Advertising is a numbers game. The key to winning the game is a deep understanding of the rules.
In advertising, the success of your marketing campaign is directly related to the context of your advertising. As a Law firm advertiser, you must find the place where your ads can flourish. The content of the ad (what you say) is vitally important after you have found the right context (where you say it).
Here is an illustration of this using botany. “You can’t grow orchids in the desert”. Orchids, which thrive in a humid jungle environment, have a very hard time growing in a desert area. Deserts are dry and usually hot. In marketing, creating a good ad is sometimes easy, but finding the right context is very challenging. To set up a way to measure the process is key.
Here is an example. We know we have the right ad (it has been tested in the past) we could know we have the right target. (Results have been tested in the past.) But if it is the wrong time of year or day or week, we could be wasting money.
If you look at advertising as a game, you see some parallels. Great coaches understand that winning the game is a process. Each player has a role. Each player is expected to do their job. Each play, race, meet or event is measured. They are measured to see who won. In races or meets the competition is measured too. Not for blame or ridicule, but for improvement. Everyone needs to know how they stack up to the best, and how they can see improvement.
In our case at Kirkpatrick Creative we measure the cost per lead on TV and Internet advertising in categories such as
- Best Ad
- Best Day
- Best Time
- Best keyword or keywords
- Best season
- Best Month
- Best TV Station
We will never find all the answers that our clients seek, but we are finding what we can know and working from there, as opposed to not knowing and guessing. Which is the better strategy? Well, it comes back to the numbers and the messages they send. Then, realizing it’s just a game. Play “advertising” as if it’s a game. I never worked harder in my life than I did playing high school football. If you can take that same intensity for learning and competing when you plan your advertising, you are on your way to victory.
Good Luck and beat your competition.