Sometimes your Call-to-Action is Worthless

Have you ever noticed that sometimes your advertising tells your customers to do something they can’t possibly do?

Open your seat back tray, drop it down and lo, there sits an ad from a vitamin drink – Emergen-C. – a packet of vitamins you mix into a glass of water to “FEEL THE GOOD.” I noticed their ad today while flying across the country. After reading the ad the following call-to-action was written: Text NWFSAVES to 20222 to donate $10 to the National Wildlife Federation.

Hmmm… last time I checked use of your telephone in mid-flight is strictly forbidden….and unless you’re ignoring the flight attendants, when you land, your seatback tray is securely fastened in place.

But what about those devoted and loyal fans that love your product? They sit in their seat after the plane lands, drop the seat back tray and send that text message? Nope. They must be a rare breed because I haven’t seen any o f them… I flew over 50,000 mile last year and have never seen a passenger drop the seat back tray and send a text message while waiting to get off the plane. Have you?

So, why would Emergen-C put an ad on airplane seat backs with a call-to-action to send a TEXT message? What would cause a group of intelligent and experienced marketers to put a call-to-action in an advertisement that the customer can’t possibly respond to? Yes, they have a web site listed on bottom of the ad, but it’s lost at the end of the paragraph and the emphasis is clearly on sending a TEXT message.

Here’s one thought as to why this happens: repurposing.

Repurposing is that noble effort to do more with less. An ad buy opportunity comes along and instead of thinking through the delivery medium, the audience and how the customer can respond, marketers cut corners and repurpose. “We can take the ad we ran two weeks ago at the tradeshow and “repurpose it” for the airlines.” It’s easy, it’s fast and it will help us prove to our boss that we are “efficient.”

Repurposing is a fine idea – but don’t let it prevent you from creating the right message for the right audience in the right medium. If your ad is on prime-time television, asking the audience to send a text is great. If it’s on a highway billboard or in an airplane seat back, probably note the right place to ask people to send a text message.

So what is the right call-to-action for an airline seat back? How ‘bout a cross-word puzzle, that is filled-out and given to the flight attendant for a free on-board sample. I’d be happy to try the packet onboard... and the flight attendant already offers water…and it wouldn’t be difficult to mix a little Emergen-C right on the plane.

The next time you’re tempted to repurpose – stop, wait and think through the call-to-action – and make sure it matches the medium and the audience – make sure they can actually do what you want them to do.

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