January 2012

What do Burger King, Volkswagen, and Miller Lite have in common? Over the last four years, they've all split from the same ad agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky (CP + B). The agency is known for its memorable and sometimes controversial campaigns: "Wake up with the King" for Burger King, "Man Laws" for Miller Lite, and the infamous spots for anti-tobacco campaign TheTruth.com, to name a few. CP + B has also taken home myriad industry awards, including "agency of the year" and decade from Advertising Age.

Despite its fame and industry stature, CP + B has a problem no agency wants: its ads are often more effective at creating buzz than improving sales. Perhaps the above clients enlisted CP + B more for the first purpose than the second. If so, however, why did they jump ship?

Everybody knows the Burger King "King." Few know he did little to improve BK's sales.

Here are some of the mistakes CP + B made, and how your business can avoid them.

Have A Clear, Quantifiable Goal for your Marketing Efforts
CEO Jeff Hicks says of CP + B's strategy: "We make a conscious effort to have our brands commented on and talked about." Focusing on creating buzz over increasing sales is not necessarily a bad approach. But to be a viable marketing goal, this must be connected with specific numbers. For instance, BK and CP + B could have aimed for a video of their latest commercial to generate 5M views and be "shared" 500K times on Facebook over a certain time period.

Similarly, it's great if you hear customers talking about your latest video or email blast. But if your campaign's goal is "increased brand engagement," this must be quantified: in terms of "likes," views, impressions, shares, email click-thrus, or another metric. Better yet, aim to increase total sales by a specific percentage, not just eyeballs on your brand.

Whatever your goal is, make it quantifiable, ultra-specific, and achievable. Then, design each aspect of your marketing plan with that goal in mind.

Deemphasize the Pretty Pictures. Focus on Results
CP + B's ads were innovative, award-winning, and gorgeous - but they did not generate more sales. Similarly, the flashiest mailer or email design will not necessarily lead to the best response rates.

Resist the urge to go with nice-looking designs instead of ones that will help you win business or accomplish another specific, tangible goal, as described in our last point. Before moving ahead with a marketing initiative, ask yourself and everyone at your company: will this help us meet our overall goal, or does it just look/sound nice?

Emphasize bang-for-the-buck. For instance, a big, beautiful full-page magazine ad might bring your brand attention, but, practically speaking, it may not be the best decision.

Mass Promotions Should Have Mass Appeal
Standing out from the clutter is a good thing. But there can be a fine line between getting noticed and ruffling feathers. CP + B crossed this line too frequently. For example, their controversial 2011 Super Bowl ad for Groupon - a fake PSA that made light of the Tibetan Independence Movement - generated more negative comments on Facebook and Twitter than any other ad that night. These offputting, take-em-or-leave-em ads sometimes made CP + B clients look insensitive or out-of-touch.

There are plenty of ways to be creative and have fun in marketing, without offending people. Come up with messages, designs, and concepts that are noticeable - and perhaps edgy, if that's part of your brand identity - without stepping on too many toes. Controversy may get people to talk, but it clearly doesn't sell cars and burgers, and it's not likely to sell your products and services either.