The importance of product research

Why is it that some advertising campaigns flop while others build brand loyalty so strong that it clasps to our psyche and lasts for generations?

When you study successful advertising for a while, you’ll invariably notice that winner campaigns have a few common elements. One of the most noticeable commonalities among the campaigns is the fact that they all focus on a highly desirable factor of the advertised product. In short, winner campaigns are those in which the advertiser was able to accurately pinpoint the exact attribute that the market wants from the product and then advertised it effectively.

But how do you know which of the product’s features or benefits to advertise? Which one is the one that will turn the campaign into a record-breaking winner? Easy, you need to spend enough time researching the product to learn everything there is to know about it.

Most copywriters don’t seem to understand that there is no substitute for research. It is a vital part of the copywriting process no matter how crammed your schedule. When you spend enough time with a product, you almost always notice that its not always the most obvious benefit the one that should be advertised.

Legendary adman Bill Bernbach (DDB) said it best: “Advertising doesn’t create a product advantage. It can only convey it… No matter how skillful you are, you can’t invent a product advantage that doesn’t exist.”

The proof is in the pudding.
Back in 1930, when John MacNamara sat down to hire Rosser Reeves as his new advertiser, he had a pretty clear idea of what he wanted: An ad that would show how rich, creamy and wonderful his M&M chocolate candies were. After all, rich and creamy taste are the attributes that a chocolate-loving prospect wants right?

Wrong. Rosser Reeves knew better. Instead of sitting down and writing meaningless and boring copy about the creamy chocolate taste, Reeves sat down to study the product, looking for the unique benefit to advertise… and it came to him quite quickly. The thin sugar shell makes M&M chocolates melt in your mouth and not in your hand. Only after figuring this out, did he dare to start writing the ads.

Want another example?
Dan Nichols was sent home with the assignment to write an ad for Kellogg’s new product: Raisin Bran. Not an easy task back when the “health & wellness” industry was still a newborn.

Nichols took the box of cereal with him, sat down and dumped all the contents in his kitchen table and started counting the raisins. That’s how he came up with the tagline that made the campaign a sound winner: “Two Scoops of Raisins in a Box of Kellogg’s Raisin Bran.”

Can you see the difference that a little product research can make? These winner campaigns would not have happened had the copywriters been staring into space looking for inspiration. Do your homework and make the product your date for the evening… you may be surprised at what you find!