A HUGE smile and more than few chuckles when I saw this wonderful marketing cartoon from the incomparable Tom Fishburne…
For those not familiar with the “post-production” reference…
“In an ad shoot, we often hear someone say, “we’ll fix it in post-production”. This usually happens when there’s been a mistake, but not severe enough to reshoot the scene. Yet we learn the hard way that there’s only so much that we can actually fix in post-production. Our source footage limits how much we can do later. It’s often worth the extra effort of reshooting the scene to make sure we get it right.
Similarly, advertising can’t fix a bad marketing strategy. Agency creatives work with the material they have. The better the source material, the better the ideas. Garbage in, garbage out.”
Read the full post at “marketing strategy”.
The big point here is that a marketing campaign is only as strong as the strategy that drives it. And that means the whole process of market selection, being clear on what you’re offering and why you are the best choice.
Dan Kennedy talks about a match between “Market, Message and Media”.
Now I know that I harp on somewhat about this, but the foundation of success in business and marketing is to have a well-considered and coherent strategy.
Some great insights into this concept can be found in an interview with the late, great Gary Halbert conducted by copywriter Michel Fortin.
The interview was recorded some years ago (back in 2005, if I recall correctly) but the marketing principles are timeless.
You can find the interview at…
…“Gary Halbert Interview By Michel Fortin”.
Halbert likens a marketing campaign to a journey.
If your aim is to get to a place that lies on a certain river by boat, then provided you’re going in the right direction you will get there even if you aren’t very good at rowing, paddling or whatever means of propulsion you’re using.
On the other hand, if you’re going in the wrong direction or on the wrong river entirely, it doesn’t matter how efficient you are are rowing, you won’t reach your desired destination!
So with marketing. The best creative and the cleverest ads won’t fix a poor marketing strategy.
As I am a copywriter, you might be a little surprised to hear me say that I don’t have a “Magic Pen” where with a few well chosen words I can create sales at will for you!
But, that’s the truth of it. Effective copy is an essential component of a successful campaign and can boost your returns.
But on it’s own it’s not enough.
The legendary copywriter Gary Bencivenga has a formula where he can assess in advance the chances of success of a campaign. One of the reasons why he has such a stellar track record is that as far as possible he only worked on campaigns that he knew had a high chance of success!
To paraphrase Sun Tzu…
“The success of every marketing campaign is determined…before it is even launched”.
It might not be glamorous and “creative” but the foundations of your success are a well thought-out strategy.
Get clear on that before you invest hard-earned money on marketing and promotion.