Do you know how to become rich ? Try copying those who already are ! If you look at almost any large or even medium size corporation you will see that they advertise. Television exists to deliver adverts, as do you many magazines, which are heavily subsidised in order to have a low consumer price point. Advertising, despite what you may read or hear WORKS for large corporations. Companies such as Pepsi and Coca Cola have to work hard at advertising. If they didn’t bother, their competitiors would quickly win the battle to be in people’s minds and market shares could rapidly chang.

The Secret To Advertising 

 How does advertising work ? Well, at its most basic it is distance selling. Selling and advertiisng are different, but for the purposes of this illustration it will do. Adverts show us a product or feeling and then link that to another product or feeling. There is usually an activity or problem involved. EG. A man spills somthing on his shirt – he is angry. He then uses product X to remove the stain and is pleased. Here we see the emotions – anger changing to relief and the problem and solution.

Creating a Success Template

These two concepts – problem / solution  emotion A / emotion B can be broken down to a more generic template, which will prove useful to us later. Think of when Michael Jackson advetised Pepsi, or Eva Longoria. These present a situation and anchor aspirational feelings to it. The Longoria adverts also seem to apply a basic problem of how to get the girl which Pepsi can solve. In both cases we can take the idea of a problem situation and reduce it to a desirable outcome.

This leaves us with three things – a desirable outcome, a positive situation change and a product. Remember, consumers don’t really buy a product, they buy the end result. If we buy a telephone we are really buying the opportunity to talk to others long distance. We don’t buy chocolate, we buy pleasure. Therefore we should consider the product a catalyst or delivery mechanism.

Applying it to ourselves and reaping the rewards ! 

Yeah, yeah, I know what you are thinking. How does this apply to my life and make me rich. Well, to become rich, you need to set goals and stick to them. Sticking to goals can be hard. It can become a lot easier if we motivate ourselves properly, so why not use the power of advertising ?

Lets break a goal down – I want to lose weight and need to go to the gym more.

  • The product is gym attendance.
  • The situation change is how you will change physically.
  • The emotional reward is whatever you feel will come with getting in shape. 

Now we need to create an advert and see it in our minds. Firstly, we should imagine the unhapiness we feel everytime we over indulge or the guilt we feel when we don’t go to the gym. Make the sounds vivid and the colours bright. Really feel the moment. Next see yourself opening a product, give it a crazy name, such as “Super Gym Motivator” or something.

Focus on feeling the excitement as you open the package, realising that it will change your life.  Now quickly transition to working out in the gym and looking in much better shape. Imagine your favourite music on whilst you work out and notice the ease with which you find the exercises. Look at the fun and sociallising the gym brings. Smile to yourself and hear the music rise in volume. Now see yourself in the sort of situation that would have caused you to feel unhappy before and imagine yourself totally dominating it now you have taken control of your life.

Try and use this technique with almost any problem and see the power of advertising to transform your life for the better !

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