My favorite traffic builder involves three actors in police uniforms. When done properly, the first “policeman” will stand in the street in front of your business and divert all the traffic into your parking lot, where the second cop will wave the cars into parking spaces . The third cop will stand at the front door and blow his whistle to direct people into your store. When the place is fully packed, the “policemen” then yank off their uniforms and scurry inside to begin selling to customers.
There’s a chance that this traffic builder is slightly more stupid than yours , but only because mine is illegal. The traffic would be no less qualified than the traffic brought in by most other “traffic building” schemes.
“Yes, I’m here because of the inflatable pink gorilla on your roof and the free hot dogs you talked about on the Radio . Gosh, now that I see you are a car dealer, I suddenly have the urge to buy a new car. By the way, where are the free hot dogs ?”
To run an ad under the pretense that it’s a good traffic builder is from the same school of thought that says there is value in getting your name out. If you are running for public office it may be all you need to get elected, but if you want your ad to be remembered when the prospect has need of your product, you’ve got to have something attached to your name.
If a traffic builder also helps to reinforce your market position or communicates your unique selling proposition, it’s much more than a mere traffic builder. It’s a good ad that just happens to generate immediate traffic. Unfortunately, such traffic is never predictable. An ad that creates good traffic
one week may generate none the next.
These are your two options: One, write meaningful ads that will be remembered when the prospect has need of your product, or two, write ads to bring in immediate traffic. If you choose option two, I know someone who can help you. His name is Oscar Mayer. He works with a pink gorilla.
Roy H. Williams
09/15/1997
