We love it when our ads get stolen. Literally, pulled off the wall and taken home. Because when an ad stops being an ad and is “art” you’ve made an emotional connection.
We also love stealing from the best. Think about it, stealing from the worst sure doesn’t make sense. We spend a lot of time studying the best at advertising and taking all of those parts and creating a remix. Because, as any musician will tell you- everything is influenced by something.
Theft is Quentin Tarantinos go to solution in every one of his movies. He says he doesn’t do homages, he steals. So, why is “stealing” frowned upon in business? Blame the lawyers, blame patent law, blame copyright law, blame the idea that creativity has to be original- it doesn’t. It just has to be original to you.
We were recently looking at other ad agency introduction videos and came across a video from Crate 47. We’d never heard of Crate 47, and we thought they were some creative chaps from across the pond, except, well, their promo reminded us of something else…
So we went and watched it, and at first, we thought, maybe this wildly successful viral video was actually inspired by the Crate 47 video…
This ad went viral with a bullet, and was reputedly made for $4.5K Of course, having a CEO that had training in comedy with the Upright Citizens Brigade sure helps. Most CEO’s frown against humor- and would never say their product “is fucking great.”
We looked at the dates: DSC: Published on Mar 6, 2012 with 25M views.
Crate 47: Published on Sep 27, 2012 with 43,500 views. We’re guessing it’s pretty obvious who was the chicken and who laid the egg. But, does it matter? No. Crate 47 took an idea, and made it their own. Their claim of being “Strategically creative” was on the money. Why spend inordinate amounts of time thinking up a concept- when there is a successful model of one to copy? They aren’t in the same business- one sells razor blades by mail, and the other- creativity on getting their message out.
Did it work? Well, of the agency videos we’ve been finding, they’ve had a lot more views than most. And, when it was made, they just had an office in Brighton, but, now, they’re in London too. We’re guessing they got some bangers for their pounds.
Considering that the world at large has the attention span of under 9 seconds, and the amount of media they consume is growing at an exponential rate, being able to produce a grand slam home run (a viral video) is great, but, often what will win games is a constant stream of single base hits.
So if you are going to jack some ideas, remember, be nimble, be quick and jump right over the old school shtick that stealing is shameful. Steve Jobs stole his idea on stealing from Picasso, we admit to stealing our ideas on what makes effective advertising from the best in the business.
We like to win awards just like everyone else, however, what comes first is “making clients more money than they pay us.”
And that means making ads that work. As in sell, or the phone ring.
The Next Wave was recently retained to properly rebuild a website that a local competitor had mauled as they promised “a digital marketing machine.”
And while it will take a few months to properly rebuild the ecommerce site, what we could do is revamp their print ads so that the phones and cash register would ring again.
The company, Microsun, makes high efficiency, high intensity lamps that are optimized for older eyes. The patented technology makes it easier for seniors to read- without using magnifying glasses or “readers.” They have been running versions of this ad for a long time- and thought that the reason it didn’t work anymore was because they’d “run it out.”
The ad that Microsun had been running.
If you were already having trouble reading, this ad wasn’t exactly the solution. Black type on grey backgrounds, Lots of small type. And, if you are reading the ad in a newspaper instead of on a tablet or online, you probably need to find a phone number before a website.
We approached the ad thinking, we’re selling a reading aid, not a lamp. We also knew that if we wanted people to read it, large text may help. The phone number is big. The images are of tools they may already be using to read the paper.
The new and improved Microsun lamp ad.
The difference in response rates were immediate and clear. A few sales came in via the site the first day, but, the phones rung off the hook with a record day for catalog requests. Large type, simplified message and the idea that we are selling a reading aid, not just a reading lamp, made all the difference. One caller said “I’ve seen your ad before, but never felt compelled to call.”
It may not win awards, but, it is setting sales records daily. What’s even more interesting to their marketing manager is that we’re integrating complete ROI tracking and marketing automation tools into their sales process so everything can be tracked and accounted for. Once the new catalog, site, and PR campaigns are fully in swing, we’ll see the best kinds of awards- bottom line growth for Microsun, the World’s best reading lamp and best reading aid out there.
The Next Wave loves to work with startups and young businesses. We highly recommend “The E Myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber to budding entrepreneurs because of its many insights into the new business process. I was assigned reading it as part of my account executive internship. Continuous learning is a big part of working here, from the moment you apply until the moment you leave.
The myth of the entrepreneur is one of a person working against all risks, all odds, all fears, to achieve the dream of starting one’s own business. When we see business success from afar we see a legend, someone who faced all the risk and made it.
That false legend status is the reason why over 40 percent of new businesses fail in the first year, 80 percent in the first 5 years. What causes such drastically high levels of failure? Barring major economic changes or socio-political shifts, the vast majority of business failure is due to one thing, the person who started it bought into the myth of the entrepreneur.
The vast majority of new business owners start from the same spot. You work a number of years and develop a mastery of a technical skill. This is usually followed by the idea that, “I can do this work, very well actually, why am I still doing it for someone else?”
This is “The Fatal Assumption,” as Gerber author of The E Myth, calls it. The myth, that if you understand the technical work of a business, you automatically understand the RUNNING of a business that does that technical work, yet what most entrepreneurs don’t know is, they are two completely different things.
Gerber says one must learn that once you start a business you are no longer working IN you business, but your focus should now be working ON your business. What does that mean? It means as a business owner you must now commit fully to constant and continuing education and improvement.
This holds especially true since your business is a direct reflection who you are as an owner personally. If you are disorganized, your business will be. If you are greedy, your employees will learn to be greedy too, if you are not educating yourself constantly, your business will wither and die. Gerber continues, “people who are exceptionally good in business aren’t so because of what they know, but because of their insatiable need to know more.”
An “ insatiable need to know more.” There is no secret to starting a successful business, one must learn the risks deeply, learn the market clearly, and be willing to accept all of that before the even think of writing a business plan. The greatest weapon against failure is knowledge, and as Gerber agrees, knowledge and success go hand in hand when it comes to business.
If you already are a business owner or should you be interested in starting a new business, the following 5 questions will help you come to a certain quick conclusion:
Can my business work without me?
How can my employees learn to work without my direct interference?
Is my business systematized enough to be franchised nationally or even globally right now?
As an owner, how can I also free myself of my business?
How can I spend time doing the work I love instead of the work I have to do?
If after this exercise you realize that you DON’T know the answers to these questions, congratulations, you’re already on your way to having a stronger business because you now “know what you don’t know.”
Knowledge, is the foundation upon which your business will be successful. Seek out the questions, since you know now they will lead directly to the answers that drive success.
See Gerber’s “The E Myth” as well as many other incredible book resources for your business success on our booklist.
The myth of the entrepreneur is one of a person working against all risks, all odds, all fears, to achieve the dream of starting one’s own business. When we see business success from afar we see a legend, someone who faced all the risk and made it.