It is a simple concept. People don’t read ads, they read what interests them. So if you are going to generate advertising and design, you are going to have to create a power of persuasion copy. And, oh, by the way, it must be more interesting than the millions of other advertisements out there. Now that is a daunting task, isn’t it? The Swiffer marketing strategy has overcome this dilemma by employing the power of persuasion that encourages the right sort of conversations.
Related post: How to Frame Marketing Messages for Optimum Engagement
Conversations among the members of your marketplace happen whether you like it or not. Good marketing encourages the right sort of conversations.
-Seth Godin
According to Nielsen, there are 27,000,000 pieces of content are shared each day. And Statistic Brain says that our average attention span has dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds – one second less than a goldfish!
We check our phones 150 times per day. We check our email up to 30 times an hour. And the amount of information in the world continues to double every 18 months.
All this available information and data is creating a battle for customer attention between brands, publishers, and every one of us who creates marketing content. But more importantly, its forcing businesses to think and act like creative designers.
It has been said that advertising is the price to be paid for being unremarkable. That may be true, but I have noticed, despite the growth in online marketing, that even remarkable businesses also advertise the old fashion way.
It is a key component of your marketing campaign, for awareness or consumer education of your value. If everyone is creating content, how does a business break through the noise? How do we reach our customers in a way that engages them?
Let’s examine 4 Swiffer TV ads that are part of the Swiffer marketing campaign:
The first 2 TV ads use the same elderly retired couple Lee and Morty Kauffman. In the first ad, the emphasis is on certain cleaning tasks that are become more difficult for the elderly …not so safe until they are introduced to some Swiffer products.
In the second ad, the subject is about how much dirt can two people manufacture? After trying the Swiffer products they are now convinced they have been living ‘in a fool’s paradise’ thinking that their home was clean.
In the third ad, three generations of one family get into a discussion and comparison of how they did the cleaning. Lots of cultural differences in cleaning for sure.
In the final ad, the cleaning comparisons were between a young husband and wife. In this ad, the comparison comes back to safety, as the husband has recently lost one hand and can’t do as much as he used to. That is, until the introduction of Swiffer products. Some interesting targeting, eh?
Swiffer made its debut in 1999 and soon established itself as a pioneer in both the cleaning systems category and a pop culture icon. Swiffer products have starred on Saturday Night Live, featured in Hollywood blockbusters, and graced the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine.
With the support of Swiffer fans around the world, Swiffer has built a family of distinctive products built smarter than traditional cleaning tools.
So, in summary, let’s examine these TV ads in total as key to the Swiffer marketing campaign’s power of persuasion:
Power of persuasion definition.
Shine the light on the value
Target the end state values to your customers. In this case, these ads show how cleaning can become more effective and easier at the same time. A big discriminator in this market.
Employing the power of persuasion … product positioning
Your positioning is the frame of reference. Make comparisons to your competitors if you can. The positioning in these ads is not with competitors but comparisons between the new cleaning tools and methods in comparison to the old ways.
A very effective marketing technique, don’t you think?
A good story has a beginning where a sympathetic character encounters a complicating situation, like the ability to clean the overhead lights. A good story does not interpret or explain the action in the story for the audience.
Instead, it allows each member of the audience to interpret the story as he or she understands the action. This is why people find good stories so appealing and why they find advertising that simply conveys information boring.
Experiences that trigger our emotions are saved and consolidated in lasting memory because the emotions generated by the experiences signal our brains that the experiences are important to remember.
In these ads, the personalities of the characters add the emotions of humor, realness, surprise, fear, and even a tiny disgust.
Power of persuasion techniques … relevance to the target market
Keep in mind that one message does not fit all. It starts with knowing insights into your target market. The customer targeting in these ads has emphasized the elderly, handicapped, and different generation cultures.
Swiffer marketing strategy … make your messages simple
So simple that the reader will quickly understand. Keep in mind that pictures are far more valuable than words. Use simple messages complemented with powerful visuals. Employ easy arguments.
Easy arguments are the conclusions people reach using inferences without a careful review of available information. These ads clearly and simply get the messages by showing the before and after visuals.
Appeal and attention
Grab and hold viewers’ attention Interesting information is the foundation. Your ad messages must be appealing to your target communities. The emphasis on emotion, in this regard, adds to the appeal and attention.
Visual elements
Visual elements make great components of the story. Support your messages with visual elements like the duster that is covered with dust to support your messages on the cleaning effectiveness. “Seeing is believing” and “actions speak louder than words” are two common sayings that reflect a bias and preference for visual presentation.
The truth is that the processing capacity of our brains is limited and words may get in the way of emotionally powerful visual images. When powerful visual images dominate – when “a picture or video is worth a thousand words” – be quiet and let them do the talking.
Articles with images get 94% more views than those without. And posts with videos attract 3X more inbound links than plain text posts. A study by 3M showed that 90% of the information sent to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000 times faster than text.
Effective value proposition
Define a value proposition that truly discriminates you from your competition. It is essential that you give your customers reasons to select you. It is amazing to us that many campaigns neglect this. These ads certainly did not neglect this essential element.
Part of an integrated marketing campaign
Make your ad a component of an integrated marketing campaign. Proper spacing/timing are essential to the campaign. Swiffer has this element nailed in terms of ad frequency and mixing a variety of ads so as not to annoy customers.
It’s key to have social integration across all areas of the business. Social media is a tool to be used across all functions: HR, sales, marketing, product design, online, and customer support.
Look for how all areas of social (listening, research, support, content, and analytics) come together to have an impact on customer experience and employee collaboration.
Embed social media in the fabric of the company and empower your employees to use it to achieve better results for customers and the business. This is the best way to create an integration in your marketing.
The bottom line
Not everyone appreciates your efforts to use power of persuasion to be remarkable. In fact, most people don’t. So what? Most people are ostriches, heads in the sand, unable to help you anyway.
Your goal isn’t to please everyone. Your goal is to please those that actually speak up, spread the word, buy new things, or hire the talented.
So if you remember one thing from this article, remember this:
Marketing or advertising, you need to create information that your customers find interesting and worth talking about and remembering. These Swiffer ads have certainly become a big success, don’t you agree?
Have any advertising experience that you would like to add to this community? Any comments or questions you like to add below?
So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you. But believe in the effectiveness of word of mouth marketing. And put it to good use.
It’s up to you to keep improving your creative marketing efforts. Lessons are all around you. In this case, your competitor may be providing ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.
When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.
Try. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your marketing, branding, and advertising?
Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.
More reading on marketing strategy from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Case Studies to Evaluate New World Marketing Concepts
How to Frame Marketing Messages for Optimum Engagement
Some Great Story and Storytelling Examples to Study
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.
