Careful of the corporate marketing gurus
2:30pm
East of the Mississippi
Earlier this year, a “thought leader” nominated the Clay display ads in airports as genius marketing.
I replied to his email that I’m a marketer, I’ve seen the ads, and they’re useless:
They sell nothing, offer nothing, and give no indication of what Clay as a company is or does for their users.
But because this guy has a lot of readers and a big company, they’ll believe him.
And then his readers will think that’s good marketing.
It isn’t.
If you know Clay and are impressed with a big ad spend? Sure, maybe.
But if you want prospects to know what your brand can do for them?
Do as Claude Hopkins advised: tell a complete story.
And if that’s not possible ––like on a billboard–– at least provide a benefit to your offer.
Or better yet, a transformation.
It’s been 6 months since I saw those ads and I still don’t know what Clay is.
And the guy I wrote to? He responded, “Fair enough.”
Because deep down, he knows better.
Jeffrey Thomas
Growth Partner and Direct Response Marketer