Promotions are Born from Customer Benefits, Not Ad Agencies

Great promotional campaigns are not conceived in smoke-filled rooms with advertising executives. They are born in the marketplace.

The starting point for any successful promotion is a deep and clear understanding of:

1. The Customer: The needs, desires, and motivations of a specific market segment.
2. The Product's Benefits: The true benefits that the product provides to that customer.

The Fallacy of the "Quick Fix":

When a product is failing, there is a tendency to call in the ad agency and demand a "brilliant idea" to fix the problem. This rarely works. No amount of brilliant copy or publicity can save a promotion if the underlying message is not sound.

Promotions can't change reality; they can only enhance what is already there.

In high-tech, companies often make the mistake of thinking in terms of the devices they manufacture rather than the benefits those devices provide. A promotion that starts without a clear understanding of the customer and the product's real benefits is reduced to pure luck. The substance must exist before it can be promoted. This is why good advertising is an afterthought to strategy.