The strongest emotions in order are;

Fear

Lust

Envy

Greed



The important stages of advertising in order are;

A-Get the consumer’s attention

I-Get their interest

D-Build desire for your product

A-Spur the consumer into action



Residual Recognition Profile



With a well designed and executed advertising strategy, a business will benefit from increased awareness of their product. Many people can remember products advertised over twenty years ago. “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should” or “Plop, Plop, Fizz Fizz, oh what a relief it is”

Schollnick Advertising has named this effect “residual recognition profile”. However, residual recognition is not an automatic outcome of every advertising strategy.

For example, a furniture store sends out bi-weekly mailers featuring sale items in big splashy exciting artwork. After a few months, the furniture store has trained consumers to watch for the mailer with all the specials and they can often be seen walking through the store using the mailer as a reference. Any business owner would be pleased with these results from this form of advertising.

But when the economy begins to decline, the furniture store owner is no longer able to send out these mailers. The consumers, however, keep waiting for the mailer and their announced specials to arrive. They do not go to the furniture store because they have become trained to only think about shopping at the store when they get the mailer.

However, if the furniture store had instead advertised on TV with the consistent and general message of: “Everyday Low Prices,” consumers would begin to automatically associate the store with low prices and would think to shop there whenever they needed furniture, not just when they received the furniture. The difference between the two approaches is their residual recognition profile. Even if the store owner can’t afford to run the TV commercials for a few weeks, the results will not be too disastrous because he has built up this general, top of mind, or residual recognition, among his clients.

Schollnick Advertising understands how important a strong residual recognition profile can be for a small business in an unpredictable economy, and so we strive to make sure that every media strategy is built around creating and supporting a healthy residual recognition profile.

Brand Reasoning

Lost in the clutter of advertising today, is one simple fact about advertising.  One has to give the consumer a good reason to buy a product.  A commercial might be cute and funny, but unless there is a clearly stated benefit for the consumer, advertising will not be at full functionality.

The consumer must be given a reason to buy a brand.  They must be engaged in the process of brand reasoning.  An ad basically should say, “think along with us here for a little bit.  All advertising should be based on an if then premise.  “If you want whiter teeth, brush your teeth with Pepsodent.”

Schollnick Advertising LLC incorporates this concept of Brand Reasoning in all our advertising campaigns for clients.  Before we buy media, we make sure the ad gives the consumer a solid reason to purchase the brand.  Selling the product should be the primary concern.  Not cute and clever ads.



Testimonials in Advertising.

"My philosophy requires of me that I convert not only my own experiences but whatever I can learn of other men's experiences…”  Buckminister Fuller

Before the internet became a communications giant, the three major forms of advertising were;

Signage-The sign in front of a store-billboards, posters, bus benches, anything that highlights a specific location.



Word of mouth-relying on testimonials-either good or bad for rating purposes



Advertising-Traditional advertising venues-TV, radio and print.



Since the internet, the order has changed somewhat.  Signage is still important, but word of mouth,  shared experiences, or slice of life advertising,  has become more important than ever before.  Consider reviews on the Internet and Facebook and Twitter dialogues.



Testimonials are  accounts of an experience either good or bad.   They are an extension of word of mouth communication.   For our purposes we will examine video testimonials-both for TV and the Internet.  And how testimonials may benefit a health club.



Before and after testimonials are standard for a health club.   “I lost 50lbs at XYZ health club, just look at me now.  This was me before, and this is me afterwards.”   This kind of testimonial is much different from the good food or good movie review.  Pretty easy to eat food or watch a movie.  Not so easy to lose

50 lbs through exercise and eating sensibly.  A before and after testimonial implies hard work-a major commitment.  Yes, there are those ready to commit to fitness, but realistically, a majority of people are looking for the easy solution.  They are smart and know that losing major weight and getting fit is not easy-claims that it is easy will be ignored and the advertiser will lose credibility.  So, before and after testimonials should emphasize the commitment needed-that it will not be easy.  Believable endorsements can be very powerful here, but it will appeal to a smaller percentage of people. If your club is well attended, then looking for long term loyal members is certainly a valid approach.  On the other hand, if your club is seeking to increase volume quickly, then an alternate idea for a testimonial is to promote the ease of getting fit.   Just come in and experience how easy it is to use our facility. 



A good testimonial will also be useful on individual web sites.  For example, check out anytimefitness.com and the testimonials for each club.



Summary-

To attract long term loyal members-use testimonials of a “before and after” nature.

To attract short term samplers-use “ease of use” testimonials.