Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
What's with these ads, anyway? You know the ones.The Sprite commercials that say, "Trust your taste buds, notcommercials." The Miller Lite ads that poke fun at "ourcreative genius, Dick." Or those Levi's ads that, well,don't act like ads at all.
Dubbed "anti-advertising," the trend is hot--but doesit work? "If your goal is to catch people's attention, itworks," says Michael Kamins, associate professor of marketingat the University of Southern California's Marshall School ofBusiness in Los Angeles. "But if your goal is to sell,it's not going to work."
Matthew McAllister, associate professor of com-municationstudies at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, saysanti-ads' strength is in creating an image. As such, they workbest for products aimed at the image-conscious youth marketand for products with little difference between brands.
Thinking about trying anti-advertising? Proceed withcaution. Although it can work for smaller businesses, McAllisterwarns that results may not justify the expense. "You need totry outrageous, untested techniques, and that's costly,"he says.
Dave Lakhani, owner of Direct Hit Marketing in Boise, Idaho, isblunt: "There's no good reason for a small company ever toengage in this type of advertising." Lakhani, whosefull-service marketing, PR and advertising agency handles smallclients, elaborates: "[Anti-ads] only further the bottom lineif a company has an enormous budget to do them on a consistentbasis."
Karen Axelton is managing editor of Business Start-Upsmagazine.
Read All About It
Do try these at home.
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Great Gimmicks
You won't find these recipes in BonAppetit.
A spoonful of sugar not only helps the medicine go down--it alsohelps profits go up. Just ask Harold and Kenneth Kramm (l. to r.),father-and-son proprietors of Center Pharmacy in Washington, DC.Six years ago, when Kenneth's young daughter refused to swallowsome bitter medicine, the pair figured out how to formulate it inflavors like bubble gum, root beer and butterscotch.
The result? A resounding "Yum." After asking localpediatricians if their patients would be interested in flavoredmedicines, the Kramms developed more than 100 flavors. Today, theybenefit from the three-dollar flavoring charge and the 60 to 70additional customers the service attracts each day to their store.Kenneth says some parents drive up to 40 miles to buy thechild-friendly concoctions.
So successful were the partners that two years ago, theydeveloped a spin-off business, Flavorx Inc., that sells flavoringsto some 400 pharmacists and 15 hospitals nationwide. Kenneth, whohas a background in marketing, also develops customized ads foreach participating store. "A lot of pharmacists don't knowhow to advertise," he explains. "This helps them competeagainst the big chains."
David DeVido, owner of Briargrove Pharmacy in Houston, took theidea one step further: As well as flavored kids' medicines, hecreates flavored medicines for animals. "Fish and chicken forcats, beef for dogs," DeVido says. It's the cat'smeow.
Contact Sources
Briargrove Pharmacy, 6435 San Felipe, Houston, TX 77057,(713) 783-5704
The Competitive Advantage, 1101 King St., #110,Alexandria, VA 22314
Direct Hit Marketing, 6632 Hummel, Boise, ID 83709, (208)368-7979
Flavorx Inc./Center Pharmacy, (800) 884-5771, fax: (202)363-4312
