I took the boys to Tae Kwon Do practice tonight, driving up Perrsyville Avenue through the upper North Side. When I stopped at the traffic light near Perry High School, I saw a bus stop (shelter) with this message on the side: "Achievement-Putting a Kung Fu grip on your finances."
I thought it was ironic that I was driving to martial arts practice and PNC was telling me that I'd be a high achiever if I got a "Kung Fu grip" on my finances. Trouble was, I had no idea what that meant. What does it mean to get a "Kung Fu grip" on your finances? And, how does that relate to achievement? Does Kung Fu teach a certain grip? Do you relate banking to Kung Fu?
More importantly, is there a benefit in here anywhere? People want to know the benefits quickly, right? Can we agree on that? Also, as we said before, outdoor, transit, bus shelters work best to build brands and support other forms of communication. But, what is the brand here? Achievement? If so, is that differentiating from the competition (although you might argue that PNC doesn't have much competition). Still, these vague messages waste a lot of money since few people see them (I look for them).
Lastly, I was surprised to see the message in this part of town. You might say it's very democratic for PNC to advertise in a poor part of town. But, as I said before, most people, rich or poor, want to know, in direct language, "How can I save money or make money?" They want ease and convenience. They want something new, something that makes them look better than their neighbors. Few are looking for achievement. Most want the easy way out.
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So True!! I completely agree.. Looking at this message "Achievement-Putting a Kung Fu grip on your finances.", i am just wondering why don't people understand a simple philosophy about what other people want. At-least marketing people should be aware of this thing. Doing marketing with these confusing messages they just waste company's money and get nothing.
ReplyDeleteWell, Now i understand the importance of Professional writing course, because i was also not aware of this before.
Hi Ed...I saw your posts about PNC's Achievement ads and could not agree with you more..But isn't that what copy writing is. Vagueness in order to make you curious? Most ads, in my opnion, don't really tell you much about their product. They are meant to get your attention and remember the product name.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing that caugth my attention is the fact the your boys take Tae Kwon Do and I was wondering if they go to Yong Brothers on Babcaock Blvd.