What I am going to share may, and should be obvious to most marketers. However, I am still surprised not only by the fact of this happening but more so by its frequency. Here is the “it”. A business owner or decision maker wants to save a few hundred dollars on production of his or her TV commercial and then book advertising time running poor quality spot(s). What a waste! Poorly produced spots can not only generate weak results but also reflect on the company’s perception in the marketplace. It applies to all kinds of creative: TV, radio, and internet spots; display advertising in newspapers and magazines, the internet, brochures, flyers, banners, billboards…. the list goes on. The bottom line: if your company cannot afford to produce good quality creative at the present time, consider other ways of reaching your audience or limit your channels of communications, so you do not have to produce all of the creative at the same time.
Since I have mentioned the topic of poor creative, I would like to mention another issue that surfaces far too often. Let me run a small campaign let’s say 30x30s on TV for a month and if it works, I will commit more money. Or, I will use 10s billboards for now, and if they work, I will produce 30s spots and run a big campaign. I have heard it so many times over the years that I think sharing it is worthwhile. Would test driving a compact low-end vehicle give you any idea if a premium luxury car will work for you?
