Eardley Factor Articles: Home: A Strategy Markedly
Improving the Probability of TV Marketing Success
The Eardley
Factor and You
Marketing
Success
Do Your Ads
Match The Eardley Factor Standard of Excellence?
EardleyFactor
Confidently Predicts Bush Victory
Teresa Heinz-Kerry's
Democratic Disconnect
Why John
Kerry Lost
Fox
News 100 Ads Eardley Factor Evaluation
Sublime,
Subliminal, Secrets and Shambles
CNN 100 Ads Eardley
Factor Evaluation
MSNBC 100 Ads
Eardley Factor Evaluation
ABC 100 Ads Eardley
Factor Evaluation
Fox News
37 Ads Eardley Factor Evaluation
Hillary
Rodham Clinton, Our Next President
Eardley
Factor Gives Mrs. Snowball the "Cold Shoulder"
Predicting
Election 2008 Through the Lens of Eardley Factor Analysis
The
Race to the White House
Obama
on the Slide
`Walking
the Plank' or `Jumping Ship?'
McCain
Back from the Brink
Neuromarketing
the Next Big Idea?
Market
Research the Poor Relation
'Head On' Proves the Point
Dollar
Woes Spell Doom
Smell:
The Sense We Neglect
Bits and
Pieces
Primary
Dyspepsia
Don't
be afraid of the 'Holy Grail'
Mother's
Milk Can Turn Women On!
For Love
or Money
When
Life was Brutish and Short
Is
Bob Prechter Right?
Torture?
What Torture!
Dollar
Weakness Now Critical
Telling
it like it is
'Head On' Proves the Point
Dan Charron, Vice President of Marketing at Miralus Healthcare is justifiably thrilled at the dramatic sales increase for it's highly talked about analgesic product 'Head On'. Great work Mr. Charron, but it's not really about recall at all. It's much more than that. 'Eardleyfactor' has been banging the drum 'for ever' about the limitations of Creativity alone without the added ingredients about which our unique analysis and understanding of what drives people to purchase, is also taken into account.
The eardleyfactor spoke recently about the natural apparent conflict between creatives and researchers and how the dice is always loaded against the latter. If ever more proof were needed to point the way to truth about sales, then 'Head On' and it's rhythmic repetitive instruction to 'apply directly to the forehead' is proof positive. It is about as creative as a warthog in a milk bar but has increased sales by 234% in a relatively short time, and has been parodied by Jay Leno and John Stewart amongst others.
Dan Charron is a strong believer in focus groups. The eardleyfactor is not. Truth is that Focus Groups are not helpful in that they fail to show why people choose the products they buy. What they may do is tell the researcher what gets people's attention, which is not really the same thing as getting a person in the mood to purchase. It may have gotten the kind of attention which may well be negatively charged. Note the difference!
So, the point is that although 'Head On' is neither creative nor research dependent it actually has become the most talked about ad to date. Even the Mr. Charron is unaware of the real reason for its success. Let's look at it. The ad shows a woman holding up the product in the act of applying 'Head On' to her forehead. The ad sports a red background.
''Apply directly to the forehead'' exhorts the reader.
Five words only - what is so effective about them? There are a number of issues which would come under our domain but what can be shared is that the ad meets all our criteria for sales resultant behavior. Firstly, the patient does the application. Secondly, the rule is simple: Apply 'directly'. 'Directly" is the key word. The simple phrase appeals to the psyche. There is more to it than that but at this point suffice it to say that the success is attributable more to chance than creativity, research or knowledge. If only chance could be translated into certainty. It could be, but this would require the realignment of marketing creatives being willing to consider harnessing their skills to our knowledge.
One day someone will leap this 'Great Divide!'
Robert Jack Eardley, M.D.
Robert Francis Eardley, Cert. Ed., B.A.
3366 Commodore Drive
e-mail: robertfrancis@eardley.org
Lexington, Kentucky 40502-3602
(859) 229-7714
For those interested e-mail
inquiry@eardleyfactor.com
or
robertjack@eardley.org