Times change.

Brands need to change with them.

At least the trappings of your promotion and advertising should. Too often we seem to get stuck in a time warp. Just because it is another decade in the program your commercial is scheduled to run in is not a reason to look like that era.

It’s similar if you’re trying to appeal to today’s audience and not come off stupid. Beware of being too trendy. That graphiti background is fine for the coasts but it screams “not from here” in the midlands. Too much “hot lingo” can backfire with both the target you are aiming for as well as the rest of the audience that is not quite up to the minute yet.

Everybody is not a valid statistic.

When the person presenting that original commercial storyboard or radio commercial or web site utters the word “Everybody” you need to beware. Examples:

• Everybody has a smart phone these days. (over 75% in the USA but only 37% worldwide according to PEW research)
• Everybody bets on televised sports (Statista says 13%)
• Everybody knows video gets more digital shoppers (But mobile is 3x of desktop viewers.)

Being in sync is not a perfect science.

The better you know your primary customer the more your appeals can be honed. What if you have the perfect solution for those folks that don’t currently have a smart phone? Should you be looking to sell to people that don’t own a mobile phone or would you be better off going after the folks that haven’t upgraded to a smart phone?

Building a commercial whether it is radio or TV or both that relies on bettors language and actions is going ot fail to reach north of 85% of the audience. Why would you do that? And be careful of the “Big Game syndrome” that usually is presented as the one that gets the biggest audience of the season or year or week. Look hard at the statistics.

Video isn’t vaporware but it is close.

Too often video is presented as a band aid for a sucking chest wound. A single video will not save you. Video needs to be part of a considered strategy that is based on how digital shoppers operate in your market. Multiple videos will serve you better than one that runs continuously.

If you put videos on your web site they should start on customer command, not automatically. You have to stay committed, changing out video options and building in Calls to Action (CTAs) that allow the potential customer to get more information. That commitment goes to building videos that meet the criteria sought by your perfect clients. The wrong videos or those couched in the wrong  terms, visually or verbally, will result in negative click through.

How important is Season, Month or Holiday?

We all know that sales events linked to the calendar pay off.

Or do we?

Twenty percent of annual retail sales occur during the holiday season (Thanksgiving to New years). That means that 80% do not. Knowing the right season, month or other days to chase that business is a good idea.

You need to know what used to work and calculate how the recent trends might be impacting the situation. For instance, there was a time that catalogs were most impressive in terms of sales in the period between Christmas and New Years. Is that still true? How much has online retail changed or added to that phenomenon? The same goes for all the other holidays.

What’s on your calendar?

Jerry Fletcher is a sought-after International Speaker and the founder and Grand Poobah of www.BrandBrainTrust.com

His consulting practice, founded in 1990, is known for Brand development, Positioning and Business Development on and off-line for independent professionals.

Consulting: www.JerryFletcher.com
Speaking: www.NetworkingNinja.com