Five words that kill your advertising
Posted by Brent Dixon on July 10th, 2006
- Quality
- Service
- Value
- Integrity
- Caring
Sound familiar? If you add a stockphoto and a pun, these words represent 80% of credit union advertising.
There are a couple of problems with these words:
- They represent the status quo. You can’t build your marketing around the fact that you’re doing what any business is expected to do. Imagine if I had tried to woo my girlfriend by telling her “Hi, my name is Brent. I’ve never murdered anyone, plus sometimes I bathe.” She would have moved on. Fortunately, I told her I was filthy rich and could bench three times my bodyweight. Perhaps this isn’t the best example. Let’s move on.
- They have become so overused and tired that your message will instantly slip out of consumer consciousness. A U.S. Department of Labor report on the chemical formalin explains that “prolonged and repeated contact can cause numbness.” Mundane advertising has the same side effects.
I like the closing paragraph of the article:
What you think about your company doesn’t matter. All that matters is what your customers and prospects think. The next time you’re tempted to use one of these five words in an ad, stop and ask if there’s a better way to get the message across. Using common words that have become empty cliches is a shortcut to nowhere. Just because you sell it doesn’t mean people will buy it.
So here’s a direct question –
Without using those words, or a facsimile substitute, what makes your credit union (or company/organization) different?
Brent – I like you picking up on this article since it got pass me. (not that hard to do!)
Even if the words went beyond status quo to some form of better sameness, better sameness is just table stakes in today’s competitive world.
Add to this your observation that these words are well worn to say the least. When people say the predictable a predictable way they are asking to be ignored.
Good pot stirring kind of post – keep em coming!
Who ever thought that a Gecko or a Duck would be selling insurance? I believe you are right on the mark. Consumers are tired of hearing empty promises. We have to focus on why CU’s provide an exceptional experience beyond their (Yawn) current empty experiences.
In Life After the 30 Second Spot, Joseph Jaffe says that advertising should adopt three new roles:
1) To empower
2) To demonstrate
3) To involve
He goes on to say that these new roles are no longer as focused on raising awareness, and are based much more on engagement.
This new line of strategy doesn’t only affect the message, but also the delivery channels. Consumers are way too cynical to hear “hey! hey! give us you’re business! we’re great!” and be moved by that. Instead of shouting about how top-notch they are, businesses should look for ways to provide meaning to their market, and engage on that level.
That’s why we encourage the use of social media like blogs to hit that connection point. There’s no better way to actively engage your market than to have a sit down with them (so to speak).
I’‘ll vote for the word “Advocacy”! Now there is a very appropriate word to match the CU “experience”.
That’s a good call, Roger. What are some ways CUs could include member advocacy as a part of their marketing strategy?
transparency, posting competition’s rates, customer partnering, product innovation, employee incentives, seeking customer input for new products and services, etc.
I’ll let Glen Urban say it (from his CU must read book – DON’T JUST RELATE – ADVOCATE).
“Credit Unions are rated very well (on the advocacy scale) because they stand up for members and partner with them, but credit unions are ranked lower on transparancy and product comparison because they generally do not display competitive interest rates. In addition, they do a good job with existing industry products but are usually not product innovators”.
In the same book Urban basically says that out of all of the financial institutions, Credit Unions have the best chance to claim “advocacy”. That’s a pretty strong compliment!
I would like to see some tired elements put to pasture as well.
Not everything in a burst is important and not everything important should be put in a burst.
I had a client who, on a newsletter had 6 bursts on one page. This is excessive and counter productive. There are plenty of elegent ways to display important information without resorting to used car sales tactics.
I would be interested in hearing about other design trick and doodads that people use or overuse to the point of ineffectiveness
I, for one, would like to see the animated gif American flag die a horrible death. CUs seem to love this one.
Marketing with exclamation points and all caps drives me nuts as well. Please stop shouting at me, credit union marketer.
And finally, let’s put generic shiny stock photography of WASPs out to pasture, please.