How To Be A Relevant Brand After The Coming Apocalyptic Recession
Dear Advertiser,
💩’s about to get real.
Economists worldwide are predicting you’d better become a hella good advertiser in 2023 if you plan to be relevant post-apocalyptic recession.
Can we talk? OK, I’ll do the talking and you should listen.
With a looming recession, consumer buying habits will change; we’re already seeing it. So how do you, dear advertiser, stay ahead of the chaos and mayhem of uncertainty?
Shore up your brand position in the market.
It’s time to do more than make sure your ad dollars are wisely spent; you need to make sure your brand is at the top of your consumer's mind, that you’re the one they think of when they need what you sell.
Your brand is what people say about your business, product, or service, and it is the thing that keeps you alive when advertising isn’t working for whatever reason. In this case, I am speaking of the coming apocalyptic recession.
I use the phrase apocalyptic recession with purpose. For businesses that die during this period, it will genuinely be apocalyptic. For those that squeak by, it may take a while to recover fully. Then there are those of you that hope to thrive when all hell breaks loose. There will be plenty of business to sift from the ruins.
So what do you have to do to prepare for this apocalyptic recession? I’m glad you asked.
Be Memorable
If you’re advertising as the economy sinks into mush, make sure your advertising stands out, is bold, and is memorable.
I’ve seen so many vanilla ads from businesses across the internet I can’t tell you a thing about their companies.
Don’t be afraid to push the envelope, to make people notice you. To become a household name you have to be memorable.
Don’t give me the lame excuse about your business being in this highly regulated, emotional, personal industry. You’re justifying lame advertising and blaming it on something you claim to have no control over. Even regulated industries can have fun and creative advertising.
I know what you’re thinking… “really? prove it Moskowitz”
INSURANCE
Meet the Gecko, Flo, Mayhem, Jake… do I need to go further? Didn’t think so, but I will. The Aflac Duck, Limu Emu (and Doug). You can create memorable ads for the most boring industries so don’t try that excuse.
Use Strong Visuals
To get people to read your ad, you must first stop them from scrolling. Use eye-catching visuals or imagery that demands attention. I cannot begin to tell you how many businesses miss the mark on this one.
Let’s pick a random industry, solar. Most solar ads use visuals that are nearly invisible in the feed.
Meet the solar installation guy, he’s as memorable as a fart in a sewage plant.
Now meet sun lover Samantha. OK, I made that name up, but there is a stark difference in the scroll-stopping quality of these images. One is a snooze fest, the other demands attention.
No, you don’t have to show a picture of what you do. Stop that! Do the insurance companies mentioned above show you boring policies and deductibles? Insurance is paperwork. That would be a fun visual to see in the feed, right?
Write Potent Copy
Most copy I see online is impotent and falls short of moving me from a scroller to a shopper. Then, as I scroll past advertising lameness, a brilliant ad grabs my attention every once in a while, the copy sharp, memorable, and potent.
The most potent part of your copy must be the headline. If you can’t write this, don’t try to write the ad. I know a pretty awesome copywriting company that can do it for you. Just saying.
Did you know that, on average, the headline is read 5X more than the body of the ad?
Yes, the headline is the most critical part of your ad and the part most people fly through. Instead of spending an hour on the body of the ad and 10 seconds writing the headline, flip that around. Devote 90% of your effort to the headline, and you’ll see a difference in performance.
Why is the headline so important?
It signals the consumer you’re looking for and tells them you have what they need. Your headline should appeal to their self-interest, and it should also feature some news. Buyers are always on the hunt for some magic new product or feature to improve their lives. It’s the reason my wife, Allison, bought this silly vegetable chopper from an ad she saw in her feed.
Guess what? It’s the best damn chopper I’ve ever used. It was an old product, redesigned in a new way, and the ad excited her enough to buy it. As a marketer, I applaud them. As a consumer, I am grateful because it scratches an itch; it fills a need.
Use Power Words
Use power words in your headlines, and don’t be afraid that they are cliché. They work. Words like:
Announcing, Easy, Amazing, Revolutionary, Suddenly, Just Arrived, Remarkable. There are dozens more. These words create a visceral response in people, and they move people. If you arouse the reader’s curiosity, there’s a chance they might read the rest of the ad.
Your headline has one job. To make your reader want to read the rest of the ad.
If you plan on pulling out the Bee Gees and Stayin’ Alive to come out the other side of the post-apocalyptic recession, you’d better start working on your brand today, or you might not have a tomorrow.