Springboard Advertising

In a recent class I attended on international advertising, the professor questioned why anyone would spend an average of $2.5 million (or $83,333 a second) for a half-minute spot on a sports show. After all, he reasoned, even though some of the ads will pop up occasionally at other times, most are really only seen during that particular “sports show,” the Super Bowl.

Hmm…he could be a bit off the mark. The point of almost all good advertising (and catalogs are a form of advertising) is to construct a springboard that causes an action — not just an immediate purchase, but a lasting connection. If fueled by the emotion built into the best Super Bowl ads, product preference and even loyalty could result.

How many people did you talk to, sometimes emotionally, about your favorite or most-hated ad from the recent Super Bowl? How many publications and newscasts not only reported the ads but repeated them again and again, effectively expanding the viewership so that the cost is actually a tad less than the 83 grand per second? Besides the news coverage, thousands also began to take note of, and actually connect with, certain brands.

Case in point: Some 7,000 people logged on to Dove's tie-in Web site (www.campaignforrealbeauty.com) within the first 10 minutes of the ad's airing. Dove was the first brand brave enough to advertise to women during the historically macho Super Bowl and has appeared to capture great word of mouth for a campaign that tackled the problem of low self-esteem in girls.

Maybe rather than measuring how many consumers we initially reach, we should start seriously collecting pass-along info (No source code? How did you hear about us?). I, for one, was so impressed by Dove that the brand moved to the top of my “See if we can find more of this company's products to buy” list. (Dove's parent, by the way, is Unilever.) Creating advertising that generates memorable action and starts people talking is today's way of getting peers' implied endorsement to help a brand stand out in an environment that's more cutthroat than ever.

Mitchum deodorant wanted a younger following, thus birthing the Web site www.mitchumman.com. With a site that begins with statements such as “If ménage à trois is the only French term you know, you're a Mitchum man,” then moves on to “Test Your Manhood” by checking your abilities to crush garbage, kill bugs and so on, the blogs are sure to keep on going.

As part of the campaign, Mitchum ads mimicked saturation mailings and blitzed New York subway trains last July. Women have their own area on the site; with trendy copy like “There's a Mitchum product for every armpit,” how could anyone resist?

Before you knock blogs' trackability, be aware that new methods — such as that of Blogshares.com — are cropping up. The site explains its premise as “…a fantasy stock market for Weblogs. Players get to invest a fictional $500, and blogs are valued by incoming links.”

But what if you're not in the Super Bowl league or been a bit slow to tap into blogs' potential? The point of springboard advertising is to take any ad beyond image making and get customers involved. A few years back, Spiegel showed that good ol' contests still ruled when response to certain segments tripled thanks to a customer-involving peel-off label that was part of a contest awarding up to $1,000 in cash.

This past fall Veer asked, “What Does This Image Say to You?” and offered catalog readers the chance to make an assessment of what a number of Veer's stock photos conveyed. Some choices: a photo of a hand coming at you in a “ready-to-shake” position — does it mean friend or fraud? A Rottweiler behind a chain-link fence — does the photo say best friend or monster? Human footprints on a beach — does this convey loneliness, hunger, went-for-a-run, or that the print belongs to an invisible being? Your reward for completing the contest is the pleasure of doing it and seeing what others said at www.veer.com/respond (give it a try — at deadline, it was still up). Veer's message? It has plenty of images for whatever you're trying to say — and you just had fun proving the point!

Furniture retailer Design Within Reach runs a different kind of contest to prove it's the design expert. Last year's announcement read: “Design Within Reach organizes its second won't-change-anybody's-life-but-so-fun Champagne Chair Contest. You can use the materials from no more than two champagne bottles. Glue is the only permitted adhesive. Nothing else, neither tape nor paint.” The results are taken on tour, put on a poster, featured in its Design Notes newsletter and even made into e-cards available on the Web site (www.dwr.com). Last year more than 500 chairs from seven countries made their way to DWR. Besides the recognition given to all who enter, DWR also awards the top entries prizes of $5,000 or better.

One of the most useful tools doesn't come from a cataloger but a retailer — Jordan's Furniture. I'd never heard of Jordan's until a Web search turned up its furniture room planner.

You can spend hundreds of dollars for software that helps you lay out the furniture, rugs and accessories in your home. Or you can go to www.jordans.com/roomplanner.asp for the free version. Select room type and style from preconfigured floor plans, then add or delete predesigned furnishings. Simply register to keep your room designs on Jordan's database. It's an excellent example of springboard advertising keeping the Jordan name locked into customers' and prospects' minds.

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KATIE MULDOON (kmuldoon@muldoonandbaer.com) is president of DM/catalog consulting firm Muldoon & Baer Inc., Palm Beach Gardens, FL.