A CLIMBER'S GUIDE

“Risk and Reward”
02/18/2008

Last week we talked about the fact that advertising involves business and marketing, the arts and ethics. I should've added the element of risk to that mix. Risk is an integral part of advertising and entertainment. The principle of risk, and its relationship to opportunity and security, applies to all aspects of life and business including advertising. For the most part, the bigger the opportunity, the higher the level of risk. If you want more customers to consider shopping with you than you'd better change their awareness of you. As with any good sitcom or entertainment piece, the more unexpected and surprising the creative, the more your message will stick. Being different and unpredictable pays dividends.

For most people, "different" in and of itself, is uncomfortable if not risky. Remember in advertising, big results don't come from small changes. You will, in fact, see increased opportunities come your way when you learn to embrace more risk and change the way you advertise. Although different people have varying tolerance levels for risk, one thing's for certain - your tolerance for risk will be tested in the world of business.

In advertising, healthy risk taking should come in the form of taking chances creatively but never ethically. The irony is that most people see creative risk taking as being more risky than toying with ethics. I see it everyday. So many businesses are completely comfortable in misleading the public with deceptive language but get all out of sorts when people don't like their ads. The sad thing is that the look and sound of manipulation and deception has become the norm and draws no ire from the public whatsoever. Yet, step outside the lines with creative or run with the right amount of frequency and consistency and the phone starts ringing with complaints like:
"I'm really sick of your ad and I don't ever want to see it again" - which is another way of saying that they can't ignore your ads because they are different.
"That ad was stupid and it doesn't make any sense" - which is another way of saying that it bothers me that your ads are different and stand out from the crowd.
Finally, "I'm offended by your ads and you should be fired for letting them air that way" - which is another way of saying I have nothing better to do with my time than to call and complain about your advertising.

The decision making process with regards to the level of risk attached to the idea needs to be an intimate one. In advertising, the worst ideas can sometimes make the most sense and the best ideas can seem counterintuitive. The decision to be "different" or "risky" should be made with respect for the laws of advertising and not for the opinion of your neighbor. Try to get an abstract or risky idea past a committee and you're doomed. It's just another reason why advertising is so sterilized and innocuous. Committees have a way of stripping the very elements out of an ad that make it work. Committees tend to want to soften the ad, smooth it out and polish it up until it looks and feels like every other ad in the market. This results in emasculated advertising that fails to stick.

So what then is the problem? It comes down to subjective nature of advertising. Everyone has an opinion and you have to ignore those subjective opinions because they are not based on a sound understanding of advertising techniques. The spouse, the golf buddy, the business associate, the partner and the prude, all are well intended but their subjective opinion of your ad should be ignored. Whether it's positive or negative, response is not connected to results. Results can be most positive when response is most negative and vice-versa. The plain fact of the matter is that the ads that usually produce the most results - get the most complaints. Yes, taking chances creatively can be seen as risky but in reality, it's not. It is a proven fact that people who disapprove of your ads will still shop at your store. They don't base their shopping decisions on their acceptance of your creative approach. They do, however, become more likely to shop with you when you get on their radar with top of mind awareness.

The key to successfully communicating your message to the general public is to do so in an unexpected way. To allow people to view your ads without thinking they've seen or heard it before.

We encourage our clients to take chances creatively but to avoid, at all cost, manipulation and deceit. What's appropriate and what's not should be based on the creative content of mainstream, broadcast media. If it's appropriate for CBS prime time then it's appropriate for you. That's probably the one constant theme that you'll see in all of our ads. We take chances to avoid becoming invisible but never take chances with regards to the clients respect for the intelligence of their potential customers. Even if a customer is dumb enough to fall for the phony offer, they'll still respond to a healthier, but different approach to communicating your benefits.

Predictability is the kiss of death in advertising.

So stop chasing the next big event and/or playing it safe with predictable advertising. Start engaging people with unexpected and unpredictable advertising and it will ultimately create more top of mind awareness for your business and the products you sell, even if people complain.

Keep climbing,

Jake

	Climb With Passion
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