goon meet (Photo of Billy Mays) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Hi! Dead Billy Mays here with the secrets of good advertising! You may recognize me from many other great products that I’ve pitched for such as OxiClean, Mighty Putty, and KaBoom!
Many of you have speculated on what it is that has made me so good at what I do. Many of you may wonder why I am – er, I was, so good at the things that I do, erm, did.
So why am I such a great pitchman?
It’s because I use not only great advertisement techniques, but I use the right ones as well. And now, for only $19.99, you too can learn these great techniques for yourself!
When writing an advertisement, there are three main things to consider: the product, and the audience, and the format. For each and every ad, these three things must be considered very carefully, and it is important to choose techniques that will be extremely effective for the purpose of the advertisement.
No two products can be pitched in exactly the same way. Their very difference makes it impossible. However, by carefully considering those three factors, it becomes a much simpler task to create advertisements that are effective for a multitude of products.
The type and nature of the product being sold will help you determine the appropriate format in order to effectively reach your audience.
I have an interesting story that shows what a significant difference in products will completely change the approach taken when creating an advertisement. I once did an advertisement for a healthcare company called iCan Health Care. The approach I took for this is completely different than pitches that I’ve done for other products such as Mighty Putty.
Considering that I was selling a service, and not an actual physical product, I chose to take a more “homely” approach, and appealed to the emotion of the viewers. Julie Sevidy, author of Sold on Language, would probably consider this to be me using the Lovemark approach.
In that ad, I told a touching story about my children and related it to the importance of the product. Rather than focusing on the actual merits and benefits of iCan Health Care, I focused on the emotions that are frequently associated with health care – family, love, and concern.
I don’t really know about giving it a fancy name, but all I know is that for certain products, it’s more effective to focus on an emotional appeal rather than on the actual product itself.
However, this is not always effective. I would never talk about the emotional appeal of Mighty Putty. There isn’t a sappy family story to associate with that product, there just isn’t. However, I often enjoy trying to include what I like to call a “Wow demo” – something that will make the customer say, “wow!”
For Mighty Putty, I went all out for my “wow demo”. I showed that Mighty Putty as able to hold the strength of a large semi-truck. Even though it was a completely ridiculous product use scenario, it still was effective for it’s purpose: grab the audience’s attention, and leave them wowed. This attentional spotlighting helps make the product really stick in the viewers mind.
Point is this: depending on which product you are advertising, you will have to take a different approach. If you allow yourself to become stuck with using just one style, even though you may be somewhat successful, you will not be fully successful.
In addition to considering the product that you are selling, you also must consider the audience that you are selling to. The product’s target market, as well as when and where the ad will appear are important things to consider. The different types of audience will help influence your style in order to most effectively sell your product.
Would you sell clothing in the same way that you would sell kitchen tools?
Absolutely not! That would just be ridiculous.
They are two completely different target markets, so it’s important to make your pitch work with whomever you are trying to sell to. For example, in my pitch for the iTie, which is a necktie with a cleverly hidden secret pocket, I had to tailor my style to fit this product.
People viewing this ad would be concerned about their looks and their style, as well as overall practicality.
Conversely, someone watching my pitch for the Samurai Shark knife sharpener, would be more concerned about the product’s durability, as well as specific features.
In many of my pitches, I like to make sure to include many specific details about the product. Depending on who my audience is, I will end up choosing different details to include and feature.
This is why it is also important to consider the various audiences that might possibly be receiving your pitch.
And this brings us to the third and final point to consider: the format. It seems like such a trivial thing, but when ignored, it can possibly derail all of your hard work.
Most of my pitches all follow a similar format. This helps the audience identify the various products that I pitch under the brand name of “Billy Mays”. It sounds rather self-centered and self-conceited to say this, but my name – “Billy Mays” carries weight, which I why I try to format most of my pitches similar. Any deviation from this format is done deliberately and for a specific purpose, such as for my iCan Health Care advertisements.
Often, I’ll make use of specific phrases of words that are catchy and memorable. This helps the audience remember the product, even if they don’t choose to immediately purchase it.
“Hi, Billy Mays Here!”
“It gets the tough stains… out!”
“Before you throw it away, let Mighty MendIt save the day!”
By using these formatting techniques, I make the advertisement memorable for the audience, which helps make it even more effective.
In all, by considering these three things: product, audience, and format, you too can master all the secrets of e
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