PLACE! Ok, that's not completely true. If your advertising plan is an ongoing series of sales events, the public's long-term chemical memory will remember that you have sales on a consistent basis. You will train them to keep their eyes open for your next big sales event.

Ok, Randy, why on earth did you spend this much teaching me how to write a commercial having two such huge flaws?

Good question. The answer is this there are times in the advertising world when and where you need a big fat dose of Jack-Rabbit UTOPIA. Remember, I told you this is a great way to advertise AN EVENT. When you are advertising, you are either advertising an event or you branding your business long-term.

I think UTOPIA is wonderful for upcoming concerts, parades, fairs, church events, annual festivals and "real" going out of business sales.

Nest week we'll talk about TURTLE POWER.

Here are few thoughts:

"Consistency always out-performs occasional brilliance." ---Victoria Woods

"Diligent effort, consistently applied, in a specified direction, over a long period of time, will produce results, certain." ---Joe Grimaud's Law of Certainty

"The tortoise didn't win because he was slow, nor did the hare lose because he was fast. The hare lost because he made poor choices." ---Sid Allsbury (my Dad)

Business Runs on Relationships, Relationships Take Time.

---Randy