I wrote a book about copywriting that's going to be published in September. In it, I talk about the importance of ensuring your copy is timely and current based on your ad's placement. I even cite the example of online advertisers often being guilty of using ads that are not current in my book.
For example, more than once I've come across a banner ad for a limited time promotion that had already expired. This type of mistake amounts to lost opportunity. Even if the ad works and catches a person's attention, the negative effect of the expired offer is enough to turn that person off of the advertised product completely. Today, I found a new example of this copywriting and advertising mistake from Land Rover.
The Land Rover ad in question is the one in the picture. The copy reads, "Land Rover, Now's the time to bring one home for the holidays." Unfortunately, it's January 4th, and the holidays the ad is referring to are over.
The company is paying for ad impressions that provide no value to potential customers, and therefore, will not deliver the return on investment the Land Rover dealership who paid for the ad is looking for.
I should note that clicking on the link brought me to the website of a Land Rover dealership in Detroit, Michigan, so this was not a mistake by the corporate marketing team for Land Rover. Also, the ad appeared on The Detroit News website, so it was in a decent place. Unfortunately, the dealership still had a version of this same ad on the home page of their website, too. Again, an outdated ad or promotion does not drive sales.
The marketing lesson to learn here is to make sure your copy and ad placement are timely and don't have a chance to become outdated else you'll risk negating your ad's effectiveness and throwing your advertising dollars out the window.
Oh, it happens in Vietnam too, with mobile phone giant Sony Ericsson. In this mid-January, they still run an ads on big newspaper: "I @ Christmas' melodies and images", waste of big money, more than that, customers think that they were silly.
Posted by: Duong Vu | January 25, 2008 8:24 AM | Permalink to Comment