Advertising Dung Beetles

A little while ago after I’d been to the rural areas of New Zealand I discussed some advertisements directed at the person on the land.

Here is an advert I’ve had for a little while, quivering with excitement in anticipation of discussing it with you.

Really, I think it’s a pretty good advert and it probably does its job providing the target farmer market recognises these Dung Beetles are good little fellas.

Even if they don’t, they may gather they are because the words “Key benefits include” are pretty prominently displayed in the advert.

But look at the chance the good Dr Shaun had to really grab his target market by using a great headline instead of the fairly weak “Come and see us inside at stand PC37”.

Yeah, I know! There are probably scores of benefit laden, attention grabbing headlines that you could use but I’d happily settle for something like “Discover how quickly this hard-working little beetle can make you big money!”

But I’m only guessing, because I would need to talk more to the good doctor about all the things the beaut little beetle can do for a farmer.

The points the good doctor has listed aren’t too bad although some of them verge on just being features rather than benefits. For example, point 3 is a feature but doesn’t reveal the benefit it provides. However, a farmer may well know what it means.

Importantly it underlines that, to write a good advertisement, you’ve got to walk in the moccasins of your target market and understand what problems your product or service can solve and the huge benefits they deliver.

Once you understand that and write a great advert the farmer, as they say in Australia, might be onto it “Like a fly on poo!”