Ready. Set. Now where are we going?

Being a typical American guy I am not too big on asking for directions, even when I am lost. It was much worse before smart phones with GPS direction finding functions, a fact not lost on me when I am driving anywhere in New Jersey.

It seems like many ad agencies and clients are living the pre-smart phone era from a strategic marketing standpoint. For the life of me I do not understand many of the ads that I see. 

Take for example this ad for Volvo Trucks featuring 53 year old Jean-Claude Van Damme and his trademark "spits" move. What are they trying to sell? Who is the target? Why does this ad seem 100% “benefit-free?”

One of my business school professors said “Sears sells lots of 3/8” variable speed cordless drills every year. But people do not buy the drill, they buy the hole in the wall – the end benefit.” Or maybe the power of a drill - as shown in this ad from DeWalt tools.

I was taught as a junior AE at DDB to write smart and tight strategies or I’d get thrown out of the creative director’s office on my ear. We needed to clearly state the purpose of the ad, the target (demographic and attitudinal description) and a benefit or promise statement, with three support points, or reasons to believe the promise. What would the product / service do for the user? How would it help the target audience feel as a result?

One agency that still gets it right is Wieden + Kennedy, and it shows in this Grand Effie award winning ad for Chrysler "Imported from Detroit" directed by Serial Picture's Sam Bayer.

 

The challenge was for Chrysler to launch the Chrysler 200 in the absence of any consumer loyalty or eager customers. "Unfortunately, America had turned its back on American cars" Chrysler stated in its entry. "Success requires us to keep the public's eye on Chrysler's future" - a simple and straightforward strategic objective.

As one Effie judge commented "They gave that brand its soul back" and the successful turn-around of Chrysler allowed them to pay off their government bail out loan six years early, and return to profitability.

This disciplined process in a highly creative shop helps develop lots of award winning ads, not only from a creative standpoint, but also from a brand and business building perspective. Chrysler is considering an IPO later this year, following the take-over by FIAT in 2008.

Looks like basic strategic training is gone from most agencies these days, a casualty of cost cutting and plain neglect of practicing a profession that is both art and science. So the old saying “if you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there” is the order of the day. A sad state of affairs indeed.