Volume 1, No. 3, August 2019
“Do you want to know what the secret of life is? (Holds up one finger)
“Your finger?”
“One thing, just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don’t mean s--t”.
“That’s great, but what’s the one thing?”
“That’s what you gotta figure out.”
– Jack Palance (as Curly) and Billy Crystal (as Mitch) in City Slickers
Do you know what the secret of advertising and marketing is?
For advertising and marketing to be truly effective, it must focus on – and strongly reinforce – a single message without ever losing sight of it. We typically ask our clients, “If you can pick only one thing that you want people to know about your products or services, what would it be?” After we work together to answer this question, the task of drilling down to the seed of an idea that will sprout into a fully-fleshed-out marketing campaign can begin.
The secret to advertising and marketing success is to focus on one thing. Ultimately, it’s more effective to focus on one message than to dilute the essential message by trying to communicate too much.
GEICO's advertising is an excellent example of this approach. If I asked you to recite their slogan, I’m sure most of you could do it verbatim, “15 minutes could save you 15% or more on your car insurance.” The one thing GEICO decided was most important was to let people know that a quick phone call can save you money. That’s it. It’s so effective, in fact, that their sales skyrocketed even though we were never told anything about the company, how long it had been in business, or even the quality, features, or benefits of their insurance products when they began this campaign.
To help clients zero in on that one thing, Symmetre employs a “funnel” concept which is often used in generating sales leads. At the top of the funnel, you have myriad options. Any approaches that do not amplify that one thing are discarded until a refined seed of an idea comes out the bottom. That seed is examined from every possible angle, all the while keeping that one thing in focus. Ideas based on that seed are then developed into visuals that emotionally connect the message to the intended audience.
By implementing a multi-faceted marketing plan, and by applying best practices for branding, the message will take root and measurable results will follow over time. Please visit our website at SymmetreDesign.com to read how Symmetre gets results.
We welcome your thoughts and the opportunity to respond to any questions you may have. Call Symmetre’s partners, Mark Scala and David Albinson at 201-689-2110, or Business Development Specialist, Jack Mizrahi at 914-258-1813. Click here to reach out via email.
Next month we will detail how utilizing this approach has enabled one of Symmetre’s clients to grow their membership from an initial goal of 500 to over 5,000 and counting!
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