The nice young man from the television station has patiently presented his ratings, shown you the qualitative studies on his viewers, and presented the package pricing. You\u2019ve decided to run a television ad. . <\/p>\n
Whazzat? He needs to know what you want your ad to say? Let him decide. He\u2019s the advertising expert. You\u2019ve got a business to run. <\/p>\n
Oh, look. He\u2019s back with the finished ad. Humm. Interesting idea. Maybe you should get another opinion. Let\u2019s ask the salespeople who have to deal with our customers what they think of this ad.<\/p>\n Stop it.<\/b><\/p>\n Either accept the ad, or don\u2019t. But stop gathering opinions of people who flat out don\u2019t know. There\u2019s never been a conclusive study to indicate why, but there are three things everyone believes they can do better than their fellow citizens: drive a car, make love, and create advertising. <\/p>\n We\u2019ve all seen their driving, and seen entirely too many bad ads to believe that a substantial portion of the population can be good at either. <\/p>\n You can trust your spouse.<\/b> <\/p>\n Yes, you can, but the issue isn\u2019t trust. It\u2019s difficult for any spouse to get past the \u201cI don\u2019t like it, and I can\u2019t imagine anyone else liking it ether<\/i>,\u201d stage. <\/p>\n And your staff? Yes, they\u2019re available. But an odd thing happens when you ask people for their opinion. They always have one. <\/p>\n Even when they don\u2019t have one, they will have one. But take the spousal response, multiply it by the number of staff people being consulted, and recognize that as soon as you ask for an opinion EACH OF THEM WILL BE COMPELLED TO CREATE ONE\u2026 on the spot\u2026 with no training, no knowledge, no preparation. <\/p>\n You\u2019re going to get bad advice. <\/p>\n So, you shouldn\u2019t get staff input?<\/b> <\/p>\n Well, that would be a mistake. Your salesfolk are probably pretty good at dealing with customers one-on-one. They will have some good suggestions of things to include, when you ask them in advance. <\/p>\n And that\u2019s the key. <\/p>\n Ask for key points to include before the copy is written. Once it’s done, you decide whether the ad leaves the correct impression in the minds of those watching it. Then, based on that impression only, either accept the ad as it is, or reject it outright. <\/p>\n But don\u2019t ask anyone\u2019s opinion after the fact.<\/p>\n
\n