"Stand out or don't bother"

I'm reading "Social Boom" by Jeffery Gitomer, and it's a great read.

The title of this post is a direct quote from the book, and, while the book is concerned with social media, I think it applies to any sort of advertising and marketing you might do.

Actually I know it does.

Often, clients think the agency is pushing for a particularly creative or different approach just to satisfy their own jollies. And sometimes that's true. But the fact is, your agency is very aware of what is going on in the ad world (and that includes web sites, Facebook, banner ads, commercials and all the rest) and knows how much it can all run together. And they know that "all running together" is another way to say "invisible".

Your agency is usually pushing you to take a particular approach because they want whatever it is you're doing to, well, stand out. (Note: I'm not saying that gratuitous creativity - you know, the "joke in search of a reason for it" approach - is good either. But that's another topic.)

If nobody notices your message, nobody is going to get your message and you've wasted whatever resources you've applied to it.

So the next time your agency is making a creative presentation, keep in mind "stand out or don't bother."