How to make a magnificent mini-impression
- Wed, February 08 2012
- Filed under: Marketing essentials
People decide very quickly whether something appeals to them - usually in a matter of seconds. If you work in communications, marketing or fundraising, it’s wise to remember to focus on that mini-impression formed in the first few instants of engagement.
You can be sure the Super Bowl advertisers knew that - heck, they were spending $116,667 a second to make a good impression. They didn’t always do a good job, but there is a lot to learn from their successes and failures.
In the Harvard Business Review blog this week, Ron Ashkenas shares reflections on the three things needed for the best possible mini-impression, drawing on lessons from the Super Bowl. He says to think about your favorite commercial and three things that might have made it great. Did it:
1. Capture attention. Which part of that commercial stays with you? What technique did the advertiser use to draw you in?
2. Convey a clear message. Consider the key message for the target audience. What did the company try to convey, and how did the advertiser use that to connect with viewers? How did they frame the message to make this point?
3. Differentiate. Think about what distinguishes your advertiser from the rest. How did the company use the commercial to portray its unique brand?
Now think about how this applies to your work. What attention-grabbing technique can you incorporate into your next important conversation? How can you ensure your audience walks away with your most critical takeaway? Are you making clear what sets you apart from others?
Good advice. You don’t have to have an insanely large marketing budget to master the mini-impression - you just need to remember these basics. In fact, if you have a small budget, these tenets are even more critical. You want to leave a big impression right away, every time you get the chance.
Comments
I think eye contact and body language are very useful attention-grabbing techniques because they are non-verbal communication and they can tell more about you, especially in delivering a presentation.
I agree that eye contact and body language are useful attention-grabbing techniques. I believe that what we wear and how we carry ourselves is another extremely important technique because like it or not we are judged immediately by people by what we wear and how we walk.
Also, what is important is how we hold our head up and the position of our shoulders and our energy level and enthusiasm.