Duct Tape Marketing

The most effective ads include these secret elements.  

In his book Brain Based Learning, Eric Jensen explains how the brain uses contrast, emotion, and novelty to evaluate the thousands of incoming messages it receives each day and to determine which ones deserve attention.  While the  book was written to help educators teach more effectively, marketers can use the information to design messages that easily grab attention.

The first simple technique to build into your messages uses the element of contrast.  Broadcasters apply this by interrupting the show you were watching and presenting a commercial – something different –  to grab your attention.  

But the brain quickly becomes so used to seeing commercials that, no matter how different yours is, it recognizes it as a commercial and tunes it out.  In a nano-second the brain tells the thumb to hit the clicker and get out of there; or it tells the feet to take the body to the kitchen.

The next element to ad to your message may be the most important:  Emotion.  We think we’re logical people; but emotions impact decisions more than we’d like to admit.  We tell ourselves we hate negative commercials and we’re sick of the misery on the news but the brain is very responsive to negative information because it’s focused on keeping us safe.  How can you create marketing that capitalizes on this?

Ask yourself what problem your product solves.  What emotions does your target market have around that problem?  Are they angry? Frustrated? What fears does your target have that the product addresses?  What advantages does it give your target?  When you’re able to identify and tune into the target’s primary emotion and convince her your product will solve the problem, you’ll definitely grab her attention.

Novelty is the third element to add to your messages.

We’re incredible creatures of habit and go through much of the day on autopilot.  So something unusual really gets our attention, even when we think the subject is stupid.  

This doesn’t mean you should do ridiculous things to get attention, but it means you need a little creativity.  Here’s a fun exercise to inspire you.  

Take a couple of industry magazines and look for 5 to 10 ads for the same type of product you sell.  Pull them out and lay them on the table in front of you.  Notice any differences other than the basics?  Probably not.  Most ads say nothing new.  As a matter of fact, they probably don’t say much at all.  

You can easily apply the concept of novelty in any ad by focusing on your company’s differences and the results you deliver.  

That would certainly be novel.


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