What can the original Mad Man teach us today?

Best known for his advertising prowess, Ogilvy was an advertising executive who was widely held as ‘the father of modern advertising.’ In fact Ogilvy started in sales before he went into advertising. His sales advice still holds true today, even in this age of social media and digital sales.

1.      “Find out all you can about your prospects before you call them; their general living conditions, wealth, profession, hobbies, friends, and so on. Every hour spent in this kind of research will help you impress your prospect” – David Ogilvy

We all receive cold calls and unsolicited email from salespeople who know nothing of our businesses or our needs. Why because in todays digital age it is all to easy to build or buy lists of numbers and addresses and fire off calls and emails at random, a conversion of one in a thousand is more then enough to turn a profit with this vast volume of data. It is cheap fast and nasty, it requires no real work or understanding on the part of the sales team.

Yet if you take time to understand your prospects, get to know them get to know their businesses, they will remember you and what you can do for them. After a while they will begin to contact you. 

2.    Foster any attempt to talk about other things; the longer you stay the better you get to know the prospect, and the more you will be trusted. Pretend to be vastly interested in any subject the prospect shows an interest in. – David Ogilvy

Social media and email marketing is a good way to keep in touch with family and friends, but to a business you can rapidly become little more than an annoyance that clutters up peoples inbox, the irritation that stops them doing what they should be doing. Even then are you reaching a decision maker or are you just going strait into the trash via the spam filter. Without feed back you will never know!

This is where your networking comes into play, get out there get your face and your business known, this does not work so well siting behind a computer. You can twitter and tweet all you are worth, it is the salesperson sitting in the office chatting about the weather, football and babies, that gets the sale. They are there you are not.

3.    The More prospects you talk to, the more sales you expose yourself to, the more orders you will get. But never mistake a quantity of calls for quality of salesmanship.” – David Ogilvy

This is where CRM software call and email lists break down. It has never been about volume, never about numbers, it is all about the quality of the information you collect. It is easy to dismiss a prospect, to shun someone as beneath your interest, that they will never buy from you. Yet their brother, sister neighbour maybe just the prospect that you are looking for. What will they say when asked “Oh have you ever met…?”

Get to know the people who you are dealing with, know and care about them. They are your customers they pay your wages, treat them with the respect that they deserve. The old adage that 'people buy from people' may not be true anymore in this digital age. Rephrase that to read that 'people buy from people whom they trust' would be more true to day. Earn peoples trust, give them reasons to buy from you.

4.     “Selling does not materially differ from military campaigning, and we may analyse it under two main headings, ATTACK and DEFENCE.“ – David Ogilvy

Ogilvy recommended a combination of attacks (delivery of content) and defences (responses to objections). He stressed the importance of always being on the attack while swiftly countering objections. 

Your advertising and marketing campaigns come in to play here. They should have laid the ground work, have built up the reputation of your business and brand. Half you work is already done when a potential customer responds to your advertising and calls you. All you have to do then is close the sale. 

Advertising is such a key element of the sales process that David Ogilvy himself went on to become the original Mad Man of madison ave.

So talk to your Local advertising agency. We are there to help you get the most out of your advertising and marketing budgets. Call us today and see how we can help you get the processes in place, to maximise your sales potential.

Gavin Bryan-Tansley - Owner Vid-FX+ advertising

Simple tips for video editing.

Editing starts when the editor receives the raw footage, the script, shooting schedule and the continuity notes. The editor works with the director to produce the editing script.

8 simple tips tips for video editing

1. Read the script for the video.You would be amazed at the number of editors who neglect this crucial stage.

2. Reach for a pad of paper and a pencil, layout a timeline of the exact duration, and block in the main components from the video script.

3. Review the continuity notes and shooting schedule, to help you select the 'good takes' from the raw footage.

4. Review and select the B-roll and alternative footage to insert into and intercut with the timeline.

5. Mark the clip names/numbers on the main time line. Assess if they are going to fill or overrun the set duration, decide what could be cut or inserted to bring it to the exact duration.

6. Open a basic editing program, rough cut and assembly edit the raw footage to make a preliminary edit.

7. Review preliminary edit with the director and colleagues, look out for missing or additional items, where improvements can be made etc.

8. You don’t have to have the very latest Pro editing suite. A basic editing program can produce good results if you know what you are doing. Once the edit has been made no one should be able to tell in which suite the video was edited.

The 3 basic mistakes in video editing

1. You are working with audio and visual elements. The audio needs as much attention as the visual.

2. You will watch a clip dozen of times in the editing process. Having seen it three or four times it is tempting just to skip to the end, DON'T. Always play a clip through to the end, it is easy to lose an entry or outpoint to a clip when editing.

3. Don't put something into the edit, just because you can. People will watch your video for its content, not because of your editing. The very best editing passes unnoticed, so keep it simple.

Gavin Bryan-Tansley Owner Vid-FX+

Attract more customers

Customers searching for your product or service online have a plethora of choice. 

So how will you make your business standout?

Whatever it is that you are selling, there is always someone else who is offering pretty much the same. Often at a lower price, as they attempt to break into the market. The typical reaction is to lower your prices. This leads to a race to the bottom, until one or the other goes out of business. Either way it is likely to be a pyrrhic victory, as it is  difficult to raise prices once they have been reduced.

The simple answer is to give the customer what they want at a price that they will pay. 
But what is it that they want and just how much will they pay for it? Most businesses assumes that that they know what their customers want. True, yet it is not their customers they need to look to for new business. It is someone else's customers they need to attract.

So before you commissioning  a new advertising and marketing campaign. Ask how will you find out what your potential customers want? 
You should have established this before you started your business. But times change and customer expectations change with them.  It is wise to commission market research on a regular basis. Especially before you start planning your next advertising or marketing campaign. That is real research, not a quick poll around family and friends, or a gut felling that the market is right for...

Market research tells you what you need to know. 
To help you make, your choice of product or service. Good research can also tell you how much demand there could be. What it is often difficult to find out is how your competitors are attracting new business.

Unfortunately far to many businesses leave it to late. 
They only come to commercial agencies once their marketing has failed. Even then they have a tendency to disagree with the results. As these often challenge cherished working practices. Major change maybe needed to get their business back on track.

Don't leave it to late to seek professional advice. 
Do so before you embark on any advertising or marketing campaign. It is not that expensive. It can save you a lot of money in the long run. It could even save your business.

Another factor to keep in mind. Banks and other sources of funding are more likely to favor an application for funds. If the businesses applying, has a viable advertising campaign planned.

- Gavin Bryan-Tansley Owner Vid-FX+

Nobody is buying!

You have an innovative product, fantastic service and an award winning business.

The crowds should be all over you, clamouring to buy. Yet you are not attracting enough business to even cover your costs. 

Why?

A lot of businesses think a good product alone is all that is needed. How many times have you heard, 'Build it and they will come'? Well, this is a line from popular entertainment, not the sage business advice that it is thought to be.

What you have to do is 'sell your business'. If your potential customers do not know who you are, what you do or where they can find you, how do you expect them to buy from you.

In short if you are not doing anything to advertise your business, how do you expect to be in business? Passing trade, word of mouth etc., are all largely redundant in this day and age. For passing trade, you have to place yourself where someone is likely to pass. You have to have an enticing display to attract the potential customer who is outside to come inside. These days this is your Webverts and SEO. The videos and images on your website have become your shop front and store.

Word of mouth and recommendations do not take place over the garden fence any more. They happen in social media. If you do not have an online presence and do something to justify this, how can your satisfied customers refer their social circle to you?

The art of advertising has not changed, only the media we use and the pace at which we work has. It is still all about attracting customers to buy from you and not from someone else. To do that we have to give them the reasons they need to make that choice.

We have to change, 

an interest into a like
, 
a like into a desire
, 
the desire into a want
 
and the want into a need.

An example

At one time hand made axes were the low end of the market. The logging industry needed high volumes of a consistent quality that the small hand forges could not produce, so they moved to axes made industrially.

Today that situation has changed there is no real need for axes anymore. The logging industry has been mechanised and loggers work from the comfort of an air-conditioned cab.

Yet today, axes are selling at premium prices! Not just any axe but hand made axes from the small forges that a few decades ago were forced to find other product lines because they could not compete.
 Industrially produced axes are now retailing for around $20 -$60 hand made axes $200 to $600 each!

So what changed?

Making logging and axe skills into a sport generated the interest, rebranding small axes and hatchets as camping and outdoor survival tools took care of the rest.

This is called associative or aspirational advertising. In this case the foundries associated their axes with a life style to which people could aspire. Even if you could not give it all up and go live in the high woods. That axe becomes a promise to yourself, that one day, even if only for a few weeks, you could live your dream of a simpler life.



Tricky? No, just an understanding of human nature and how purchasing decisions are made. That is what advertising is, letting people know what you have for sale. Then giving them the reasons why they should buy from you rather than from another.

Gavin Bryan-Tansley Owner Vid-FX+ Advertising

Getting it right

Getting it wrong could cost you more than just money.

Creating commercial advertising requires creative skills that will set the advert apart from surrounding content. 

Thinking outside the box to create advertisements that are true to the brand, as well as selling a product. Yet different enough to stand out is one thing. To remain within the law and the codes of practice are another. What seems such a good idea in the pub or the closed environment of the office, often falls flat when it reaches a dispassionate audience.

A recent advert, a very clever spoof of a popular TV program, Animal Hospital. Received no less than 250 complaints about the association of a commercial product with animal cruelty. While the advert was legal in all aspects, it still caused offence. These errors in judgement could become obvious if it is test marketed before release. The footage could then possibly be reused with a slight change of emphasis or re-editied to change the offending scenes. 

Regrettably this is a stage often overlooked or dismissed as an unnecessary expense by far to many advertisers. The cost of testing is often far less than the costs associated with having your adverts withdrawn. 

The advantages of using a professional agency is that they deal with these kind of issues all the time. They also kept up to date with various trends and topical issues through their professional associations and trade press. They can help in avoiding these situations by bringing years or decades of commercial experience to your advertising.

Gavin Bryan-Tansley Owner Vid-FX+

Christmas! It's the hight of summer!

If your are in business, it could already be to late!

If you are thinking as a consumer, this could appear as a rather stupid time to be promoting Christmas and NewYear. Yet as a Business person it could already be to late.

I hope that this will be a rather fortuitous message, reminding some businesses that the time to act is now, not when the event is already upon us.

'In the advertising industry we plan and work months and years ahead. When you see someone elses adverts you are already playing catch up, plan and prepare ahead of time and steal the market.'

That if you are a tourism based company that wants to get into neext years catalouges the closing date for submissions is only weeks away. If you are aiming for seasonal press or TV adverts you have a little over a month. Web and leflet drops have a little more time but not much, your adverts have to reach you target audience in November at the latest. You will be fighting for space at the printers and time from overworked web designers and will have to pay a premium for last minute services, even if it appears that there are months left. 

Isn't this to early? no in some cases this is to late. We already have our first booking to shoot material for Christmas 2015 adverts. We are in the process of finishing adverts for next years tour guides. This year in Scotland the referendum on the 18th of September has caused some problems as the submission for some of these catalogues and guides close at the end of September. So have had to prepare adverts that reflect both a Yes and a No vote. We also have a client who is planning for a campaign that will not come to fruition until 2016. 

'Planning for next week, next mouth, next year, now. means that you will not have to worry about tomorrow, today.'

Though I do admit to some frustration in having to turn customers away telling them that they are to late to advertise for this season, when it is still weeks away. Far far far to many businesses lose out because they are to focused on current events or trying wrapup previous events to think clearly about what will happen tomorrow. One recent conversation ended with "I'm to busy worrying about how I'm going to pay my bills next week to worry about Christmas!" Take out a retainer with your local advertisng agency or consultant, let them get your advertisng and marketing material out there when it will be most effective while you concentrate on doing what you do best. 

  -Gavin Bryan-Tansley Owner Vid-FX+

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As advertising is one of the most heavily regulated and censored industries in the world today. Creativity within our industry is creating an original compelling idea that sells our clients products, without breaching any of the rules and regulations that bound us. Pushing the boundaries as far as they will go, but never crossing them without good reason. For it is not our reputations that are on the line, it is our clients.

-Gavin Bryan-Tansley Owner Vid-FX+

Word of Mouth

Word of Mouth can be an effective and powerful marketing tool. It is very attractive to small business because they are perceive it (wrongly) to be free, that it requires no active input or administration on their part. 

Let me tell you about last Friday. 

I needed to buy an additional... The item and the businesses I approached, I will withhold for reasons that will soon become apparent. I will simply say that the item is usually found online or from a specialist independent retailer where they are sold to consumers and local businesses who need these items urgently and cannot wait for an online order to be delivered.  A quick search on the net identified a number of outlets in reasonable proximity. So I nipped out at lunchtime to purchase the items I needed. 

First port of call. 

‘Closed for lunch’. What! A business selling consumer items closed for lunch. The only time of day when most of its clientele can get to the shops, without having to take time of work.

Second option. 

A faded sign in the door read, “Closed.” Yet its web page clearly stated that it was open 9-5 every day except Sunday. No reply to text or phone calls, even their mobile went unanswered. I moved further afield.

Third option. 

(Putting some serious miles on the clock now) “Sorry mate don’t have any.” Ah, on your site it clearly states that you have these in stock. “Nah, have never stocked these.” Oh, you are aware of the trades description act, false and misleading advertising? “Och who’s going to bother” was the only reply.

Fourth option. 

“None left, sold the last one just half an hour ago”. GRRRRRRRRR! 
“But wait a minute, one of our customers holds a stock and with the weekend and all”.  A quick phone call, a promise to restock their customer first thing next week and I am off to an industrial estate to pick up the item I desperately needed. So business 4 wins my recommendation. I’ll leave it to you to guess what I am going to be saying about businesses 1-3 the next time anybody asks where do I get my supplies? 

The moral of this story?  

Word of Mouth cuts both ways. It can make or break your business in an afternoon. 

Although you are not allowed to pay for Word of Mouth advertsing, it certainly isn’t free. You have to go that extra mile to earn it and you have to manage it to ensure that it is up to date, relevant and can be substantiated. Yet a single negative review can easily nullify any number of positive comments.

To make Word of Mouth advertising work for your business you must know how it works. What can and cannot be done to encourage it and how to manage it. Just waiting for someone to recomend you can take a very long time, unless you know how to jog their memory. If something happens to damage your reputation your must be aware of what has happened and know how to manage it. How to turn even negitive comments to your advantage. This is where commercial advertising consultants and agencies come in, helping you make the most of any oppotunities you have to market your business. Don't leave your advertising and marketing to chance, take control, start making your business work for you.

Gavin Bryan-Tansley Owner Vid-FX+