There is a multimillion-dollar organization, employing thirty thousand persons, which spends an estimated one hundred thousand dollars a year in advertising campaigns, which have apparently never been tested. Ordinarily there is no guesswork in this firm, for its organization extends around the globe, and everywhere gives evidence of being a well-equipped and smooth-running concern. But its advertising does not always reflect this same efficiency and smoothness. What is the name of this organization? The Seventh-day Adventist denomination. As far as I know, we have not as yet used tested advertising methods. Tested advertising yields greater returns for each dollar, because it removes guesswork.
It is true that we make comparative tests. But these are of little value, because we take too much for granted. We simply assume that our advertising has the right appeal, the right title, and contains the right copy. But we do not actually know whether some other appeal might yield better returns ? We are not certain that the title is the best or the copy the most effective. It is a matter of record that one mail-order ad actually outsold another nineteen and a half times. ( JOHN CAPLES, Tested Advertising Methods, p. 5. Harper's, 1947.) The two ads occupied the- same amount of space, appeared in the same publication, and had many other similar features; but one had the right appeal; the other, the wrong appeal.
To assume that we automatically have the right appeal, the best title, and the correct copy in our evangelistic advertising is to assume too much. We do not know these things unless we have actually tested them firsthand. When this is done we can profitably proceed to test our methods of bringing our appeal, title, and copy to the public.
Our business as workers is to get as large a response for each dollar as possible. What are the factors in getting a good response? Briefly, they are (I) the attitude of the public, (2) the attitude of the church, and (3) the advertising of the worker.
A good response can come despite poor advertising. It could come because of the type of people in the city or in the church, or in some cases because of both. On the other hand, a -poorly responding community and an unenthusiastic church can be overbalanced somewhat by good advertising. But to test the methods of advertising and not the advertising itself is to miss the forest for the trees. It is to scrutinize the parts and ignore the whole. It is to be like a traveler who checks his stride, his posture, and other factors, and omits ascertaining the correct road to his destination.
In order to find the most efficient methods of advertising, we may well observe the methods used by firms who depend entirely on their advertising for their profits. Some of these are the Alexander Hamilton Institute, the Book of the Month Club, International Accountants Society, Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company, Doubleday Doran (mail-order books), La Salle University, International Correspondence Schools, and others. When these firms have a poor advertising campaign they lose money. If this trend continued, they would go out of business. For this reason they test their advertising in a small, inexpensive way. After a long series of careful tests they select the best ad, and are then ready to run it on a nationwide scale.
Appeals With Pulling Power
As a result of years of testing, mail-order firms and correspondence schools have found that certain appeals have more "pulling power" than others. They are listed in importance as follows : (i) benefits, (2) news, (3) curiosity, (4) cheerfulness and positiveness, and (5) speed and ease with which benefits can be obtained. Now compare these facts, taken from hundreds of tested ads, with the titles we are accustomed to use, such as "Peace or Pieces," "Peace or War," "Today's Tomorrow Yesterday," "The Other Side of Death; What Lies Beyond?" "Will Stalin Succeed Where Hitler Failed?" "Will Russia Rule the World?" "Has God Lost Control?" "Christ for the Crisis," and so on.
Not one of these titles, except the last one, suggests any benefits that the reader may receive if he comes to the meeting. It does imply rather vaguely that there are benefits to be gained by coming to the meeting—benefits that will take one through the crisis. But it is clever at the expense of being clear.
Instead of trying to attract people on a third-rate appeal, why not use the very best appeal? Benefits! Benefits! Benefits! We are all interested in benefits. To any proposition, large or small, we ask secretly or openly, "What will I get out of it?" Likewise people want to know just what benefits they will get by attending our service.
What benefits do we have to offer? First, salvation through Jesus Christ. Perhaps we could not use the regular terms, but we could speak of what salvation brings—joy, peace, et cetera. We could tell them how this service would fill them with hope; give them an increased sense of security; enable them to see that the future is filled with much more good than bad; encourage them, and fill them with optimism over God's great plan; enlarge their vision and strengthen their faith. I believe that we can honestly advertise these benefits. Then, as we use our strongest drawing power in our ad, we would be applying the very best appeals in our effort to secure listeners. When we think in terms of benefits our whole thinking is changed. We become more practical in our sermons. We are told that with the prophecies there should be "practical lessons of the teachings of Christ."—Evangelism, p. 172.
Clarity Rather Than Cleverness
Another fact that tested advertising has proved is that clever advertising is not so good as clear advertising. Clever titles or headlines that require considerable thought to fathom will never be understood. Remember that the average person will spend only a fraction of a second looking at your ad. He will not stop to ponder your conundrum. He will simply turn to the next page. One of the greatest advertising titles ever written is in the name of the book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. It is not clever, but it is clear. It uses the benefit appeal almost exclusively. The book sold more than two million copies.
Other facts brought out by tested advertising are that short, simple sentences are better than long, difficult ones; that simplicity is the best style; that understatement is better than overstatement; that free information is effective; that specific data is better than general information; that detailed copy is better than brief copy; and that testimonials are still highly profitable. In our planning for a larger evangelism surely we should study into the subject of more efficiency in advertising. Advertising is the principal method we use in gathering an audience. I believe we can test our advertising and improve it to the saving of souls.
