Return on Intention

Here in New Mexico its pretty dry. It will suck the moisture right out of your skin. So as anyone who lives in the drier parts of the country (world) will tell you, the kind of soap you use makes a difference. I know this seems like a strange post but follow me, I have a point.

I came to live in Albuquerque after several years in Tampa, Florida. There is quite a humidity difference. And it does take a toll on your skin. I used to use an Old Spice soap because I liked the spell, and most importantly, it’s the same brand as my deodorant. The problem was that my elbows used to get so dry they would crack. In the winter, when you are taking on and off long sleeve shirts and jackets, it hurt, a lot. Then I noticed that after taking a bath with my wife one night, my skin was much better off. As we came to find out, it was the soap, her soap. So now the secret is out, I use women’s soap, (it’s Dove, and it comes in a no-scent formula so I don’t spell like a girl all day. That would make for interesting client meetings.)

So what’s the moral of the story? I watch just as many ads for soap as the next guy. I’ve seen the Axe commercials where women throw themselves on men just from the scent of their soap. While I have to say that I wouldn’t mind a product that had that attribute, we all know its not true. Besides, I like having my elbows in tact. So with all the “men’s” soaps out there, why do I still use Dove? Duh. It works. And until it stops working for me, no amount of advertising would ever get me to change.

This soap choice, and deodorant choice are both parts of my routine. I don’t want to change my routine no matter how much money you spend on your ad budget. Of course the moral of my story isn’t that advertising is bad. But I am going to make two points.

1.) Experience trumps advertising. This has a lot to do with the routine. When I go to the store, I don’t sit around and debate which deodorant or soap I want. I know what I like and I get it. Even if your product is on sale, I’m not buying. The only exception to this rule is when I become dissatisfied with my current choice. This usually happens from either more experience (I took a bath with my wife’s soap) or a change in experience (I discover that my elbows are cracking again). Its not likely that advertising is going to put me in either of those positions. But advertising can make a difference. How?

2.) Give me a good reason to think my product is letting me down. I can only think of two “Men’s” soap brands – Axe and Old Spice. Axe is geared to younger men. The appeal for me really isn’t there. I know that no matter what soap I use no woman will throw herself on me (unless the soap can magically make me 40 lbs lighter). Also, because of this younger sex-sells approach, I am anti axe. I don’t fit in that tribe. So that leaves me Old Spice. Old Spice had a program where they would send you a free stick of deodorant to test against your own. This was pretty good approach, and because their advertising wasn’t geared to . . . Well, my son (he uses Axe) . . . I took the bait and switched. Advertising did have a lot to do with the decision for me to switch to Old Spice.

So now that I am happy with my routine, can you get me to switch to your product? Only if you give me a really good reason. There is a large part of this country that is desert…. Most of the southwest. So why aren’t there any ads directed to us? Where is Old Spice with is “manly” version of ultra-moisturizing soap? Where is the sposts showing a wife happy that her husband’s hands aren’t dry? The point is give me a good reason to switch by being relevant to me. And a good place to start is how I’m different.

Don’t expect your ads to do more than they can. Inform me, get me to recognize your brand, but when it comes to call to action, don’t assume that I don’t already have an answer to my problems. Give me a trial period or sample, and tell me how it fits in my “Unique” life. That’s the best you can do, and there is not guarantee that it will always work, but be smart about it.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 9th, 2007 at 11:56 am and is filed under Mar Comm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.