The Fanatical Brand – Letting Customers Tell Your Story
by Graeme Newell
Highlights:
- Great testimonial ads are built on identification and empathy, not product features.
- Strong testimonial ads are not just about the product, but how people feel when they use the product.
- Start the creation process by focusing on the customer’s passion, then show how the product empowers that passion.
This is part four on best tactics for using testimonial advertising. Read part one, part two, and part three.
Once in a while you see an ad that really moves you. It manages to shake off the feature-obsessed blather of the typical advertising noise and speaks to an emotion deep inside you. This very simple testimonial ad for GM’s OnStar leaves this kind of mark because it speaks to our deepest fears about an accident, and our compassion for people who have been hurt. But what makes this testimonial ad so powerful is that it is frighteningly real. This is a quality that most customer testimonial ads lack.
The problem is that a lot of ad creators begin with the question “tell me how you like my product,” when the question should be “tell me how you feel about yourself when you experience my product.” That OnStar ad worked because it was firmly grounded in the customer’s core emotional priorities, not their feelings about the product. Sure, OnStar fully demonstrated the features of its product, but those features were subtly interwoven in a heart-wrenching drama that had you on the edge of your seat. All of us have experienced that close call in traffic and felt the same mortal fear. OnStar started its creative process here.
All OnStar testimonial ads showcase these same gut-level values and that makes them stick. This ad touches our love and worry for children.
Here is another GM example and what you notice is that the writers were smart enough not to digress into a recitation on product features. They let the kids carry it. The ad clearly conveys the product points but doesn’t let the product agenda break the magic. They made a core emotional connection here and that will drive a deep brand loyalty.
Now contrast that last ad with a similar ad from State Farm Insurance. Sure, they use the same cute kids talking about the accident, but what you’ll notice is that the central theme of this ad is self-congratulatory hubris, and the kids are just along to give it a wee bit of cuteness. The writer of this ad started his creative process with his list of internally-focused product attributes, then managed to squeeze in the kids around them. The result is a testimonial ad that lacks authenticity.
This is the greatest challenge of customer testimonial ads – to be believed. This ad for Fidelity Investments puts a customer in a fake stage play that is devoid of legitimacy and passion. We doom the ad to failure because we begin the creation process with copy points, not real people. We grab out customers, sit them down, then force them to be company shills. We put words in their mouths.
In this lawyer ad you plainly see the uncomfortable moments when this poor woman is forced to regurgitate ad copy on cue. I should have seen her mother, not lawyers sitting at a table.
Great testimonial ads will showcase passionate people talking about things that matter to them most – family, safety, health, success, etc. This is the foundation of the sell, but the writer will skillfully weave the product into the conversation by showing how that product accentuates this person’s passion. This ad for Cheerios shows a man jazzed about his hobby, then subtly makes the turn to show how that passion is accentuated by eating Cheerios.
The best testimonial ads will be built around customer identification, not product features. I want to be as active, excited and alive as birdhouse man. I will buy Cheerios because I want to be just like him. Empathy is the foundation of great testimonial ads.
The customer needs to see themselves in the people being profiled and that means the ad must take the time to make that person likable and compelling. This is done by clearly showcasing that person’s passion. A blatant product-focused agenda will wreck this feeling because the sell becomes less empathetic and more calculated. If you want to build a quantitative, feature-focused ad, choose another, more appropriate, creative approach. Testimonial ads try to build the illusion of one friend talking to another. The goal is frank authenticity. Real people lose their authenticity when they start spouting ad copy.
Personal Identification Leads to Brand Loyalty
One of the most effective campaigns of the past few years was Quaker Oat’s customer testimonial campaign. Quaker made the wise move of giving the featured customers some real depth and a personality. They did not just stand them in front of a camera for a glassy-eyed and uncomfortable interview; instead, they profiled their lives and showed them as dynamic and smart people, someone potential customers truly like. They profile the ultimately fun and perfect dad in this ad. These are the neighbors you hope will move next door.
Quaker Oats turns the standard testimonial format on its head in this ad. His little run around the room keeps you visually entertained while he talks about his pride at lowering his cholesterol with Quaker Oats. Again, they bring fun to the dull topic of oatmeal.
The secret here is to drill down on one customer and show how your product helped them live their dream and pursue their passion. In this Quaker commercial you don’t empathize with this family because they eat oatmeal. You empathize with them because little Jacob is living his dream of being a storyteller. He is the apple of his mother’s eye. The empathy is built on family love, not oatmeal.
Nike achieves the perfect mix in this spot. She is not passionate about shoes, she is passionate about fitness and conquering personal challenges. This commercial ignites our sense of determination and her passion is infectious. I will buy Nikes because I share the company’s deeply held value of tenaciousness, not just because I like their shoes. This woman is an archetype straight out of mythology. We can all see ourselves in her struggle.
Great marketing requires putting the product in its proper place – in service to the customer. It should not be the centerpiece of the commercial, but a supporting player that helps real people fulfill their deepest hopes. Don’t let love of your own product cloud your judgment.
Next week: How to tap our inborn love of rhythm to sell a product feature or slogan.
