| |
| |
|
Marketing Resource Center |
|
|
|
Cave Paintings, Baseball and Connecting
There's no such thing as a captive audience--any of us can tune out at will. It may surprise you, then, to know that keeping people's attention in this high-tech age takes the same know-how we had in neolithic days. The evidence of cave paintings points to our ancestors' grasp of the power of image and symbol. Their striking use of imagery was likely matched by equally powerful storytelling. To explain the nature of their business, many consultants create information packages. However, communicating is not simply the act of sending information to an audience. Picture this: You're in a park and, unexpectedly, you're hit by a baseball. That baseball is information, but you weren't expecting it, so you don't know right away what to do with it. Had you seen it coming, you' be at home plate waiting with a bat--but connecting with it also depends on how well the ball is pitched. Most, if not all, of us are stressed out by information overload--a lot of unexpected or badly thrown baseballs hitting us all the time. And we don't know what to make of them. That's something we often forget when we're at the throwing end. To communicate effectively, we must find a way to encourage the other person to join us, to involve them in the game. First, we must get their attention, bust through the clutter, open their eyes and engage their hearts and minds. Our chance of success is greater if we use symbols, imagery and metaphor--verbally and visually. Humans come equipped with an amazing ability to interpret visual communication. Our brains are pre-wired for associative thinking, a ton of information is rapidly compiled from the almost overwhelming onslaught of raw data sent to our brains by our senses. By early childhood, the human brain already has already built a vast database of memories and powerful, evocative associations from which to draw. Connecting abstract concepts with concrete images (making the intangible, tangible) is the work of an instant. Most of us are able to grasp complex concepts once we think of them in terms of images. (Do you know anyone who did not understand, in the twinkling of an eye, just what Faith Popcorn meant by cocooning?). The amazing thing is not that a picture is worth a thousand words; it's the speed of light with which we assimilate that picture and understand those thousand words. And it's this speed that we want to take advantage of in our marketing communications, because our audience is only going to give us the briefest fraction of time before they mentally "channel surf" out of reach. One word of warning about the power of metaphors--don't explain them; let your audience make the link for themselves. The power rests in the delight of making the link; to have it explained would belabour the point. (Much like having a joke explained, if it didn't get a response, it wasn't well presented and no amount of explaining will help.) If you recognize and use the power of symbol, image and metaphor to your advantage, you stand the best chance of triggering the response you want from your audience. Keith Thirgood, Creative Director Capstone Communications Group Helping businesses get more business through innovative marketing Markham, Ontario, Canada 905-472-2330 Subscribe to Thrive-on-line http://list.capstonecomm.com/mail.cgi?f=list&l=thrive_on_line
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Down To The Wire When you want to win and woo new clients with national publicity -- and don't have an enormous budget to distribute your message -- turn to the news wires. But first, be sure you're telling a story that's worth printing. The Marketing Secret Every Child Knows Little Kids Ask Until They Get What They Want.Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, can I have an ice cream? Can I, Can I, Can I, Can I? Please, Please, Please, Please. Loyalty Cards Systems - Beware, Some Should Be Avoided Recently, I discussed a loyalty card system with a vendor who was selling quite a number of his systems to restaurants. I was shocked to discover the lack of detailed information that this vendor catered for, and the opportunities the system he provided squandered. 15-Minute Marketing: Lots of Results in Little Time Do you think you don't have enough time to market? Here's a solution that can help you get started on marketing, or any other task you've been putting off.Promise yourself you will spend 15 uninterrupted minutes working on one aspect of marketing. Second Dose Of Marketing Vitamins Organizations often get stuck in neutral when it comes to marketing. Sometimes, you just need a kickstart. How To Achieve Success With Your Own Money Making Newsletter Writing and publishing a successful newsletter is perhaps the most competitive of all the different areas of mail order and direct marketing. You can still publish newsletter through regular mail. How To Get Your Prospect To Take Action There's really only one thing that separates Image advertising from Direct Response. Image advertising just wants you to think about a product in a certain way. Work Backward And Make More Sales! It goes against the grain, especially for those of us used to "business at the speed of light." But bear with me. 20 Tricks to Help Get That Envelope Opened When your envelopes aren't opened, you can't make money! Beforeyou can get an order, the recipient of your mailing package mustfirst open the envelope. Unfortunately, many recipients ofdirect mail simply discard the material without opening theenvelope. 10 Elements Every Direct Mail Piece Should Have Don't want your direct mail to end up in the trash with the rest of the unread mail? Studies show an effective direct mail campaign should draw a .5 to 1 percent response. How To Create A Complete Referral Marketing System These steps are taken from the Referral Flood Marketing Program. Referral Flood is an insider's shortcut to referral marketing and features over 4 hours of audio training, 54 real-world referral marketing systems, and a host of referral marketing tools, letters, postcards and forms. What You Need in Your Marketing Calendar Marketing calendars are used by many businesses to help keep sales pipelines full of new prospective customers. Small businesses may just keep a simple calendar with handwritten items on the dates that marketing efforts need to be completed. Growing Your Business With Your Marketing Priorities None of us have enough time in the day to get everything done, but small business owners and entrepreneurs like you are particularly pressed. You wear so many hats; there is a seemingly infinite list of tasks to accomplish each day, from providing services to clients, managing product distribution and delivery, to keeping accounting in order. Promotional Pen - A Pen by any other Name? Have you ever been among a group of people exchanging contact details? Notice the scramble for that good old-fashioned instrument, the pen. See the woman upturn her purse searching for one and the impatient expressions on the faces of the people with her. Profitable Marketing Programs Part 2: Figuring Break Even Point In Part 1 -- http://www.websitemarketingplan. Referrals . . .The Secret Weapon Are you getting referrals from you customers? If not, you are missing a lot of sales. Think about many of the sites you visit on the web. How Prince Connects With His Target Market! While Internet legend (and young pup) Frank Kern would have you believe that I'm so old I should be confined to a wheelchair, I'm still on the good side of 100! And I can stil enjoy a good concert from time to time. My daughter - Rachel, my wife and I had the good fortune to score some last-minute tickets to the recent Prince concert here in Atlanta. Full Color Postcard Marketing: 7 Reasons Why They've Become the New Direct Mail The most crucial aspect of having a high response rate to any direct mail marketing list is to keep your business' name in everyone's mind, constantly. But how do you do that without annoying your business customers, or divvying up a lot of time and money?A full color postcard can easily fit the bill if you send one every month or so. If My Work is Good Enough "If My Work is Good Enough, I Shouldn't Have to Market, Right?"Don't you think that good work should speak for itself.. The Most Important Marketing Principles of All Time As you have probably experienced there is a lot of hype in the business and marketing world. New concepts, revolutionary methods and the like land in our in boxes every day.
|
| home | site map | Advertising Articles |
| © 2006 |
