Bay Alarm, a California security company that's been around for more than 60 years, does a very good job with its outdoor advertising:
Sorry about the poor-quality photo; I didn't have time to go back when the light was better. You can see a much better image, and examples of two other signs, in the Portfolio section here, which I'd have plundered if it weren't programmed in Flash, the bane of my blogging life.
"Making Nothing Happen" made me stop and think—and laugh. I also like "We're Pros Against Cons." And the company's tagline, "What Have You Got to Lose?", is smart and memorable.
The outdoor work was done by a Walnut Creek agency I hadn't previously heard of, JStokes, which doesn't show any Web work in its online portfolio. Which probably explains why the Bay Alarm Web content reads as though it belongs to a completely different company than the billboards.
"More Than a Burglar Alarm Company" is how the About Us page leads off—the first indication that creative thinking wasn't a priority here. Not only is "More Than an X" an utterly unoriginal formula, it's rarely supported by facts. Sure enough, the Bay Alarm copy goes on to say "We're a burglar alarm company" five times. Where's the "more than"?
And when it does offer "We provide more than a typical burglar alarm company," it fails to make the case. The next sentence is "Above all, we provide peace of mind and security." Well, how? By stationing a couple of ninjas outside my front door? By patrolling my neighborhood with Black Hawk helicopters? Nope. Only this, which any burglar alarm company can say (and probably does):
That's circular logic: "Trust us because we're trustworthy." It doesn't tell me why independent ownership is a benefit (if in fact it is).
It's common for companies large and small to use different agencies for different marketing projects. That doesn't have to be a problem if the company owns its brand message and communicates it clearly to all its agencies. I don't see evidence of that with Bay Alarm.
"Making Nothing Happen" made me stop and think—and laugh. I also like "We're Pros Against Cons." And the company's tagline, "What Have You Got to Lose?", is smart and memorable.
The outdoor work was done by a Walnut Creek agency I hadn't previously heard of, JStokes, which doesn't show any Web work in its online portfolio. Which probably explains why the Bay Alarm Web content reads as though it belongs to a completely different company than the billboards.
"More Than a Burglar Alarm Company" is how the About Us page leads off—the first indication that creative thinking wasn't a priority here. Not only is "More Than an X" an utterly unoriginal formula, it's rarely supported by facts. Sure enough, the Bay Alarm copy goes on to say "We're a burglar alarm company" five times. Where's the "more than"?
And when it does offer "We provide more than a typical burglar alarm company," it fails to make the case. The next sentence is "Above all, we provide peace of mind and security." Well, how? By stationing a couple of ninjas outside my front door? By patrolling my neighborhood with Black Hawk helicopters? Nope. Only this, which any burglar alarm company can say (and probably does):
Our customers rest easy knowing their homes and offices are protected by the largest independently owned and operated burglar alarm company.
That's circular logic: "Trust us because we're trustworthy." It doesn't tell me why independent ownership is a benefit (if in fact it is).
It's common for companies large and small to use different agencies for different marketing projects. That doesn't have to be a problem if the company owns its brand message and communicates it clearly to all its agencies. I don't see evidence of that with Bay Alarm.
"Trust us because we're trustworthy" is an example of 'begging the question', a terms misused even by writers. They usually mean "poses the question", or "gives rise to the question of...". I enjoyed "We're Pros Against Cons"!
Posted by: Duchesse | March 02, 2009 at 07:18 AM