Almost every effective marketing campaign borrows a trick from good photography.
I’m not talking about using images or pictures in your campaign or anything like that.
I’m talking about a technique that works to make your marketing message pop.
The simple technique is contrast.
“To compare in order to show unlikeness or differences; note the opposite natures, purposes, etc., of,” is how dictionary.com defines it.
Savvy marketers understand there are four valuable uses of contrast in every marketing campaign.
(1) NOW & AFTER CONTRAST
Every solution is made more valuable when shown within the context of the problem.
So every product or service is made more valuable when its benefits are presented against the backdrop of the prospect’s current problem… situation… need.
Effective marketing campaigns provide contrast between what the prospects life looks like now while their problem still exists… and what their life will look like after they buy… with your product or service.
(2) MECHANISM CONTRAST
Your prospects not only want to know what your product or service can do for them, they also want to know HOW your product or service will do it. How it works.
Savvy marketers understand the value in providing contrast between your product’s mechanism and all the others out there.
Your product’s features and benefits become more valuable when presented against the backdrop of how other solutions fall short.
(Note: I do NOT recommend you ever badmouth a competitor’s product. You don’t need to do that to provide Mechanism Contrast.)
(3) IDEA CONTRAST
Anything which goes against what your prospects expect or anticipate has attention-grabbing power.
Ideas which contain seemingly incompatible elements generate lots of curiosity.
“How To Become A High-Paid Fashion Model By Gaining Weight”
“How A Bald Barber Saved My Hair”
“How To Get Rich By Giving Away All Your Money”
“The Weight Loss Trick Of The Fattest Sumo Wrestlers”
“How The Homeless Are Becoming The Wealthiest Real Estate Investors”
You get the point.
When developing Big Marketing Ideas, savvy marketers look for the opportunity to provide this type of contrast right up front when possible.
(4) TIMING CONTRAST
My friend, Dr. Robery Cialdini, said…
“If we are talking to a beautiful woman at a cocktail party and are then joined by an unattractive one, the second woman will strike us as less attractive than she actually is.”
Of course, this applies to men as well.
Point is… the order in which we present information within a marketing campaign impacts how prospects view it.
Presenting a higher-price first, for example, makes the second lower price seem that much lower.
Presenting the most painful consequence of inaction for prospects right before sharing your solution, makes your solution that much more valuable.
A dark image seems that much darker when presented right after a light image.
Savvy marketers understand this. And use it throughout their marketing to ensure their points have maximum impact.
Any one of these four Contrast Principles will boost the impact of your marketing.
Use all four… and watch what happens!
Enjoy,
Todd
