© Steven Lorin McNamara. All rights reserved.
Problems. Everyone has them. And some products solve them.
A TV commercial opens with the kids screaming, “We’re hungry, mom!”
A headline reads, “Do you have enough money for retirement?”
This is a technique to grab attention, to engage people who have the problem. Or people who want to avoid getting the problem. Or those who are concerned about the problem for other reasons, like the guy whose wife has headaches every night.
Later in your ad, commercial, or mailer you’ll explain how your product solves the problem. But the focus of the ad, the concept, should be about the problem.
This concept works particularly well when your target audience has a big problem, a big concern. The bigger the problem, the better it works.
But it can also be used with charm or humor. "Problem # 3 with SPIKE cologne: Women touch you in elevators."
