Double-O Evan Creative Advertising

It all comes down to a 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨.

Prospects choose you (or don't) based on the way you make them feel.

The truth is, we are all finicky prospects. The smallest of things can sway our thoughts and make us pull away.

The best way to mitigate this is by mapping out your prospects' experience with you in detail, right from the first interaction.

Most businesses make no such effort.

They aren't deliberate about the experience they create. They make little to no effort to shape it – allowing random and external circumstances to influence their prospects' sentiments.

If you want to create an environment where you're in control, start by downloading my free ebooks "The Art of Standing Out" and "Differentiation Done Right" (links are in the comments section below).

𝘋𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦-𝘖 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘰:

Most businesses do little to distinguish themselves from competitors. They appear to prospects as substitutable commodities, instead of the flip-side:

𝗢𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀.

So, how do you go from an indistinguishable 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘆 to a valued 𝗼𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘆?

𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦!

Indeed, saying 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 achieves 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. Businesses tend to say many things across their websites and marketing channels (the 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 things competitors say). And little (if any) of it is meaningfully conveyed or developed.

Please – stop spewing vague generalities. They carry no weight.

Fewer things – communicated more thoughtfully – will always have greater impact.

So here's some parting advice:

Decide 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 (just ONE thing), and then take complete ownership of it through your marketing.

Put it into 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 for your prospects... otherwise they won't see it.

𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝙞𝙣 𝙁𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨:

“𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵.”

- Stan Lee

--

People are entitled to their opinions...
..and you are entitled to 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦 them.

Many people talk about subjects they know nothing about, simply because they want to appear smart.

Most have deeply ingrained biases that cloud their judgment and perspective.

Others simply don't want you to achieve greater success than them.

This is why, when you're trying to achieve something that's never been done, goes against the grain, or sets you apart from everyone else, you must be 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵.

You must be willing to accept criticism and dismissal.

Many laughed when Walt Disney proposed the idea of a theme park built around cartoon characters. Or when Jeff Bezos quit his Wall Street job to sell books online.

Heck, 12 publishers turned down J.K. Rowling before Harry Potter took off.

Not every idea is a good one, of course. But outside criticism is an insufficient barometer for making that determination.

If you really, truly, genuinely believe in something, don't hold back...

Take a big swing. The only two outcomes are success or a learning experience.

Many service-based businesses have a false sense of security.

If asked what sets them apart from their competition, they typically respond with some version of "We do good work."

This may refer to quality. It may refer to service.

In any case, it doesn't matter much. Because the truth is, the competition – in most cases – performs at or near the same level (indiscernible as far as the customer is concerned).

So what businesses think sets them apart is nothing more than wishful thinking. Doing a "good job" isn't a differentiator. It's simply the ante for being in the game.

Differentiation rarely happens by accident. 𝗜𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝘆𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗯.

You must be intentional about it and take deliberate steps to create it.

Yes, this takes some effort. It takes some strategy. But it's not complicated...
..and the juice is worth the squeeze.

Download my FREE eBook "The Art of Standing Out" to discover how you can set your business apart as a valued 𝗼𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 (link to download is in the comments section below).

𝘋𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦-𝘖 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘰:

Many things can eat away at a brand’s credibility, causing "𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘁" – "𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴, 𝘧𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭."

For instance, businesses often lay claim to things not because they are genuinely true, but because they like the way it sounds.

I'm talking about generic claims like:

"𝘞𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦..."

-Or-

"𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧..."

This sort of speak is commonplace now. But with everyone saying it, it cannot be true.

Talk is cheap. You need to either purge your messaging of this sort of talk, or find a way to prove it (if it is genuinely true).

In my FREE eBook, "𝟭𝟯 𝘿𝙮𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙏𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙎𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙩𝙝", I share several ways in which you can prove your claims and create trust (link is in the comments sections below).

𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝙞𝙣 𝙁𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨:

“𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴?”

- The Joker (The Dark Knight)

--

Heath Ledger's Joker in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘒𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 was a mad lunatic.

But he was also brilliant. And his words could be deceivingly profound in some instances, like when he said "𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨?".

This happens to be a worthwhile question in relation to marketing.

I'm not suggesting you act like the Joker. But a little personality and character can serve your marketing well, when you're trying to build a connection with your audience.

Businesses often take themselves too seriously. And their communication ("About" pages are a prime example) is correspondingly corporate and institutional sounding, which is 𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.

Heath Ledger's Joker was anything but, which is why we're still talking about him over 17 years later. That's a lasting impression...
..and all he did was be himself.

The vast majority of advertising from service-based businesses is severely flawed.

That's because it contains no 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 elements.

The only discernible difference between one competitor's ads and another's tends to be 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗼.

Everything else is mostly interchangeable.

I call this "𝘞𝘦 𝘌𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵" Advertising. It essentially says "We're here... this is what we do".

What it doesn't say is 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚. And why should they, when there are multiple others who offer the exact same thing(s)?

The market doesn't need another "𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺". It needs a "𝙊𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝙊𝘯𝘭𝘺" (or "Double-𝗢", as I say😉).

Always remember:

𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 "𝗪𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁" 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 "𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲" 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴.

If you're interested in the latter, I invite you to reach out.

𝘋𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦-𝘖 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘰:

There's a lot of noise out there, due to all the "𝘽𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜". That is, all the "𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 (𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵)".

Good advertising 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘴 you... 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 with you... and 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 with you... ultimately leading you to take some sort of action or next step.

Too often advertisers focus on simply "getting their name out there", but nobody cares.

Because 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 advertising is about the 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵, not the advertiser.

If you want a quick, foundational understanding of advertising principles (which will put you ahead of 95% of your competitors), download my FREE eBook, "𝟭𝟯 𝘿𝙮𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙏𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙎𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙩𝙝" (link is in the comments sections below).

𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝙞𝙣 𝙁𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨:

“𝘉𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧; 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯.”

- Oscar Wilde

--

There's a tendency for businesses to model their marketing efforts on others – often their competitors. The thought being "𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰."

This creates mass commoditization of the market; the perception that everyone is more or less the same.

So don't try to be like everyone else. 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟭 𝗼𝗳 𝟭. Lean into that, not away from it, as most do.

My free ebook "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘶𝘵" can show you how (link to download is in the comments sections below).

A common marketing mistake is to focus on the prospect's 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 instead of their 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀.

Needs are a 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 buying motive, while wants are 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭.

This distinction matters, because 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, and 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. For instance...

You may 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 a new car, but you really 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 to get the fancy sport package that will impress your friends and neighbours.

You may 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 to lose weight for health reasons, but what you really 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 is a beach body that turns heads and gets people talking.

You may 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 a new software to boost your productivity and performance at work, but what you ultimately 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 is to receive recognition and a promotion with a fancy new title.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯. That’s why selling something by catering only to your prospects' needs is problematic.

You need both elements, emotion AND logic, to make the sale.

So always keep this in mind:

While 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 are 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 are 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁.

You can find more instructional marketing wisdom like this in my FREE ebook: 𝟭𝟯 𝗗𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 (link to download is in the comments sections below).

𝘋𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦-𝘖 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘰:

If there's one thing your marketing 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 do, it's create 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁.

Testimonials are one way to achieve this. However if you're not careful, they can have the opposite effect.

It's surprising how often I come across "𝗢𝗿𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀". This is the name I've given to 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘷𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 (𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘷𝘦 𝙖𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴).

Missing identifiers create doubt and raise questions in the mind of the prospect:

𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴?
𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?
𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯?
𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦?

Specificity and details matter.

Even more so in this new age of AI, where human presence is becoming increasingly absent.

𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝙞𝙣 𝙁𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨:

“𝘐𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵.”

- Coco Chanel

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Here's a revealing question to ask about your business:

"𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚?"

It may force you to confront some uncomfortable truths about your business, its marketing, and strategy.

If any of your competitors can do what you do, in the 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 way(s) (ultimately leaving customers with the 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀), then you are indeed replaceable.

This can be solved, of course, by being different.

The good news?

There are many ways to create a 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 that separates you from the competition. And I reveal them in my FREE ebook, "Differentiation Done Right" (link to download is in the comments sections below).