1. THE CANADIAN CONNECTION FROM J IM D OYLE & A SSOCIATES IN AMERICA IDEAS YOU MIGHT USE IN TV AD SALES IN CANADA A bi-weekly memo focused on ideas that work in America and might help your ad sales in Canada. Courtesy of Jim Doyle & Associates, www.jimdoyle.comwww.jimdoyle.com Now offering sales training and revenue-producing projects in Canada. A bi-weekly memo focused on ideas that work in America and might help your ad sales in Canada. Courtesy of Jim Doyle & Associates, www.jimdoyle.comwww.jimdoyle.com Now offering sales training and revenue-producing projects in Canada. D ON F ITZGIBBONS AKA “ T HE G URU OF A DS” J IM D OYLE & A SSOCIATES 508-341-0193 Don@guruofads.com February 24, 2014 Part of our goal in approaching Canadian media is to demonstrate that very often things that work here will work there. One of the easiest ways to make a local sale to a local advertiser is to cite proven creative ideas. We do know that there are some differences between what works in Canada and what works in the U.S.A, so we’ll also discuss one other idea that works very well here but may/may not in Canada. Here are my three favorite proven ideas that should work well for you: 1)Claiming the instant action position. In any category where the consumer wants instant action, you can get results by simply promoting… instant action. There is no need to cite an advertiser’s credentials or experience or any of the usual laundry list of attributes, just stay with one message about instant action. For example, a plumber might claim, “If you have a problem today, I’ll come fix it today.” The same for heating companies. Just think about categories where the consumer wants instant action. A bank might have same-day approval. Your health care advertising is less of a factor, but for us, the dentist or chiropractor who will see someone immediately will get great results with the same concept. “If you’re in pain today, I will see you today.” 2)Claiming to be the giant or king in any category. We have placed this idea in dozens of markets, especially for car dealers and furniture stores. It works best when there’s a niche attached. For example, claiming to be the Truck Giant works great, or the Recliner King. Production can have fun with this by creating giants on screen. Just go to YouTube for examples. 3)Asking consumers to get a second opinion or a second estimate from your client. Examples include almost all the home improvement categories where estimates are common. Painters, kitchen remodeling, landscaping, etc. The key is to be sure it’s a category where consumers will routinely be getting a couple of estimates anyway, so we want to make sure our advertiser is on their list. Okay, now the debate. Down here, we always want a call to action. Always. Forever. Never ending. Some years ago this was not the case and the common tactic was to run branding ads and then follow up with a call to action. Now, ads without a call to action have a greater failure rate. But, research shows that Canadians are less likely to respond to an advertiser who always has a sale or a deal or a special offer, etc. It also shows that Canadians really don’t like direct attacks on a direct competitor. Here’s my solution. Start experimenting with very soft calls to action. Not a screamer. Not a huge sale every weekend. Just add in something that calls the consumer to act now. For example, “At our open house this weekend we have a few close-out items on sale because they’re discontinued lines,” or “We’ll have cookies and balloons for the kids.” Then, every once in a while go to the screamer. Give it a try and let me know if this soft approach is well-received. It may well allow your client to get a slight edge on a competitor in a palatable manner.