A small professional firm had been running a generic ad featuring a group shot of all of the firm’s senior members, along with some brief generic copy and a logo.
The client wanted to increase their business in a specific practice area where they saw great opportunity. They asked the design firm to create an ad that would position the firm as experts in this field.
The designers created three highly persuasive ads, with headlines and photos that were precisely on-target, engaging and persuasive. But the designers forgot to take one critical step: Getting the client to sign off on this new direction before creative work began.
The new ads were the first tangible evidence that the client was changing the marketing positioning. Suddenly, the client realized that he was committing his firm to a more narrowly-targeted market than he had been used to. He backed off in fear, requesting only a new group shot and a new logo. His new ad still looks exactly like everyone else’s.
Getting a literal sign off on the new position would have brought that reality home to him sooner. He would have been able to mull over the consequences of changing his positioning, discuss the rationale and supporting information with the design firm, share the idea with his colleagues, and make a decision before new creative was commissioned.
The unfortunate result is that the ads alone did not convince him of the wisdom of taking a bold leap — one that probably would generate significant new business. He wasn’t ready to leave his comfort zone, and showing him the creative execution of the new position before he was fully prepared was a mistake.
Even with sign-off, many clients are terrified of wading into unknown waters. Accurate positioning and branding forces marketers to take a stand, and that can produce too much anxiety for the person responsible for the change.
Perhaps we should all remember this, and make sure the client really does want advertising that stands out from the crowd. Maybe we should dig deeper during the initial input meeting in order to assess the client’s willingness to break out of the box and do advertising that will work.
Making a commitment to a precisely-targeted position could have brought unprecedented success to the business.
But it seems risky for too many marketers — and a risk too few are willing to take.
From the desk of Sara Thurston 