By Steve Unger
September 17th, 2009
If you’ve been in marketing communications for a while, you’ve probably seen the famous “Man in the chair” ad. Although none of us were in the business when it first appeared, this classic oldie often shows up in reprints, textbooks and seminar lectures.
Originally created for McGraw-Hill publishers in 1958, the concept was developed to promote the vital functions of advertising and brand image. The print ad features a simple visual of a scowling businessman who’s telling an unseen salesperson (symbolizing the ad’s readers) that he’s never heard of the rep’s company or products or values, ending with the line, “Now—what was it you wanted to sell me?”
Voted by Business Marketing magazine as the #1 B2B ad of all time, the message of The Man in the Chair hasn’t changed in 50+ years: You still need to let prospects know who you are and what your organization stands for, before trying to make a sales pitch. The only difference is that today’s communications opportunities would have seemed like science fiction in 1958—e-mails, interactive websites, cell phones, podcasts, text messages, etc. So use whatever it takes to get through—maybe even a print ad.
What are some of your favorite B2B ads?
By Steve Unger
August 5th, 2009
In business-to-business marketing, we use a lot of acronyms and coded keywords, like ROI, SEM, VARs . . . even B2B itself. Well, let me add another one that should matter to anybody with something to sell: RYA. It means “Remember Your Audience.”
During my long career as a wordmonger, I was also a writing teacher and coach, which inspired RYA. My students taught me that it’s easy to fall into a self-imposed writing trap: Even though you know what you want to say, it’s always possible your readers (or viewers or listeners) won’t understand. You have to speak the audience’s language or else you lose them.
There was once a TV commercial about a famous American comedian whose act totally flopped in England, because the crowd simply didn’t grasp his cultural references. The same thing applies to your communications. Will a typical visitor to your website understand your buzz phrases and terminology? Even if he does, will he care? Is your message timely and relevant? Are you explaining your products and solutions clearly enough?
When communicating, be careful with what you say and how you say it. RYA . . . or they could be gone ASAP.
