Random

    proof

    Fact vs. Proof.

    By
    Steve Poppe
    -
    0

    After a couple, two, tree(sic) years in advertising, marketing and branding I tethered my career to a single word I believe to be the bedrock of good selling: proof.  Today we are awash in facts. And data. And sadly, fake facts and misrepresented data. Prior to the new political environment, a huge contributor to this blight was and continues to be the internet – where you can say just about anything and get away with it.

    As someone who grew up in an advertising world where TV stations asked for storyboards to be sent  to “Standards and Practices” for verification, truth actually reigned. Not today. People can say anything, so long as they appear to have conviction.

    Today, facts are malleable. But Proof isn’t. When I started pontificating about proof years ago it was because I felt it to be a competitive advantage to actually say something then give people a reason to believe it. “Reason to believe” is a fairly common creative brief heading. Most advertising and marketing these days is claim-heavy and proof-light. So, the logic went, if I can dial up proof in branding — in demonstrations of a brand claim (e.g., Coke is refreshment) — I can get greater ballast in consumers’ minds.

    It’s not enough to find a fact and publicize it. “Geico can save you 15% on your insurance.” You have to prove it. Proof makes the branding world go ‘round.  It also injects science into marketing. The brain requires proof. Brands require poof.

    For examples of proof from within your business category write Steve@WhatsTheIdea.com

    McPeace.

     

     

    Strategy Must Be Interesting.

    By
    Steve Poppe
    -
    0

    The foundation of What’s The Idea?, the eponymous brand consultancy attached to this blog is strategy.  It is about a particular framework that organizes product, experience and messaging.  Brand strategy is binary. You are either off or on.

    The fuel for brand strategy here at What’s The Idea? is “proof.” Or evidence. Proof is tangible. It builds conviction. If I say my cleaning liquid cuts grease better than competitors I need to explain what a surfactant is. And how it works. That’s what Dawn Dishwasher Detergent has done so well. For me, the duck befouled by an oil spill, cleaned by Dawn, was the perfect demonstration of proof.

    But here’s thing. Proof and evidence by themselves are great in a science project. But they are not necessarily compelling theater.  That’s why the creative side of the business is so, so important. It’s why we need writers and designers. It’s why we need smart creative directors. Strategy must be interesting or it lies fallow.

    To build your brand properly, you need a motivating strategy then you need to land that strategy with brilliant, on-piste creative. It’s a time-tested formula.

    Peace.

     

     

     

    Finitie-osity.

    By
    Steve Poppe
    -
    0

    Marketing and advertising would be much better if they focused solely on proof.  Proof of value. Demonstration of value. Honestly, you needn’t even be best-in-class, you just need to support your value claim.  But 90% of advertising today tells consumers what to believe but doesn’t show it.   

    There was a time when you could sing your product’s praises and it sold. That was the era of “We’re here” advertising.  If you were simply top-of- mind, you won.  It’s a strategy Geico still employs. But ladies and gentlemen, we live in an era of analytics. Of measurement. Of Finite-osity.  There are ways to prove a claim. 

    Analytics are the friend of proof. 

    If you say you are the best-selling dishwasher detergent, there’s data to prove it.  If you say you are the hotdog eating champ of Brooklyn, there’s a contest. Most snow in Utah? NOAA measuring stick. But for some reason we still prefer to sing the praises of our products.

    My job as a brand planner/brand strategist is to rid the business of this horrid and wasteful selling practice. My job is to organize product and service values into groups of proof which existentially (there’s that word again) reflect a product’s superiority.

    Love to show you how it works and prove how it has worked for clients.

    Write Steve@WhatsTheIdea.com

    Peace.

     

    Flah, flah, flah…

    By
    Steve Poppe
    -
    0

    My brand discovery, from a functional point standpoint, is a lot like others: stakeholder interviews, interviews of customers, qualitative research, experience research, a review of available quantitative data. Perhaps some primary research and scouring of social media.  I may toss a few curve balls into the mix and, of course, questions vary from brand planner to brand planner, but that’s the tool kit.

    What sets one planner apart from the next is what they do with the discovery. How they wade through and mine key data and insights. Some use a brief. I use a brief. It allows me to tell a story and forces me to tell that story by prioritizing the learning.

    All that said, one differentiator that sets What’s The Idea? off from others brand strategy consultancies is its reliance on proof. Or evidence of value. The kernels of proof that demonstrate value. For me that’s the science. If I was to tell you I’m strong, you might not believe me until I proved I can pick up 200 lbs. If I claimed to be fast, you might want to see me run and time me in the 40 yard dash.  

    Having grown up in the advertising business I understand how often we bandy about superlative claims with little or no proof.  Copy or salesy words fall of deaf ears today. Consumers are inured to claims without proof. It’s flah, flah, flah.

    Find your claim, prove it, then prove it again and again. Don’t waste a breath on copy without proof.

    Doing so is costly.

    Peace.

     

     

    © Newsmag WordPress Theme by TagDiv