Wizard Of Ads

Conventional wisdom tells the advertiser to ask “Um, where did you hear about us at?”

This has advertisers chasing a butterfly they cannot catch. While it sounds logical it’s almost impossible to pinpoint which media brought the customer through your door with any consistent accuracy.

When asked, some customers will try to be honest by saying television when radio planted the mental picture. Some customers will try to be helpful by making something up. Some will say the first thing that comes to their mind to get rid of you. This will leave you chasing the butterfly further and further down the road.

Instead you should plant a word flag in your ads. A word flag is an unusual word or phrase that is likely to be commented on by your customer. The only reason customers will mention your word flag is to make themselves look clever. Saying “mention this ad” will not work and is not a word flag.

Word flags are like these famous movie quotes:

• “Hasta la vista, baby”
• “Run Forrest, Run”
• “Say hello to my little friend”

Word flags get the public quoting lines from your ads.

They not only have the power to make customers mention your ads, they also have the power to create a relational connection between you and your customer, an icebreaker so to say.

If you need more evidence, run a promotion for a specialty item in your store, only use one medium, ask customers how they heard about the item, then sit back and prepare to pick your chin up off the floor.

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