Andy's Articles

WHY IS AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING SO DESPERATELY POOR IN THE GULF ?

Not too long ago, I had the pleasure of presenting an afternoon workshop on direct marketing and communication at The Dubai Motor Show.

It was a lively and stimulating session.

I have to admit that at times during the show, I was a bit contentious. Because, after being involved in the communications sector in this area for over 6 years, I am continually astounded with the generally poor quality of automotive advertising and communication that continues to appear.

In the main, it is frighteningly bad. It was over 6 years ago, when I first noticed it. And, it is clear that nothing much has changed.

To give you an example, whilst I was in Dubai for the show, I saw a current ad for the Toyota Camry, which had the headline 'Sense & Sensibility'.

Have you any idea at all, what this is supposed to mean? I haven't got a clue.

Neither, incidentally, had my audience, who consisted of senior decision makers in the automotive and related industry. ( Incidentally, Toyota were a no show…)

So, if all of us were baffled, what is it going to do for the average reader? Do you suppose they are going to try and work it out?

Who creates this tripe? Who approves it?

For press advertising, it is a proven fact that the headline of an ad, is the most important element of all.

On average, five times as many people read the headline of your ad and letter, than read the body copy.

Therefore it is a commandment of effective advertising, that the winning idea, the proposition, must be in the headline, not merely in the copy.

Because, if it isn't, there will not be a selling proposition to 90% of your audience. Can your valuable marketing budget stand odds like those…?

Headlines which work best are those that promise a benefit. Also, those that contain news... where is the benefit and where is the news, in Sense & Sensibility?

So, remember, if you have news to tell - and you should have by the way, - don't bury it in your body copy, which nine out of ten people, won't read. State the facts loud and clear in your headline.

Surely, in today's competitive marketplace, where every penny of valuable budget has to work as hard as possible, isn't it the responsibility of both advisor and client to understand this basic credo of contemporary communication ?

As Raymond Rubicam once said " The only purpose of advertising is to sell. It has no other function worth mentioning"

And entertaining, isn't one of them. Nor is the creative director of an agency, displaying how clever he is, because he remembers the title of a Jane Austen novel.

I speak and present all over the world on direct marketing, advertising and communication topics. And, I have to tell you, that I get so much 'How Not To Do It' material from the Gulf, it's astonishing.

In general, I find the promotional messages that I see, to be ever more inappropriate, ever more obscure.

This dreadful state of course, offers great opportunity My advice to clients out there, is to show some vision and be brave. Fire these charlatans immediately and appoint someone that fully understands the modern day communication process. Someone that studies the business and can advise and create effective campaigns for you.

They are out there, if you look around. Not many in the Gulf, but they are there.

Doing that would be the first step in generating a significantly increased return on your marketing investment and gaining a major commercial advantage over your competitors.

The others would follow, but you would be so far ahead, it wouldn't be a contest.

To me, THAT makes SENSE. What's more, it is an approach that is cram bang full of SENSIBILITY…

Andy Owen is Managing Director of Andy Owen & Associates, a Strategic Marketing Consultancy, with offices in Birmingham, Dubai, Paris, New York & Los Angeles. He personally visits Dubai every four weeks to work with clients in the area. He can be contacted on 0044 121 778 6640, or by email at andyowen@aol.com en.co.uk