What's The Big Idea?
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Hey, Mister! What’s The BIG Idea?
Tom Wanek, here, and you’re watching Wizard Marketing TV, where business owners learn persuasive tools and techniques to spark miraculous growth.
Last episode we talked about opening your ads with fire … opening your ads with a First Mental Image that has a mega-ton of impact. Well, in today’s episode I wanna expand on that concept and talk about your BIG idea. I’ll see you on the inside.
What’s the one the thing that’ll add richness and dimension to your advertising … the one thing that’ll pierce the clutter of our noisy, over-communicated society and grab the attention of your customer?
If you guessed “impact” — then you guessed right!
Impact takes your advertising from mono to stereo sound. And the best way to elevate the impact of your message is through the creation of a big idea.
David Ogilvy, warned us, “Unless your advertising contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night.”
Well, if David Ogilvy says you and I need a big idea to kick our advertising into high gear … then, we had better listen.
But how do you go about identifying a big idea?
Again, let’s turn to the wisdom of David Ogilvy, who defined the characteristics of every big idea. Here’s his checklist of five questions that’ll help you when you have discovered yours:
1.) Did it make me gasp when I first saw it?
2.) Do I wish I had thought of it myself?
3.) Is it unique?
4.) Does it fit the strategy to perfection?
5.) Could it be used for 30 years?
Now, I’m going to add a sixth characteristic to David Ogilvy’s list: Is your big idea shockingly simple?
Complexity is a killer. If your big idea takes a lot of effort to communicate, then it’s not a big idea at all … it’s a rat’s nest.
So what does a big idea look like in advertising? You might recall:
Avisʼ “Weʼre Number 2 ... Thatʼs Why We Try Harder.” Admitting that you’re NOT the number one brand in your industry?
Unthinkable. Are you crazy? Yeah, crazy like a fox. This startling admission lent credibility to Avis’ claim of trying harder and, as a result, the company’s profits soared.
How about Old Spiceʼs “A Man Your Man Could Smell Like?” Shocking, right? A man should smell like a man. So don’t lather up with all that foo foo stuff.
And everybody loves Dos Equisʼ “The Most Interesting Man In The World.” This character—who admits that he doesn’t always drink beer—used the power of mystique to build Dos Equis import brand of beer.
Now, in case you’re wondering how master the art of the big idea, Ogilvy went on to advise, “Big ideas come from the unconscious. This is true in art, in science, and in advertising. But your unconscious has to be well informed, or your idea will be irrelevant. Stuff your conscious mind with information, then unhook your rational thought process.”
Big ideas are memorable. Big ideas attract and hold the attention of your audience and get them to buy from you.
Doesn’t it make sense to harness the power of a big idea into your advertising?
Now Marketing Wizards, did you like this video? Then do me a BIG favor … please subscribe and share it with peeps all across the YouTubes and the Interwebs.
And let me hear from you. Send in your marketing and advertising questions. Hit me up at tom@tomwanek.com, and I’ll give you an answer right here.
As always, we’re in this together. I’ve got your back. I’ll see you real soon.
Tom Wanek, here, and you’re watching Wizard Marketing TV, where business owners learn persuasive tools and techniques to spark miraculous growth.
Last episode we talked about opening your ads with fire … opening your ads with a First Mental Image that has a mega-ton of impact. Well, in today’s episode I wanna expand on that concept and talk about your BIG idea. I’ll see you on the inside.
What’s the one the thing that’ll add richness and dimension to your advertising … the one thing that’ll pierce the clutter of our noisy, over-communicated society and grab the attention of your customer?
If you guessed “impact” — then you guessed right!
Impact takes your advertising from mono to stereo sound. And the best way to elevate the impact of your message is through the creation of a big idea.
David Ogilvy, warned us, “Unless your advertising contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night.”
Well, if David Ogilvy says you and I need a big idea to kick our advertising into high gear … then, we had better listen.
But how do you go about identifying a big idea?
Again, let’s turn to the wisdom of David Ogilvy, who defined the characteristics of every big idea. Here’s his checklist of five questions that’ll help you when you have discovered yours:
1.) Did it make me gasp when I first saw it?
2.) Do I wish I had thought of it myself?
3.) Is it unique?
4.) Does it fit the strategy to perfection?
5.) Could it be used for 30 years?
Now, I’m going to add a sixth characteristic to David Ogilvy’s list: Is your big idea shockingly simple?
Complexity is a killer. If your big idea takes a lot of effort to communicate, then it’s not a big idea at all … it’s a rat’s nest.
So what does a big idea look like in advertising? You might recall:
Avisʼ “Weʼre Number 2 ... Thatʼs Why We Try Harder.” Admitting that you’re NOT the number one brand in your industry?
Unthinkable. Are you crazy? Yeah, crazy like a fox. This startling admission lent credibility to Avis’ claim of trying harder and, as a result, the company’s profits soared.
How about Old Spiceʼs “A Man Your Man Could Smell Like?” Shocking, right? A man should smell like a man. So don’t lather up with all that foo foo stuff.
And everybody loves Dos Equisʼ “The Most Interesting Man In The World.” This character—who admits that he doesn’t always drink beer—used the power of mystique to build Dos Equis import brand of beer.
Now, in case you’re wondering how master the art of the big idea, Ogilvy went on to advise, “Big ideas come from the unconscious. This is true in art, in science, and in advertising. But your unconscious has to be well informed, or your idea will be irrelevant. Stuff your conscious mind with information, then unhook your rational thought process.”
Big ideas are memorable. Big ideas attract and hold the attention of your audience and get them to buy from you.
Doesn’t it make sense to harness the power of a big idea into your advertising?
Now Marketing Wizards, did you like this video? Then do me a BIG favor … please subscribe and share it with peeps all across the YouTubes and the Interwebs.
And let me hear from you. Send in your marketing and advertising questions. Hit me up at tom@tomwanek.com, and I’ll give you an answer right here.
As always, we’re in this together. I’ve got your back. I’ll see you real soon.
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