How to rise above 97% of your competition by thinking bigger
By describing what you offer, or what you do, you are in direct competition with every company in your field. There is a way to elevate yourself above the rest and create your own narrative that appeals to a much wider audience.
How do you do this? A recent example is a San Miguel ‘rich list’ advert I saw at the cinema the other night. It never mentions the product. Rather it asks, What does it mean to be rich? Imagine you could find it in a moment. In an encounter…
The whole advert revolves around this question, not beer.
The gravelly voice over is set to reflective music and escapist imagery – people diving with whales, riding with wild horses, exploring a cave. The end title simply says, ‘View the San Miguel Rich List at www.sanmiguel.com’.
On the site, also branded with the rich list campaign slogan, you will find 60-second films. Each tells a story about people across the world with exciting lifestyles or professions talking about what he or she does.
The end title says simply: View the San Miguel Rich List at SANMIGUEL.CO.UK
San Miguel: Exploring the world since 1890.
By doing this they bypass the obvious comparisons people will make on the product with rival brands, such as taste, value or alcohol percentage.
The fact is, product-wise, most beers are brewed using the same ingredients. Mass produced beers are made in the same factories as other brands. There is really very little you can say about the product that is truly unique.
An average campaign may talk about generic terms, such as the finest quality ingredients, being the best beer in the world, or how refreshing it is.
An exceptional campaign will associate people’s hopes, dreams, aspirations and emotions to create a shared narrative between this and the product.
This is what I call bigger picture advertising, a method adopted by many leading brands. It touches people’s hearts by telling a great story and thus avoids comparisons with a similar product. People are buying into a lifestyle, dream or ethos because your message resonates with them at a deeper level than the obvious.
To date, this approach has been strictly in the domain of large multinationals, with big ticket advertising agencies and deep pockets. This is no longer the case. Check out the video I wrote and edited for my own company’s ‘Bigger Picture’ advert at www.mediamerge.co.uk/yourstory
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!