The 10 Commandments of Marketing

The 10 Commandments of Marketing (by John Parikhal, CEO of Joint Communications) 1. Start with a goal. It's incredible how often marketing campaigns begin without a clearly articulated goal. At the very least, the client, PD (if necessary) and the account executive should agree on the age and characteristics of the target audience. The goal should include a statement expressing what you want the target demo to do as a result of the advertising. Even if it's as simple as "get them to try us," write down your goal before you start. Other solid goals could include positioning a unique competitive advantage, or introducing a new product. 2. Plan ahead. Ideally you should try for five months of lead time. That gives you time to set a goal, develop creative, produce it and get it into the field. Too often marketing is an afterthought. Of course with today's economy, there's a lot of pressure to wait until you are really in trouble before acting. But that crisis mentality often pays poor dividends. Beware the "let's wait and see what the other guy does" syndrome. In that syndrome marketing is always postponed because a new competitor is coming on or there's a question about how much to spend in relation to what the competition is doing, or something else. Don't wait, act! 3. Do your research. Test everything before and after. The smart advertising agencies do it. The smart packaged-goods companies do it. Why don't you? At the very least pre-test key positioning statements. Pre-test your creative. This commandment is the one that is broken the most often, especially the section that says it is as important to post-test a campaign as to pre-test it. Remember: Firing a rifle without gunsight wastes a lot of bullets. 4. Get the product/service right. Before you market, make sure the product is right. Is it what your customer wants? What do they like best? What do they like least? But don't wait until the product/service is perfect. It never is. Go when it's as good as it can be for now. 5. Market your difference. Advertising genius Ted Chin says, "A failure to advertise your difference is a failure to advertise." He's right. If you do something better that your competition, say so! One caution about this commandment: make sure your difference isn't easy to copy. 6. Buy media. Leave you preconceptions at the door when you buy media. Why do so many businesses say, "We have to be on "________" (television program), or "No matter what it costs, lets get on the news"? In today's cable driven, wireless world, mass television viewing no longer exists. It's better to buy heavily for your target audience across dayparts. 7. Don't covet other campaigns. Far too often we fall in love with a piece of advertising that might work well in Los Angeles, but doesn't have a lot of relevance locally. Just because a commercial appeals to you doesn't mean it will appeal to your audience. Watch for ads that don't advertise your difference. 8. Don't judge your creative. The seventh and eighth commandment go hand-in-hand. The only good judge of a commercial is the consuming public. Most of us in business aren't the end users of our product. Sometimes a commercial can appear offensive, stupid or even boring to us, but to the public it might be just right! To obey the eight commandment, we must obey the third commandment and do the research to make sure a spot works. 9. Change the copy. Procter & Gamble knows something that a lot of companies don't: Most TV viewers "get" a commercial within one or two viewings. Once they get it, they are usually bored and ignore the spot when it comes on again. Campaigns need to be freshened more often that they did 10 years ago. 10. Coordinate promotion and marketing. If you're advertising your difference internally, advertise it on the air. Cross-promote the same message. The 10 commandments of marketing aren't carved in stone, but they should be readily available on your desktop. We all know the consequences of breaking them