William “Bill” Bernbach was an American advertising creative director and one of the three founders, in 1949, of the international advertising agency DDB (Doyle Dane Bernbach). We believe a small business owner can learn a lot from him, and here are some of his advertising tips.
“Go to the essence of the product.”
Instead of focusing on the product or service itself, you should emphasize what that product/service does for your clients. For example, let’s compare two slogans:
- “The number one toothpaste”
- “A sexier smile”
Without a doubt, number two does a better job and sounds more intriguing.
“Art and copy must be fully integrated.”
It is important that the designer and the copywriter are working together. This may not always be possible when it comes to small businesses, but the least you can do is allow changes to be made after each does their part so there is some cohesiveness.
“Tell the truth. 1st, it’s a great gimmick. 2nd, you go to heaven. 3rd, it moves merchandise because people will trust you.”
Even if lying to your customers means a few quick sales, this is never a good strategy. Especially when it comes to small business advertising. People prefer small businesses as they seem to be more trustworthy. In case you did something wrong, admitting your fault and offering compensation are the best things you can do.
“Be simple. Not simple-minded, but single-minded.”
You should know that your customers are not stupid, and even if they are, they would never think they actually are. Treating your clients as if they were dumb will definitely harm your business, and nobody should ever be treated this way. Also, keeping this simple and to the point is usually a lot harder and a lot smarter.
“Stand out.”
No matter the year we live in, this will always be 100% accurate. Actually, in today’s world, this is even more relevant, people are just sick of ads, so you should really go the extra mile knowing that your ad may interrupt this funny cat video on Facebook and people will more likely close the entire video instead of waiting for the ad to be over and continue watching.
