The Sesame Street Diet?

By Steve Fradkin, President
The Wizard of Adz

Reliable statistics prove conclusively that people who watch Sesame Street regularly weigh considerably less than the population at large.  Amazing!

Does this mean you should embark on a Sesame Street diet?  Of course not.  People who watch Sesame Street regularly are four years old, and they weigh 20 pounds — way less than the population at large.

Just one example of statistics that tell the truth but mean absolutely nothing.

Another example is when your uncle tells you he loved your ad, or when your neighbor tells you she saw you on TV.  Do these mean your advertising is working?  That it’s effective?

Again, of course not.  We love our friends and family, but they don’t represent a cross-section of our market.  What matters is results.

In order to determine whether your decisions about advertising are right, it’s important to monitor those decisions and the results they produce.  In general, there are three types of measurement available for advertising.  They are:

·        Pre-testing — testing of concepts or specific ad executions before publication, using focus groups or other scientific methods.

·        Post-testing — determination of awareness and readership levels using studies designed to measure these factors.

·        Results — determining sales increases, number of inquiries, coupon redemptions, etc.

Testing is expensive.  A single concept test, for example, could cost thousands of dollars.  It probably makes no sense for you to invest in this sort of testing; the investment simply does not justify the potential return.

But you can carefully monitor where new customers are coming from, and determine which messages work best.  Here’s how:

·        Ask.  Instruct personnel to ask, “How did you find out about us?” or “Have you seen our mailing?” and to keep careful record of the responses.  A short intake form indicating name, company, title, town and source of inquiry can facilitate this record-keeping.

·        Key Codes.  On response forms or cards, codes can identify the sources.  A key code of B, for example, can tell you that the response came from the second mailing.  For verbal responses, have the respondent ask for “extension 2” or “department 2.”  Separate email addresses could be used for each ad.  Discount coupons in print ads can also be coded.

·        Electronic responses, such as hyperlinks, email replies, QRC codes, etc., can be individualized by source and/or message.

·        Specific offers.  You can also change the offer in each promotion (or the way in which the customer asks for the offer), which will help you identify the source of the customer.  For example, one mailing might feature a promotion called “Business Success Stories,” and the other may feature the same promotion but called “Keys to Better Accounting.”

We can help you, too — help you design effective and valid ways to judge your advertising results, and make adjustments to improve them.  Look at some of the results we’ve achieved on our new website WizardOfAdz.com (click on Strategic Case Histories.)

Then, let us evaluate your specific situation with you, and tell you how we can help you maximize your advertising impact.  Call Sharon at 781-821-1818 or email Sharon@WizardOfAdz.com today.