Lis Calandrino

How do you know if your ads are good or bad? Does it really matter?

What really matters is that someone notices and the customer remembers you — enough to buy.

Some things I just don’t always get. Or let’s say I just don’t get it quick enough. One of them is the GEICO "Kash" campaign. Don’t get me wrong, I am fascinated by the campaign, I just don’t know if it changes my ideas about insurance.

The Martin Agency is the brains behind the Kash idea. In a nutshell, the campaign shows a creepy-looking stack of money with eyeballs staring at you — seemingly to indicate the money you could have saved had you been a GEICO customer. In the commercial, a roofer tells another roofer that he’s being watched or “scoped out” (by a girl, he thinks). Of course the roofer is being scoped out by a creepy stack of GEICO money.

In this one, a man stops for directions and he notices a GEICO stack of money looking at him from the fence. The man looks and says, “Poor fella. He must have been following you for miles. Looks tired.” Everyone is creepy and it makes you think twice before asking for directions on a lonely highway. The interesting thing about these spots is that they are so random.

In another commercial, a businessman is distracted during a meeting when a squeaking noise diverts his attention. It's Kash, who appears on a window-washer platform. "That's the money you could be saving with Geico," explains a co-worker. And finally, in another ad, a woman spends more time flirting with Kash than her date. All commercials end with a remake of the '80s Rockwell hit "Somebody's Watching Me."

Okay, so the character represents the average national savings consumers get from using GEICO, which is supposedly $500. According to Mike Lear, associate creative director at The Martin Agency, an IPG shop in Richmond, Va., "Geico loves to talk about savings, that's their recurring theme. We just dumbed it down to the most basic thing in the world, 'I want more money.'"

With the song, of course Geico wants you to hear it and think of GEICO. Kash now joins the animated gecko, the surly caveman and the consumer/celebrity testimonials. This all translates to $595 million in advertising dollars, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

That's quite the chunk of change.

Okay, so many of us haven’t been smart about our money and of course now we all know it. Don’t get me wrong, I think the commercials are funny, and I feel “empathy” for the cavemen, but I actually haven’t gone and compared my existing insurance rates with GEICO.

Have you?

Resources
Stanford Daily
Ad Week
Brandweek
www.adgabber.com

What we're seeing in advertising these days is an eye opener for most of us. The bad news is that according to the Kelsey Group and BIA Advisory Services, there will be a smaller local advertising market in 2013 than there was in 2008. 

It’s amazing what you see if you look. I always think I look but it must not be so. Why? Because I’m not always amazed. With that in mind, let me share some amazement.

Recently I traveled to Genoa, Ohio to do some training for a store named Genoa Custom Interiors, owned by Cheryl and David Grosjean.  Here I am, motoring into town in my rented PT Cruiser, looking for some cookies or a pastry to bring to my new friends. Imagine my delight when I see a hot pink sign that says "CAFÉ - homemade desserts!"

Well, I'll just waltz right in and get the best stuff, knowing that my new friends will love the pastry. Hmmmmmmm, as I approach the door I notice a sign in the window advertising "fresh fried perch." I look up again to see if I’m at the right place, and sure enough the pink sign is still there. I hesitantly open the door and sure enough, it’s really a perch place, albeit with a pastry sign. Assuming it’s still a mistake, I approach an uninviting counter and ask for the homemade pastries that I’m sure they have. Not today, the lady says, but perch is on the menu!

I've learned a new lesson today: you can’t tell a sign by its sign.

I imagine the customer who goes there for perch is quite happy, so why not make a big PERCH sign and let us pastry people not waste time on perch and find what we want elsewhere? As I look down the street I’m intrigued by another sign: "A Most Unusual Garden Shop." I look in the windows and I see tables as well as a sign that says “Open for Lunch." I would never have been able to tell it was an eatery based on its marquee and exterior!

It reminds me of the carpet store that sells wood assuming everyone must know that a carpet store carries wood, right?

Wrong.

Your sign is part of your brand and should clearly display what you do.

If you carry laminate, say it. If you carry tile, say it.  Don’t let customers have to figure it out — we’re not that smart.

In Buffalo, NY there are adjoining signs for Destination Motherhood and Casual Male. Who would have thought to put these two stores side-by-side!?

The Chicks from Genoa

So, on with the story.

I get to a sign that says "Interiors," hoping that it’s not another cover for a perch store. I open the door and am promptly greeted by a plethora of well-dressed, smiling women. Before I have a chance to sit down, I’m ushered to their “Custom” shop across the street and am being shown jewelry. Now, I know if I told you to carry jewelry in your flooring store, you'd think, "there's crazy Lis again." Before I can ask why the jewelry, I’m told they simply carry it because they like it and know that most women do! The cabinet is unlocked and I realize the sales trainer — me — is being sold, and liking it! This is my introduction to the women who now comprise the group I affectionately call, the Chicks from Genoa. These are the ones I’m supposed to be training. The Chicks' real names are Cheryl, Sue, Janis, Jan and Rhennon. What wonderful women, and you can tell that Dave, the store owner, likes having them around. They are all very talented, can talk with anyone and just look great. Who would have thought they would be in a little town in Ohio?

As far as training goes, I find these ladies to be smarter than your average salesperson. We promised to be friends forever. I bought some Mary Kay from Rhennon and the girls gave me a lovely gift.

I shouldn’t forget Chris Clark — our other Mohawk rep who seemed to enjoy everything that was going on and didn’t make fun of us. That’s what makes him such a good rep. I also heard he does a great Elvis impersonation.

More Genoa Highlights

It's now off to the Genoa Cruisin’ Car Show, featuring 120 antique and custom cars. This time I drag along Pat Toohey, the Mohawk rep., and have her pose in front of a red 1965 Mustang. This show has free hamburgers and an Elvis impersonator. A good time for any town. Lots of stuff for men but not really enough for women. I probably would have had a massage, haircut, facial, a fashion show and cooking lessons…

Another elegant place of interest is Jan Pugh's store, Packer Creek Pottery. They have great hand-made items and testimonials from all over the world. I was impressed. The testimonials were from royalty as well as commoners like me. The testimonials were placed at eye-level around the store so you could read them. A great idea.

All in all, it has been a great trip. Look around you and notice advertising that works and advertising that doesn't. What are they doing different? Feel free to add your ideas.

How’s this for advertising:

Falso Service Experts for Lennox — count on your NATE–Certified, background-checked, drug-tested technicians to fix it right the first time."

I don’t know what NATE-Certified means, and while the rest seems pretty ominous, they’re right: any professional coming into the privacy of our homes should go through a screening process. Would this form of screening (and advertising) work for your business?