How To Make Every Ad Work Every Time (Part 3) - Adult B2B Marketing Tip

[AdultB2B]

THE MARKETING EQUATION (Part 3)

Yesterday I talked about how John Smith's brain works. Here is more information about what makes for successful marketing that's relevant to the prospect, or John Smith:

Activators & Hot Buttons

ACTIVATORS

An activator is anything that snaps a person out of Alpha Mode and into Beta. Anytime something familiar, unusual, or problematic enters the Reticular Activator, the brain becomes “activated,” hence the name. Traditional “C&R” advertising likes to use unusual and familiar activators to interrupt people.

Beware! Just because an Activator has interrupt value does not mean it has engage value. Activators that are not relevant or important to people must be constantly changed to keep people stimulated and therefore require huge
advertising budgets to support.

Hot Buttons

What Your Brain Does When It Finds An Activator:

- Immediately and subconsciously searches for additional, clarifying info.

- Gauges importance/relevance

- If important/relevant: Conscious bandwidth will be allocated and the brain will be Engaged. This means the Activator is also a Hot Button.

- If NOT important/relevant: Brain will immediately revert to Alpha Mode and NOT be Engaged. This means the Activator is NOT a Hot Button–-it’s a False Beta.

False Betas

If the prospect is interrupted but not engaged, that’s a False Beta. For example, in a crowded airport, you hear a voice from behind you call out your name. You turn and realize that the person calling your name was actually calling to someone else who apparently has your same name. What do you do? Do you still engage that person in conversation? Do you ask them what they want? Of course not. In this case you are interrupted but not engaged–-a False Beta.

Celebrities are used in advertising because they are familiar and therefore register in many people’s reticular activators. But since the celebrity often does not connect with the product it's a false beta.

A False Beta is an Activator that is strange, shocking, creative, or unusual and will interrupt the prospect. But when the brain cannot immediately find additional, clarifying information, it quickly reverts to Alpha Mode. Result: False Beta

So what is a good activator? How do you interrupt and engage the prospect and get him to act? The use of good headlines.

Headlines

Headlines must be full of hot buttons that will interrupt the prospect. Use hot buttons based on problems, annoyances or fears your prospects have. This triggers an emotional response and prepares them to become engaged.

Headlines should be used in all marketing pieces, not just advertisements. Even your brochures, websites, signs, and follow-up pieces should contain hot-button-loaded headlines.

Company names are NOT hot buttons, and therefore, not appropriate headlines.

More tomorrow.

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