Advertising Information

What Makes A Winning Online Ad?


Most people who have been involved with sales & marketing for any length of time have heard the axiom, "Sell them what they want. Then sell them what they need". But what does it mean? It sounds a little odd doesn't it?

Does it mean that people are frivolous & go around making irrational purchases that don't meet their needs, before more serious ones that sustain them? Should you try to sell trivial goods first, & then follow up with those that are more substantial? Should you put games & entertainment on your home page, and flour & salt in your follow up messages?

No, that's not it.

What it is trying to say is that people buy for emotional reasons. Does anybody buy a Mercedes Benz just because they NEED to get from point A to point B? Do they buy it because they NEED all of the amazing gizmos, the heated leather seats & hand polished wood trim?

No, a person buys an expensive car that they don't need because it makes them feel important. You may be shocked when I say this, but I'm going to say it anyway. Luxury purchases are motivated by vanity, envy, pride, jealousy, & narcissism, even greed. And, there is nothing sinister, or wrong with it. That's just the way we are as human beings. It's what makes us tick. In fact, these emotions are behind all kinds of everyday purchases too.

Understanding how they motivate buying behavior is critical to selling.

Look at this ad for the Wall Street Journal. It's said to be one of the most successful advertisements in the history of the world, responsible for over $1 billion in sales.

Look carefully, & see how skillfully it evokes one or more of these powerful emotions. Try to get a sense of how you feel when you read it. ------------------------------------------------------

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL "TWO YOUNG MEN" LETTER

On a beautiful late spring afternoon, twenty-five years ago, two young men graduated from the same college. They were very much alike, these two young men. Both had been better than average students, both were personable, and both - as young college graduates are - were filled with ambitious dreams for the future.

Recently, these men returned to their college for their 25th reunion. They were still very much alike. Both were happily married. Both had three children. And both, it turned out, had gone to work for the same Midwestern manufacturing company after graduation, and were still there.

But there was a difference. One of the men was manager of a small department of that company. The other was its president.

Have you ever wondered, as I have, what makes this kind of difference in people's lives? It isn't always a native intelligence or talent or dedication. It isn't that one person wants success and the other doesn't. The difference lies in what each person knows and how he or she makes use of that knowledge.

And that is why I am writing to you and to people like you about The Wall Street Journal. For that is the whole purpose of The Journal: To give its readers knowledge - knowledge that they can use in business.

The letter closes:

About those two college classmates I mention at the beginning of this letter: They were graduated from college together and together got started in the business world. So what made their lives in business different?

Knowledge. Useful knowledge. And its application.

I cannot promise you that success will be instantly yours if you start reading The Wall Street Journal. But I can guarantee that you will find The Journal always interesting, always reliable, and always useful. -------------------------------------------------------

This is a newspaper! It doesn't get much more mundane than that, but the same principle applies, do you see the power in it?

What we are talking about here are emotions that are inextricably tied to the universal desire for esteem that's hard wired into our nature as human beings. If you've got a pulse, you're under its spell. But here's the kicker. Most of the time, we are not even aware of the stimulus, only the response.

When you were reading the story about the graduates and the reunion, chances are, you were playing out your own meta program inside your head, and experiencing one of the esteem emotions. And it triggered your own personal desire to show the world what you could do, didn't it?

Esteem (to feel valued) is NOT a WANT at all. It is a basic human NEED almost as fundamental as food & water. Your prospect's hunger & thirst for it. Their emotions are the expressions of that craving.

If you can trigger them, & then associate satisfaction of the "esteem needs" with your product, you've got a winning ad!

Copyright 2005 Daniel Levis

Daniel Levis is a top marketing consultant & direct response copywriter based in Toronto Canada. Recently, Daniel & world-renowned publicist & copywriter Joe Vitale teamed up to co author "Million Dollar Online Advertising Strategies - From The Greatest Letter Writer Of The 20th Century!", a tribute to the late, great Robert Collier. Let the legendary Robert Collier show you how to write words that sell...Visit the below site & get 3 FREE Chapters! http://www.Advertising-Online-Strategies.com/ad-strategies.html


MORE RESOURCES:

Monsters and Critics.com

Google-Yahoo Ad Deal Put on Hold
Techtree.com, India - 2 hours ago
Further to that Google issued similar statement, "When we announced our advertising agreement with Yahoo in June we agreed to delay its implementation until ...
Google and Yahoo! vs. the advertising world Bigmouthmedia News
Yahoo, Google ad deal gets delayed Bizjournals.com
Google Isn't Going to Wait Forever For Yahoo Wired News
Washington Post - CRN
all 197 news articles


UPDATE 1-Key advertising report downgrades global forecasts
Reuters - 1 hour ago
By Kate Holton LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A leading international media buyer slashed its global advertising spend forecasts for 2008 and 2009 on Tuesday, ...
Key advertising report downgrades global forecasts Reuters
all 9 news articles


blinkx Grows Advertising Sales Team to Meet Growing Online TV ...
MarketWatch - 4 hours ago
"We're confident that our new colleagues will be enormous assets to our team and aid us in taking full advantage of the thriving online video advertising ...


UK's Ofcom in consultation until Dec 11 on TV advertising
Forbes, NY - 58 minutes ago
The Ofcom said its initial preference is for no change to the overall amount of advertising on television, but it will consider alternative views on the ...
Ofcom to announce longer and more frequent adverts Telegraph.co.uk
Ofcom may allow more teleshopping Digital Spy
all 7 news articles


Advertising spend buoyed by rush to internet
guardian.co.uk, UK - 5 hours ago
Internet advertising spend is "propping up" traditional media, according to a report, surging 21% year on year to £1.68bn in the first six months of 2008. ...
Traffic Dude Joins IAB as First General Member Adult Ad Agency PR Web (press release)
Internet ad spend up 21% to £1.68bn in first half New Media Age
all 6 news articles


First Post

Daily Beast Don't Need No Stinking Advertising — For Now
Wired News - 20 hours ago
By Meghan Keane October 06, 2008 | 10:41:08 AMCategories: Advertising Tina Brown has found one way around the struggle for winning ad dollars in the middle ...
paidContent.org - Tina Brown's Daily Beast Starts With A Growl ... Washington Post
Another scoop for Tina Brown as she swaps print for the web Financial Times
Tina Brown unveils Daily Beast guardian.co.uk
USA Today - First Post
all 34 news articles


Reuters

Net advertising climbs 21%
Scotsman, United Kingdom - 12 hours ago
SPENDING on internet advertising in Britain grew 21 per cent in the first half of 2008 to £1.68 billion, according to new figures from the Internet ...
UK Internet ad spend up 21 percent, overall market down Reuters
Internet marketing spending 'on the rise' Digital Response Media
Online ad expenditure props up market Marketing Week
Bluhalo - PC Pro
all 16 news articles


Japan advertising firm Dentsu posts big sales fall
Reuters - 28 minutes ago
T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Japan's top advertising firm, recorded its biggest monthly sales decline in nearly a decade as the financial ...


Police cars no place for advertising: union
ABC Online, Australia - 4 hours ago
Union president Cameron Pope says if one company gets advertising space, others will expect it. "It's private advertising and we support the Brisbane ...


Queensland police cars to carry corporate advertising
The Australian, Australia - 22 hours ago
QUEENSLAND police cars will carry corporate advertising in an Australian first for a police force. Under a $100000 sponsorship deal between Crime Stoppers ...
Police cars to carry advertising NEWS.com.au
Your company's logo here... on a police car? Brisbane Times
Police Minister didn't know of car sponsorship deal Courier Mail
Sydney Morning Herald - ABC Regional Online
all 50 news articles

Advertising - Google News

home | site map
© 2006