COM 256 Promo Techniques

** PromoTechnique #1 * Find a promo partner * Two companies join to form a creative pitch * Find companies that share a similar brand identity

Promo Techniques 2, 3, and 4

* Do the Twist * Set and spike. Twist. Or U-turn. There are several names for this technique, but they all work by taking the reader or viewer in one direction, then spin them in another- pulling the switch. * Common for humor * Ex. Picture- need several drills to last as long as the bit (usually need several bits for one drill) * It can help keep the concept clean, easier to understand, faster to snap if you twist either the head or the visual, but not both. * Create a surprising or unexpected visual, and write a straightforward headline, or visa versa. * Work in teams; play on partner’s ideas.

* Against the Grain * Create an ad that is totally unexpected in the product category * Ex. Continental Tires in a Lifesaver packet * Look at everyone else in your product category is doing, and do the total opposite * Financial services ads use sports metaphors. Car ads show cars speeding down empty highways. We’ve seen them, don’t do them. * Combine visuals and headliens that have never been combined before in your category * Absolut New York Vodka (apartment set up on billboard)

* Baby Time * One of the most popular images in advertising is a baby * You can use a baby to sell almost anything * Hair care products, * We are biologically driven to reproduce, or at least susceptible to the idea * Baby images are successful with key demographics, notably parents with income * But you can also use baby images to convey ideas of purity or naturalness * Baby as metaphor * Evian water

Promo Techniques 5&6 Brand Character and Brand Personality: * Brand character- create a character, or invite a real person to represent the brand, a product or service (All State, Tony the Tiger, Progressive lady) * Start with your product at one end of a continuum and a person pn the other end. Some where in the middle is your brand character? * Brand as a person- gender, age, and occupation? What kind of person would people in your target market aspires to be like, associate with socially, or have fun with? What reputation would that person have? Who do they want this product to be (captain crunch) * Children will often connect with people in uniforms of authority * Audience/brand relationship: ** see paragraph on slide written about Mac brand character * Stage of brand development: what relationship does the target market currently have with the brand? * Stage 1: most people do not know the brand * Stage 2: most people know the brand but they don’t understand it (Go Daddy. Com) * Stage 3: most people know and understand the brand, but they have little or no emotional connection with it * Project the brand’s personality * Clients are often interested in projecting their personality * Clients will say, “We want a campaign with attitude and style like Nike!” * Carefully define, and then project the brand’s personality through ads. * Instead of brand = person, try brand = personality * Friendly, helpful, wealthy, sophisticated, aloof, funny, witty, athletic, outdoorsy, etc. * Brand personality endures longer than a brand character, because brand characters can look ‘outdated’ or may ‘fade’. * **See paragraph describing the company/product as a person for Mac.

Promo Technique #7: Position * Create a one sentence statement that positions your company, product or service in the minds of consumers * You might wan to first identify a specific attribute that sets you apart * “Post graduate tequila”