Leo Burnett, the marketing genius behind advertising icons such as Tony The Tiger, Toucan Sam, and The Pillsbury Doughboy, once said about marketing, “Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.” Unfortunately, many organizations never get that message. A great deal of advertising, if you can call it that, is complicated, forgetful, clunky, and meaningless. So here’s my take on what Mr. Burnett was trying to tell us:
1. Make it simple.
Many people believe they need to give a college dissertation on the products and services they offer. By the time they are finished explaining their offerings their targets have moved on to something less complex. Make sure that you are keeping things simple. Less is more. Don’t make your target work so hard to understand what you’re trying to offer.
2. Make it memorable.
In an overly connected world where information flies around at the speed of light (and in mass quantity), there is so much noise that your target is having to sort through. Sure, you think it makes sense or looks creative, but will your audience see it that way? You can’t think like you. You must think like your target. If you don’t make a cognitive impact on your target then you’re just wasting money.
3. Make it inviting to look at.
It’s widely accepted that most people are visual learners. Having a cohesive color palette, using a legible font, and utilizing images that support the copy are important considerations when creating effective marketing collateral. Additionally, if your marketing efforts look half-baked then YOU will be perceived as half-baked. A competitor need only look more professional than you to win. It pays to look good.
4. Make it fun to read.
As attention spans dwindle to seconds, you have a daunting task of getting your message across quickly. Give your target something to hang on to. Let them into your organization in a clever way. You have the opportunity to actually build a personality for your organization. Keep your headlines short and powerful. Ask a question to get the target to interact with your copy. Use an image that offers a unique slant to the meaning of the copy. Make your marketing engaging and you’ll pull more motion from your audience.
Keeping your advertising simple, memorable, pleasing to the eyes, and fun will certainly do you a better job than what most businesses are doing these days. If you keep these tips in mind, your advertising efforts will be, in the immortal words of Tony the Tiger, “Grrrrrrreat!”
