The Simple Truth About Advertising

Page 1

People love ideas. I certainly do. That is why I like good advertisements like those that Duval Guillaume makes for our airline, Virgin Express, once again voted best short-haul airline in Belgium. The creative advertising agencies brands like Virgin to continue to capture the attention of our customers–a tough act, I can tell you. They have turned what could be grey company messages into great entertainment. Whether you are in the marketing business or just interested in advertising, this amusing little book will not teach you how to become a great advertiser–but at least it should help you understand why you’re not. Sir Richard Branson

DUVAL GUILLAUME www.duvalguillaume.com

SIMPLE TRUTH ABOUT ADVERTISING

of the world have made it possible for global

Simple truth about advertising


It was the end of the century. The end of the millenium. Earth had turned into a village of five billion people. Everybody could talk to everybody, no matter where they were. Companies sold their products all over the world, and in order to stay familiar to their customers, they had to advertise in such a way that people believed they lived next door. Oh, life became complicated.


And then, suddenly something happened. Out of nowhere, written on the back of a beer mat, came...


Duval Guillaume's

Simple truth about advertising


About

BRIEFINGS

SHOULD HELP YOU SEE, NOT MAKE YOU BLIND.

8

9


About

THE

THICKER THE STRATEGY, THE THINNER THE IDEA.

10

11


About

THERE

IS NO WAY TO FEEL SAFE ABOUT A BIG IDEA.

12

13


About

IT

IS GOOD FOR YOUR BUSINESS IF THERE IS A LINK BETWEEN THE AD’S IDEA AND THE BRAND’S PROMISE.

14

15


About

A

BRAND IS A PROMISE. IT CREATES THE

EXPECTATIONS THAT THE PRODUCT HAS TO DELIVER.

16

17


About

TO

TURN A

BIG BRAND

INTO A

GREAT BRAND, HUGE IDEA.

YOU NEED A

18

19


About

OVERESTIMATING

THE MARKET POTENTIAL

IS AS DANGEROUS AS UNDERESTIMATING IT.

20

21


About

RESULTS

AREN’T RESULTS UNTIL YOU SEE THEM.

22

23


About

YOU’RE

NOT ALONE OUT THERE.

24

25


About

IT

HELPS IF YOU CAN TAKE A POSITION THAT NO-ONE ELSE HAS TAKEN.

26

27


About

WHEN

YOU LOOK AT AN IDEA, PRESENTED

TO YOU BY ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST AGENCIES, DEVISED BY THE WORLD’S GREATEST CREATIVES, SUPPORTED BY YOUR ENTIRE MARKETING DEPARTMENT AND YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO THINK ABOUT IT... GO HOME AND ASK YOUR WIFE.

28

29


About

IT

IS HARD TO INVOLVE EVERY LOCAL

MARKETING DIRECTOR AND STILL APPEAL TO THE CONSUMER.

30

31


About

UNLIKE

MOST OF YOUR EMPLOYEES,

CONSUMERS DON’T DO THINGS

“BECAUSE

YOU TELL THEM TO”.

32

33


About

THEY’RE

THE RIGHT WAY TO ATTRACT PEOPLE FOR THE WRONG REASONS.

34

35


About

YELLING

36

ISN’T SELLING.

37


About

CONSUMERS

ARE ATTRACTED TO THE MEDIA

BECAUSE OF ITS ENTERTAINMENT AND INFORMATION VALUE, NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE DYING TO SEE YOUR LATEST AD.

38

39


About

BRANDS

THAT FEEL SMALL TEND TO SIGN OFF WITH A

40

BIG

LOGO.

41


About

THEY

WATCH TOO,

DON’T MAKE THEM FEEL TRAPPED.

42

43


About

FIRST DO WHAT THE CLIENT WANTS. THEN DO WHAT THE CLIENT NEEDS. IF THE TWO HAPPEN TO BE THE SAME, YOU CAN GO HOME EARLY.

44

45


About

A

CAMPAIGN IDEA IS AN IDEA THAT GIVES IDEAS.

46

47


About

IT

IS EASIER TO SELL AN AD TO A BOARD OF DIRECTORS

THAN TO THE MAN IN THE STREET.

48

49


About

GREAT

DANCERS AREN’T NECESSARILY GREAT LOVERS.

50

51


About

MOST

AGENCIES AGREE THAT AWARDS

HAVE NO IMPORTANCE.

(A

PERCEPTION

THAT CHANGES BRIEFLY AFTER THEY’VE WON ONE.)

52

53


About

WHEN

YOUR AGENCY IS A BIG SUCCESS AND YOU’RE NOT, BOY DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.

54

55


About

LET’S

PUT IT THIS WAY:

THEY’RE AFTER YOUR BUSINESS.

56

57


About the role of Advertising

NO

58

COMMENT.

59


About

THERE’S

A THIN LINE BETWEEN GAINING A CLIENT’S CONFIDENCE AND KEEPING HIS RESPECT.

60

61


About

THEY’RE

62

STRANGE.

63


INDEX: About AWARDS ............................................................. p 52 About BIG BRANDS ...................................................... p 18 About BRANDS ............................................................. p 16 About BRAND POSITIONING ..................................... p 26 About BRIEFINGS ........................................................... p 8 About BUSINESS FORECASTS ................................... p 22 About CALL TO ACTION ............................................ p 32 About CAMPAIGN IDEAS ........................................... p 46 About CLIENT’S EXPECTATIONS .............................. p 20 About CLIENT SERVICE .............................................. p 60 About CREATIVE COMPETITIONS ............................ p 50 About CREATIVE PEOPLE ........................................... p 62 About DEBRIEFINGS .................................................... p 44 About EXISTING CLIENTS .......................................... p 42 About GLOBALISATION .............................................. p 30 About HARD SELL ........................................................ p 36 About MARKETING ...................................................... p 24 About PRESENTATIONS .............................................. p 48

Copyright ©1997 by Duval Guillaume. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher

About PRIVATE LABELS .............................................. p 56

Published by: Duval Guillaume Written and illustrated by: Guillaume Van der Stighelen

About PROMOTIONS ................................................... p 34

Copies may be ordered from: Duval Guillaume (info@duvalguillaume.com)

About RELEVANCE ...................................................... p 14 About RESEARCH ......................................................... p 12 About SUCCES .............................................................. p 54 About THE DECISION PROCESS ................................ p 28 About THE MEDIA ....................................................... p 38 About THE ROLE OF ADVERTISING ......................... p 58 About THE SIZE OF THE LOGO ................................ p 40 About THE STRATEGY ................................................ p 10

ISBN: 804230 Printed in Belgium, at Gillis nv/sa - Brussels Paper: Bioset 115 gr/m2 ✒ by GPG Papier, tel. 02/755.12.11 - fax 02/757.05.11 e-mail gpg.papier@skynet.be First edition: March '1998 Second edition: March '2001 Third edition: May ‘2004


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