by Roy H. Williams

www.wizardacademy.com

Which do you think would work better, the brilliant execution of a flawed strategy, or the flawed execution of a brilliant one?

In business, it's the flawed execution of a brilliant strategy that usually wins the day.

Most advertising professionals are unwilling to question a client's strategy because they're afraid of losing the account. So they happily pretend that "good writing, scientifically selected colors, powerful pictures and reaching the right audience" is all that's needed to make money in America.

Piffle and Pooh. Give me average writing, bland colors, no pictures, the wrong people and a strong strategy and I'll have to rent a trailer to haul my money to the bank.

It's hard to tell a powerful story badly. But it's easy to tell a weak story well.

by Dan O'Day

Unless you're doing "Institutional" or "Image" advertising -- which ad agencies love but which usually are bad investments for advertisers -- your advertising should have a clear Call to Action. This is especially true for local retail advertising, which is the lifeblood of commercial radio.

Contrary to popular belief, a "good" commercial is not one that wins awards. It's not one that everyone tells you they love. It's not even one that the client tells you he loves, nor the one your audience hums along with.

A "good" commercial is one that motivates the listener to act on the sales message:

To go to the automobile showroom and test-drive the vehicle.

To sample the fragrance at the department store's perfume counter.

To pick up the phone, dial the toll-free number, and request the free information booklet.

(As David Ogilvy said, "Don't tell me you love my ad. Tell me you bought the product.")

There is nothing as powerful as a Sense of Urgency to motivate people to act.

by Roy H. Williams

Shakespeare would argue for fifteen-second radio ads, "Brevity is the soul of wit." But W.C. Fields would suggest sixties, "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull." I agree with both.

When people ask me, "What's the best length radio ad?" I always think of Abe Lincoln's answer when asked, "How long should a man's legs be?"

Long enough to reach the ground.

In other words, a radio ad should be exactly as long as it takes to say what needs to be said.

by Roy H. Williams

"Writing comes more easily if you have something to say." - Sholem Asch

Ads are like houses. You can do a good job constructing a badly designed house, but when you're through, you've still got a badly designed house. It doesn't matter how good you are with a hammer and a saw when the blueprints themselves are faulty.

Likewise, it doesn't matter how good you are with nouns and verbs when the core message itself is boring. There's no good way to tell a bad story. Ultimately, it is the core message of your campaign - the blueprint - that determines the success of your advertising.

• The core message of your ad matters more than how well it is written.
• The core message of your ad matters more than how well it is produced.
• The core message of your ad matters more than the spokesperson who delivers it for you.
• The core message of your ad matters more than your choice of media.
• The core message of your ad matters more than the target it reaches.

Give a powerful core message to an average writer and a mom'n'pop business can leap from Main Street, Mayberry, to the New York Stock Exchange. But give an average message to a powerful writer and you've got blah, blah, media filler. But you already knew that.

by Roy H. Williams

Features and benefits, features and benefits, features and benefits. We've polished our pitches to such a degree that we've dimmed our abilities to persuade. The customer is only half listening because the inner self is asking, "What are they not telling me?"

Those who have heard my 90-minute presentation about the ongoing evolution of Western communication style are familiar with the problem:

1. The fine art of Hype has been perfected and refined.
2. Western culture has been submerged in it, held under until every last pore of our souls has been saturated.
3. Consequently, we've developed an immunity to "ad-speak," the language of hype.
4. But we don't rage against it. We see the half-truth of hype as a fact of life.
5. That's why we're ignoring it.
6. And we're ignoring it in greater numbers every day.

Do you want to surprise Broca, gain the attention of your customer and win back your credibility?