Connect with us

Give Your Advertising the Black Marker Test

mm

Published

11 years ago

on

Does it help you stand out?

Is your advertising sufficiently different? Is it helping you stand out, or is it just blending into the drone/clutter of marketing messages surrounding consumers in your town.

Here’s one test you can try to find out, suggested by the bloodthirstily-titled marketing book, Do It! Marketing: 77 Instant-Action Ideas To Boost Sales, Maximize Profits and Crush Your Competition by David Newman.

Take your ad (it also works with brochures, websites or any other marketing material) and an equivalent piece from your competitor and put them side by side. Black out both company names. Then ask yourself the following questions, and answer honestly:

Could my advertising material be mistaken for the other company’s? Could I just cut out my competitor’s name and put mine on it? Is there any chance my prospects wouldn’t know the difference between the two companies at a glance?

So, how did you do? Try running the same test on your staff, family, customers, and see how you do then.

If you’re not passing this test, it’s time to take a different approach to your marketing.

Advertisement

This article originally appeared in February 2014.

Related Topics:

click to Comment(Comment)
Advertisement

SPONSORED VIDEO

Retiring? Let Wilkerson Do the Heavy Lifting

Retirement can be a great part of life. As Nanji Singadia puts it, “I want to retire and enjoy my life. I’m 78 now and I just want to take a break.” That said, Nanji decided that the best way to move ahead was to contact the experts at Wilkerson. He chose them because he knew that closing a store is a heavy lift. To maximize sales and move on to the next, best chapter of his life, he called Wilkerson—but not before asking his industry friends for their opinion. He found that Wilkerson was the company most recommended and says their professionalism, experience and the homework they did before the launch all helped to make his going out of business sale a success. “Wilkerson were working on the sale a month it took place,” he says. “They did a great job.”

Promoted Headlines

Most Popular

Brainstorms

Give Your Advertising the Black Marker Test

mm

Published

11 years ago

on

Does it help you stand out?

Is your advertising sufficiently different? Is it helping you stand out, or is it just blending into the drone/clutter of marketing messages surrounding consumers in your town.

Here’s one test you can try to find out, suggested by the bloodthirstily-titled marketing book, Do It! Marketing: 77 Instant-Action Ideas To Boost Sales, Maximize Profits and Crush Your Competition by David Newman.

Take your ad (it also works with brochures, websites or any other marketing material) and an equivalent piece from your competitor and put them side by side. Black out both company names. Then ask yourself the following questions, and answer honestly:

Could my advertising material be mistaken for the other company’s? Could I just cut out my competitor’s name and put mine on it? Is there any chance my prospects wouldn’t know the difference between the two companies at a glance?

So, how did you do? Try running the same test on your staff, family, customers, and see how you do then.

Advertisement

If you’re not passing this test, it’s time to take a different approach to your marketing.

This article originally appeared in February 2014.

Related Topics:

click to Comment(Comment)
Advertisement

SPONSORED VIDEO

Retiring? Let Wilkerson Do the Heavy Lifting

Retirement can be a great part of life. As Nanji Singadia puts it, “I want to retire and enjoy my life. I’m 78 now and I just want to take a break.” That said, Nanji decided that the best way to move ahead was to contact the experts at Wilkerson. He chose them because he knew that closing a store is a heavy lift. To maximize sales and move on to the next, best chapter of his life, he called Wilkerson—but not before asking his industry friends for their opinion. He found that Wilkerson was the company most recommended and says their professionalism, experience and the homework they did before the launch all helped to make his going out of business sale a success. “Wilkerson were working on the sale a month it took place,” he says. “They did a great job.”

Promoted Headlines

Most Popular