Change the promise, not the product
"We have to change something". That's what our brains tell us when sales are flat or when a brand needs to change reputation.
The real question is change what?
Most times, the best thing to do is to just change your brand promise, not the product.
For decades, US burger chain Carl's Jr. ran slightly old-fashioned commercials.
These commercials usually featured founder Carl Karcher and Happy Star, Carl's Jr. cartoon mascot. And they showed a big, fat, perfect looking charbroiled burger.
But Carl's Jr. faced a classic reality vs. perception problem.
The reality was that Carl's Jr restaurants served charbroiled burgers that looked nothing like the ones they showed on TV.
The TV burgers looked way too perfect.
The real Carl’s Jr. burgers were juicy and delicious. But they also looked like a BIG, sloppy mess.
This was obviously a problem that was hurting Carl’s Jr. brand reputation.
But then their ad agency Mendelsohn/Zien discovered something interesting.
It turns out that Carl’s Jr. regular customers (18-34 year-old hungry guys) actually loved juicy, messy, drippy burgers like the ones Carl’s Jr. served.
So Mendelsohn/Zien persuaded Carl’s Jr. that they didn't have to change their burgers.
Carl’s Jr. just had to change their brand promise.
That's why Mendelsohn/Zien came up with a new ad campaign that proudly declared: “If it doesn’t get all over the place, it doesn’t belong in your face”.
And the new TV commercials showed big, juicy, drippy burgers.
Sales soared spectacularly. Not because Carl’s Jr. changed the product, but because they changed the promise.
Takeaways for your business:
1. If your sales are flat or your brand is dealing with reputation problems, don't change the product. Change your brand’s promise.
2. Sooner or later, every business faces problems. But it turns out that most business problems are actually marketing problems. And most marketing problems are perception problems. The good news is it’s typically a problem with one of these four things: Category, Product, Culture or Brand.
So identify which one is yours.
3. Sometimes, the best way to get into people's minds and win their hearts and wallets is to be totally open and embrace your flaws. Because when your copy admits and embraces your flaws, people tend to like you more. Because it makes you more human. Psychologists call this the Pratfall effect.
Your pal,
🚀 Founder & Chief Copywriter: Teardwn
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The truth is, when you partner with me my goal isn't to get paid. My goal isn't to write copy that makes you win awards or impress industry peers. My goal is to write copy that GETS YOU RESULT$$$. And do work that makes both of us uncomfortable…until it's magical.
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