Make a metaphor

Create a symbolic representation of the key idea you want to communicate by using two images or
statements that are completely different, but when placed together create a new idea.
You can use words. Or visuals. Or both. You can create a metaphor to represent a characteristic of the
brand. Or a feature of the service. Or a benefit of the product.
To create a metaphor, use one thing - a vivid statement or dramatic visual - to suggest another thing -
your company, product or service.
A metaphor, by the way, is like a simile, but more powerful. A metaphor "is". A simile "is like". A
metaphor equals. A simile is similar. But a simile can help you create a metaphor. Here's how:
- Start with the most basic idea, the key concept for your product. That might be 'safe' or 'agile' or 'bright'
or "well engineered". Then sketch or write ways to express that idea.
- Complete the sentence, “This brand, service or product is like….”
- Fill in the blank: "The benefit to the consumer of this brand, product or service is like
__________________"
A metaphor can be used to characterize the brand's personality. A branding campaign for an investment
bank uses the visual metaphor of a fencer, for example, to characterize the company as aggressive yet
sophisticated.
A metaphor can represent a product feature or a benefit to consumers. As in the ad for an iron enriched
breakfast cereal showing a magnet attracting the cereal out of the bowl.
Another example, a "subservient chicken" is a metaphor for "having food prepared your way" at Burger
King.
Metaphors can communicate internationally, cutting through language barriers. But they can also be so
culturally specific that they fail to work.
A metaphor can symbolize a problem, the risks inherent in life, to make people think about business and
personal insurance. As in an ad for an insurance company that shows a banana peel lying on a busy
sidewalk.
Make sure your metaphor is fresh. If you’ve seen it or heard it before, don’t do it again.

Promise a benefit

Promise readers a compelling benefit that the product or service can deliver.
A benefit is something of value to the target audience. Ask, “what can this product or service do for me?”
And the answer is a benefit.
The persuasive energy in a benefit ad comes from two characteristics. First is the importance of the
benefit to the reader. Second is the specificity of the benefit.
A good example, the headline, “Introducing a washer so gentle it can actually help your clothes last
longer."
Ambiguous or abstract words such as “professional” or “beautiful” or “unique” are not specific enough to
mean much, if anything, to the reader. Avoid them and their relatives.
A benefit may or may not be a competitive advantage. It could be, for example, that many brands of car
batteries come with a lifetime guarantee. But if no one else is making the claim, go ahead and stake out
the territory.
Clients will sometimes say, “Our competitors could say the same thing.” But that may not matter to the
consumer. If you are the first to advertise the benefit, the consumer response could be, “Sounds good, I’ll
give it a try.”
Even if consumers may be aware that several products offer the same benefit, the ad that brings that
benefit to mind can trigger a sale.

Features or benefits.
A feature is a characteristic of the product. “This computer has a 250 gigabyte hard drive.” The benefit,
what it can do for the reader is, “This hard drive stores a lot of data, like my family videos.”
But sometimes, as in the above example, a benefit can be inherent in the feature. Most people know
immediately the benefit of a 250 gig hard drive. So if the vast majority of readers understand the benefit
inherent in the feature, there is no need to explain it. Just say the feature.
Mention a problem

Problems. Everyone has them. And some products solve them.

A TV commercial opens with the kids screaming, “We’re hungry, mom!”
A headline reads, “Do you have enough money for retirement?”
This is a technique to grab attention, to engage people who have the problem. Or people who want to
avoid getting the problem. Or those who are concerned about the problem for other reasons, like the guy
whose wife has headaches every night.
Later in your ad, commercial, or mailer you’ll explain how your product solves the problem. But the focus
of the ad, the concept, should be about the problem.
This concept works particularly well when your target audience has a big problem, a big concern. The
bigger the problem, the better it works.
But it can also be used with charm or humor. "Problem # 3 with SPIKE cologne: Women touch you in
elevators."
Get really real

Show what people really think. About the opposite sex, their job, or relatives.
Show how people really feel. About money, their spouse, or financial security in old age.
How people really dress and act at home.
What people really think about at work. Like sex and petty insults.
Depict the attitudes, jealousies, and insecurities that rattle around inside us all.
Like many creative techniques, there is a spectrum from moderate to extreme in the way you get really
real. From the nose-picking, overweight, insecure side of life. To the kinder, softer side that people
present to children, friends, pet animals.
For FMCGs, the realism might be found in the history of the product. For instance, you could explore the
feelings a young housewife has towards her mother, who used the same product.
For a B2B products and services you might explore feelings of competitiveness, of over-sized egos, or
greed. On a specific level, that could translate to stealing from the company or spreading malicious gossip.
For luxury consumer good, consider ads that explore feelings about "keeping up with, or surpassing, the
Jonses. " That is, the desire to be better then the guy next door, or the woman in the office down the hall.
Here we're talking about the desire to incite envy or jealousy. Or to show, "I'm better than you."
To inject realism into your advertising you must understand people. Perhaps with your own insights into
human nature. Or with qualitative research into the attitudes and behavior of the target audience.
Be natural and realistic in the copy or dialog you write, in the characters you cast. "Real" people are not
"beautiful" people.
It can help to look at, to understand feelings people genuinely have -- emotions that relate to the target
audience, the product category, or the service. An example is the classic automobile campaign featuring a
car salesman making wildly exaggerated claims about gas mileage, resale value and so forth. Many people
think car salesman tend to lie.
A few final thoughts. This is a difficult ad technique to do well. Which is surprising, intuitively, because
what could be easier than being "real"?
this technique is easier to sell in the West, particularly Europe and North America, where there is a history
of openness about feelings, as well as a thirst for reality TV shows and tabloid news.
It’s an approach that can be more difficult to sell in other parts of the world, such as some Asian or Middle
Eastern countries, where feelings tend to be guarded, more private. But there you have a creative
opportunity

Create a character.

Create a character that adds interest, story value or recognition to your campaign.
Could be an actor playing a role. Or a cartoon character. Or a dead politician. He, she or they are all
"created" characters because you define the role they play in the advertising.
While a brand character must represent a characteristic or the personality of the brand. An invented character does not.
Some of the world’s best advertising campaigns have been built on invented characters. And the best of these characters frequently do
not reflect the brand or even demographic profile of the target audience.
Like a good movie or book, your character needs to be interesting. Different. Unexpected. With lots of personality. Quirky behavior.
Or strongly expressed views.
These engaging, out-of-the-ordinary characters will grab attention, and by grabbing attention, they will help communicate your sales
message because they break through the clutter, stand out from the crowd.

Inject dramatic conflict

Create a campaign that uses drama to focus attention, to heighten interest in your message.
The essence of drama is conflict. And that conflict can be between:
Husband vs. wife.
Mom vs. her children.
Recent college grad vs. sexually aggressive boss.
Molly vs. insanity, a struggle with mental health.
Girl Scouts vs. nature.
Dog vs. mailman.
Teenager vs. her conscience.
Creative Director vs. client.
You get the idea. So just a couple of tips:
Create a hero. But barf on expected, cookie cutter characters. Think of unlikely heroes. Like kids or
animals. Think of People with flaws and weaknesses. Like a grandfather with a speech impediment. Think
of characters with unusual ways of thinking. Like the woman who believes UFOs visit regularly to steal our
best automobiles.
Your hero should have a goal, an objective, something she really really really wants to achieve. Or has to
accomplish to save the planet.
And you might need bad guys, bad creatures, bad luck, bad weather, bad relatives or bad aliens.  Come to
thnk of it, bad relatives can be almost identical to bad aliens. But don't use bad politicians or bad lawyers.
There are enough of them already.
It's always nice to have a resolution to the conflict, you know, like a happy ending in the movies. But it's
not necessary. Because dramatic conflict is essentially a way to engage viewers in your ad

Exaggerate to the extreme

Take the basic idea you want to communicate, your concept, then exaggerate it. Take it to extremes. Push
it beyond reason, beyond reality. In the copy. With visuals. Or both.
Exaggerate the benefit. Exaggerate the problem. Exaggerate size, the physical appearance.
Exaggerate Burger King's "Have it your way." And you might end up with a subservient chicken.
Just make sure to exaggerate your exaggeration. Because a BIG exaggeration is interesting, and a
powerful way to get communicate your concept. A small exaggeration is simply a misleading ad.
An interesting approach is to exaggerate the visual, but understate the copy. Or exaggerate the copy and
keep the visual simple.
To work with this technique, it can help to simplify your message, the main thing you want to say, into
one sentence or one visual. Then let your imagination push it from there, all the way to outrageous
exaggeration.

Eye candy
Create a visual so luscious, unusual and striking that it leaps off the screen to grab attention.
Eye candy ads work the same way a Salvador Dali illustration works. These ads stop and engage readers
with the look of "Wow. I've never seen anything like that."
Eye candy is the visual equivalent of "Let me show you something new and interesting."
Frequently, the product is the hero in an eye candy ad. But visually rich advertisements can communicate
brand characteristics as well. Including a sense of style, an appreciation for fine design, that readers or
viewers can associate with.

But usually the creative and persuasive energy lies in the look, the visual. Bang, it grabs and engages
eyeballs.
The challenge here is not only creative, but you must also have a generous budget for photography,
special effects or image editing.

Personify
Give human characteristics to your product,
or to something that represents your service.  
This technique - personification - can help you create ads that are more interesting, and relevant to viewers. More human and
engaging.
You can literally turn the product into a person. Or give it human abilities, such as speech, thought or emotion.
Or go the other way, and blend something about the product into a real person. For example, to depict someone who is a heavy
computer user or text message sender, you could show keypad letters embossed on finger tips - and fingertips in the concave shape of
the keys.
If you’re working on a service, consider creating a visual icon that can be personified. What, for example, would your wallet say about
your bank?

Take a position
Create a one sentence statement that positions your company, product, or service in the minds of consumers.
You might want to, first, identify a specific attribute that sets you apart. If you are not sure how to do that, click on over to “How to
position a company, product or service.”
Here are some common positioning options:
Number 1 or number 2:
Capital One is America's largest online vehicle lender. So they probably offer low rates, and you can trust them because so many
others have.
Avis has been #2 for about 25 years now. They continue to "Try harder." Which, you have to admit, is a fine quality in any person or
company.
Gender:
Marlborough is masculine. Virginia Slims is positioned for women. Yorkie candy in the UK is "not for girls." Home Depot offers "Do
it Herself" workshops. The VW Golf GTI is position for men, young men to be exact.
Price / Value leader:
People naturally assume that things costing more are worth more. And that's the territory Evian, Haagen-Dazs, Rolex, and Mercedes
have staked out. As L'Oreal says, "because you're worth it."
On the other end of the spectrum you find Wallmart, Jet Blue Airlines and Expedia.com.
In the middle you find the value positions, staked out by such companies as Dell and American Express.

The Specialists:
It's Starbucks for coffee. OgilvyOne for direct. And Children's Hospital for sick kids.
The specialist is one of the most common, and most effective ways to position your company or product.
And there is almost always room for mini niches, such as "The Real Estate Geek."
The innovator:
The inventor creates a new category. In retail stores you'll find such products as PowerBar, the world's
first energy bar.
In the early days of the Internet, this was hot territory, and it's paid off for companies such as eBay.com,
Amazon.com, and Hotmail.com.
The opportunist:
The opportunist looks at the competition. Then looks at the market, the consumer. And determines what
positioning opportunities are not being filled in that market area.
Restaurants, for example, can position themselves as 1) fun, family friendly places, 2) economical, or 3)
using only the freshest, healthiest ingredients - among other positioning options.

Here are some well known positioning statements that work as tag lines or slogans. All of them
give the consumer a reason to buy:
Tastes great, less filling - Miller Lite beer.
We try harder - Avis car rental.
Good to the last drop - Maxwell House coffee.
Breakfast of champions - Wheaties breakfast cereal.
When it rains it pours - Morton Salt.

Make an offer
Make the audience a compelling offer, and tell them exactly how to get it.
This is the essence of direct response advertising. "Hey, Mr. Viewer, Here's what you can get, and here's how to get it."
For more on the finer points of direct response advertising, > Wow, click here now!
But the biggest, most important factor in any direct response ad is the offer.
There are two characteristics that influence the effectiveness of your offer, strength and relevance.
Strength:
"25% off" is stronger than "10% off." "Win a new Toyota 4 Runner" is stronger than "Win a digital camera."
Relevance:
A free brochure offering "10 Ways to preserve the resale value of your new car" is more relevant to people shopping for automobile
financing than, "10 ways to protect your good credit."
Be sure to get your offer up front - in the headline or subhead. Put it at the top of the mailer or email. And support it with photos and
visuals.
Repeat the call to action several times in your direct response TV commercial or radio spot. Use color and typography to emphasize
your 800 toll-free order number. Give readers multiple ways to respond: phone, fax, email, mail or www.
Here two effective types of direct response offers:
Save money
This offer works well all around the world, in Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring. And it can be expressed in some interesting ways:
- Pay half now, nothing later.
- 50% off.
- Two for the price of one sale.
Free
There are all sorts of things you can give for free. A free consultation. A free sample product. Or free information, which is a great
way to get sales leads, to build a database of prospects. Free info can be packaged as:
- DVD, VHS or CD.
- Brochure or .PDF download.
- Workshop or seminar, online or in-person.

Spend time, lots of time, brainstorming offers.

There are always new and effective offers to be found, even in seemingly tired product categories.
Capital One invented the balance transfer offer in credit cards, which helped propel them to Fortune 200
status.
More recently, General Motors invented the "employee discount for everyone" offer, which was so
successful that it was copied by all the other major car makers.
Remember: Different people respond to different offers. In other words, one offer does not sell everyone
in your target audience, your database.
And besides testing new offers, be sure to test new ways to express old offers:
- Half off.
- Save 50%
- Instant $14 rebate at register.