Simple truth about advertising
DUVAL GUILLAUMEwww.duvalguillaume.com
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People love ideas. I certainly do. That is why I
like good advertisements like those that Duval
Guillaume makes for our airline, Virgin Express,
once again voted best short-haul airline in
Belgium. The creative advertising agencies
of the world have made it possible for global
brands like Virgin to continue to capture the
attention of our customers–a tough act, I can
tell you. They have turned what could be grey
company messages into great entertainment.
Whether you are in the marketing business
or just interested in advertising, this amusing
little book will not teach you how to become a
great advertiser–but at least it should help you
understand why you’re not.
Sir Richard Branson
It was the end of the century.
The end of the millenium.
Earth had turned into a village of five
billion people. Everybody could talk to
everybody, no matter where they were.
Companies sold their products all over the
world, and in order to stay familiar to their
customers, they had to advertise in such a
way that people believed they lived next
door. Oh, life became complicated.
And then, suddenly something happened.
Out of nowhere, written on the back
of a beer mat,
came...
Duval Guillaume's
Simple truth about advertising
BRIEFINGS SHOULD HELP YOU SEE, NOT MAKE YOU BLIND.
8 9
About
THE THICKER THE STRATEGY, THE THINNER THE IDEA.
10 11
About
THERE IS NO WAY TO FEEL SAFE ABOUT A BIG IDEA.
12 13
About
IT IS GOOD FOR YOUR BUSINESS IF THERE IS A LINK BETWEEN THE AD’S IDEA AND
THE BRAND’S PROMISE.
14 15
About
A BRAND IS A PROMISE. IT CREATES THE EXPECTATIONS THAT THE PRODUCT HAS
TO DELIVER.
16 17
About
TO TURN A BIG BRAND INTO A GREAT BRAND, YOU NEED A HUGE IDEA.
18 19
About
OVERESTIMATING THE MARKET POTENTIAL IS AS DANGEROUS AS UNDERESTIMATING IT.
20 21
About
RESULTS AREN’T RESULTS UNTIL YOU SEE THEM.
22 23
About
YOU’RE NOT ALONE OUT THERE.
24 25
About
IT HELPS IF YOU CAN TAKE A POSITION THAT NO-ONE ELSE HAS TAKEN.
26 27
About
WHEN YOU LOOK AT AN IDEA, PRESENTED TO YOU BY ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST
AGENCIES, DEVISED BY THE WORLD’S GREATEST CREATIVES, SUPPORTED BY YOUR ENTIRE MARKETING DEPARTMENT AND YOU
DON’T KNOW WHAT TO THINK ABOUT IT... GO HOME AND ASK YOUR WIFE.
28 29
About
IT IS HARD TO INVOLVE EVERY LOCAL MARKETING DIRECTOR AND STILL APPEAL TO
THE CONSUMER.
30 31
About
UNLIKE MOST OF YOUR EMPLOYEES, CONSUMERS DON’T DO THINGS “BECAUSE
YOU TELL THEM TO”.
32 33
About
THEY’RE THE RIGHT WAY TO ATTRACT PEOPLE FOR THE WRONG REASONS.
34 35
About
YELLING ISN’T SELLING.
36 37
About
CONSUMERS ARE ATTRACTED TO THE MEDIA BECAUSE OF ITS ENTERTAINMENT AND
INFORMATION VALUE, NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE DYING TO SEE YOUR LATEST AD.
38 39
About
BRANDS THAT FEEL SMALL TEND TO SIGN OFF WITH A BIG LOGO.
40 41
About
THEY WATCH TOO, DON’T MAKE THEM FEEL TRAPPED.
42 43
About
FIRST DO WHAT THE CLIENT WANTS. THEN DO WHAT THE CLIENT NEEDS.
IF THE TWO HAPPEN TO BE THE SAME, YOU CAN GO HOME EARLY.
44 45
About
A CAMPAIGN IDEA IS AN IDEA THAT GIVES IDEAS.
46 47
About
IT IS EASIER TO SELL AN AD TO A BOARD OF DIRECTORS
THAN TO THE MAN IN THE STREET.
49
About
48
GREAT DANCERS AREN’T NECESSARILY GREAT LOVERS.
50 51
About
MOST AGENCIES AGREE THAT AWARDS HAVE NO IMPORTANCE. (A PERCEPTION
THAT CHANGES BRIEFLY AFTER THEY’VE WON ONE.)
52 53
About
WHEN YOUR AGENCY IS A BIG SUCCESS AND YOU’RE NOT,
BOY DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.
54 55
About
LET’S PUT IT THIS WAY: THEY’RE AFTER YOUR BUSINESS.
56 57
About
NO COMMENT.
58 59
About the role of Advertising
THERE’S A THIN LINE BETWEEN GAINING A CLIENT’S CONFIDENCE
AND KEEPING HIS RESPECT.
60 61
About
THEY’RE STRANGE.
62 63
About
INDEX:
About AWARDS ............................................................. p 52
About BIG BRANDS ...................................................... p 18
About BRANDS ............................................................. p 16
About BRAND POSITIONING ..................................... p 26
About BRIEFINGS ........................................................... p 8
About BUSINESS FORECASTS ................................... p 22
About CALL TO ACTION ............................................ p 32
About CAMPAIGN IDEAS ........................................... p 46
About CLIENT’S EXPECTATIONS .............................. p 20
About CLIENT SERVICE .............................................. p 60
About CREATIVE COMPETITIONS ............................ p 50
About CREATIVE PEOPLE ........................................... p 62
About DEBRIEFINGS .................................................... p 44
About EXISTING CLIENTS .......................................... p 42
About GLOBALISATION .............................................. p 30
About HARD SELL ........................................................ p 36
About MARKETING ...................................................... p 24
About PRESENTATIONS .............................................. p 48
About PRIVATE LABELS .............................................. p 56
About PROMOTIONS ................................................... p 34
About RELEVANCE ...................................................... p 14
About RESEARCH ......................................................... p 12
About SUCCES .............................................................. p 54
About THE DECISION PROCESS ................................ p 28
About THE MEDIA ....................................................... p 38
About THE ROLE OF ADVERTISING ......................... p 58
About THE SIZE OF THE LOGO ................................ p 40
About THE STRATEGY ................................................ p 10
Copyright ©1997 by Duval Guillaume. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher
Published by: Duval GuillaumeWritten and illustrated by: Guillaume Van der Stighelen
Copies may be ordered from: Duval Guillaume ([email protected])
ISBN: 804230
Printed in Belgium, at Gillis nv/sa - BrusselsPaper: Bioset 115 gr/m2 ✒ by GPG Papier, tel. 02/755.12.11 - fax 02/757.05.11 e-mail [email protected]
First edition: March '1998Second edition: March '2001Third edition: May ‘2004
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