...advertising agencies tend to forget is that advertising isn’t about being witty, entertaining or winning an award for being the most creative – it’s all about selling and this is where they miss the mark...

Portsmouth, NH January 31, 2012

Marketing executives and advertisers have high hopes for this year’s Super Bowl advertising. After all, with an estimated one-third of advertisers spending more than 10% of their annual media budgets on this one event, they have a lot riding on its success. But marketing expert and founder of PredictableProfits.com, Charles Gaudet, says the institutional-style advertising is ineffective and alarmingly inefficient.

“Let’s face it, for millions of people, watching the Super Bowl ads are almost as exciting as watching the big game itself,” states Gaudet, “but what these advertising agencies tend to forget is that advertising isn’t about being witty, entertaining or winning an award for being the most creative – it’s all about selling and this is where they miss the mark.”

According to a Feb 4, 2011 article in Adweek, in 2000, there were seven dot com companies that invested over $2 million for ads that were supposed to yield positive results but only contributed to them going out of business before the next Super Bowl. In 2010, the popular Flo TV’s hysterically funny commercial (ranked 2010’s 10 best), was out of business by October and Budweiser’s unparalleled 70 SuperBowl commercials in the past 10 years has done nothing for their market share, which as slid from 25% to less than 10% in 2011.

Gaudet says that the majority of Super Bowl ads created by big advertising agencies is scripted around the premise of getting the client’s brand name in front of the largest quantity of viewers possible and lacks the incentive for people to take immediate action.

“Sadly, these advertisers have spent as much as a record $4 million dollars for a spot and, while many will remember the funny skits, slogans and actions, fewer will recall the company or brand that stands behind the ad,” continues Gaudet.

Gaudet gives six key attributes for more effective advertising in generating a higher return on investment and more sales. They are:

1. Provide the Viewer with a Reason for Advertising: Rather than advertising to simply get more sales, provide your viewers with a reason (i.e. Holiday, special event, new or improved product, unique payment plans / financing, discounts or sales, special reports, comment on recent news, etc.)

2. Grab Their Attention within the First 5 Seconds: There’s a LOT of noise and clutter surrounding your advertising, so be sure to give people a reason to pay attention and be specific as to WHO should be paying attention.

3. Make Them an Offer: Now that they have a reason for your advertising and they’re paying attention, what is the offer that you’re going to give them that will motivate them to inquire for more information or make a purchase from you? The stronger your offer, the better the response.

4. Give Them a Deadline and a Reason to Act Now: People are inherently procrastinators and have a tendency to forget your advertisement. Giving them a reason to act quickly will not only boost immediate response it will also increase long-term profits.

5. Provide them with a Clear ‘Call to Action’: Let them know how to take advantage of the offer by exactly where to go or who to call. Make sure the instructions are crystal clear.

6. Track the Response: Be sure to include a unique phone number, promo code or some other identifier to be able to track and measure the success of your advertisement. As W. Edwards Demming says: “If it can’t be measured, it can’t be improved upon.”

“You have as much as 30 seconds to grab the person’s attention and make such a compelling offer that they go to your website, visit your store or call your phone number to inquire for more information or make the sale,” continues Gaudet, “and we must not forget, it’s about making money … not being funny.”

For small business marketing strategies, tips and ideas, please visit http://www.PredictableProfits.com

ABOUT CHARLES GAUDET: Gaudet is widely regarded as a marketing expert for consistently delivering windfalls of profits to his clients by unveiling opportunities that have been previously under-utilized or have gone unnoticed. Gaudet has traveled much of the world studying from business, political and social leaders studying entrepreneurial, marketing and business excellence. He is the founder of PredictableProfits.com and the author of the widely popular blog at http://www.PredictableProfits.com/blog.

ABOUT PREDICTABLE PROFITS: Predictable Profits is a leading small business marketing company and a division of Managed Marketing, LLC. The company specializes in finding overlooked marketing opportunities commonly found in most small-to-medium sized businesses and creating actionable marketing strategies for increasing a company’s profits. You can read more about Predictable Profits by visiting the company’s website athttp://www.PredictableProfits.com.

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