The basic advertising formula
This formula is far from new, and for those of you who already have it hard-wired into your brains, good; feel free to skip this article. But upcoming discussions on the blog will refer back to it, so I feel obligated to give it some screen space before we discuss more advanced topics. Here’s the nickel tour:
The not-so-mystical formula for creating advertising …
1. Get attention.
2. Identify a need.
3. Fill the need.
4. Ask for the order.
The lines between these steps are often blurred–and sometimes nonexistent–but every successful piece of advertising in every medium follows the formula.
Let’s go a little deeper:
1. Get attention. You have to stop them from turning the page, changing the station, clicking to another website–whatever the specifics of the message delivery medium dictate. Getting attention is an emotional process; you must strike a chord in the target audience that runs deeper than logic.
2. Identify a need. This is frequently (but not always) done as part of step 1. If it’s done separately from step 1, then step 1 has to be closely enough related to the need/product benefit to transition seamlessly into this step.
3. Fill the need. After pointing at a need or interest the target audience already holds dear, you are a translator, discussing the product’s main benefit in terms of what the target audience wants.
4. Ask for the order. Provide instructions on how the target audience can respond to the information you’ve just given them.
To go deeper yet, read Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples and The Copywriter’s Handbook by Robert W. Bly.
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When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem.
–Buckminster Fuller
