I think a lot of the reasons these owners do their own TV spots is that they like to see themselves on TV. 9 out of 10 times they fail miserably. I avoid most companies that make themselves look cheesy or small. I figure if they skimp on their own advertising they’ll most likely skimp on service to me.

I’ve never been in a Bob’s Discount Furniture, Boch car lot or Sullivan Tire. Now one of the companies he mentioned was Jordans Furniture. They’re one of the rare select few that do their own advertising right as they differentiate themselves with their branded “underprices”. Jordan’s has done a terrific job at branding and about 7 years ago they were bought by Warren Buffett for a big pile of cash.

Rob Low got lots of free publicity… it took him 10 + years to make a come back from it.

I have to agree with Scott. Mick has some points but in the areas that Mick is right, he is right for the wrong reasons.

To say that Sullivan Tire is doing something right with respect to (advertising?) is a logical fallacy. Take this example, When it rains I get wet. Yesterday I got wet. That proves that yesterday, it rained.

Now replace rain with advertising and replace wet with success. See my point?

There isn’t anything absolutely wrong with doing your own advertising, so long as you don’t like death with a powdered face. It might be closer to the truth that Sullivan is successful in spite of his advertising, not becasue of his advertising.

I think what any marketing expert would see wrong with that monstrosity of an ad was:
1) execution and direction: one guy was reading a cue card or looking at the wrong spot as he spoke.
2) a terrible story: there was no character with whom we could relate or relate strongly
3) value added - how did this ad differentiate Sullivan from the competition

The verdict: find a new class of film school students to make your next ad.

I just know that you could tie a deeper connection to your target demographic other than brand image ads that make Sullivan look cheesy. Why not actively engage your prospects instead of yell at them?

I’ll guess we’ll have to agree to disagree but thanks for coming by and sharing your opinion. I hope you’ll do it again some time.

I get a kick out of supposed “advertising experts” who downplay the success of companies that create their own ads. Again, I understand these ads are not pretty, but they get talked about and they do brand. The fact is, we’ve all seen ads that have been slick and look pretty, but can you remember the companies? How many companies can you name that advertised on the Super Bowl last year? What good is that? Too often advertising agencies are so concerned about making an award winning ad that they forget to make an ad that actually brands the company that hired them.

Mick

I have no bias about Sullivan, never been to one. All I know is that I’m a prospect and when I see their ads I grab my trusty DVR remote and press fast-forward. Today’s consumers are smart, really smart. They don’t want to see or hear noise, especially noise that has them doing absolutely nothing. Except press fast-forward of course.

I can think of 10 strategies and tactics that would yield much better ROI and build sustainable growth over tired, traditional, badly produced and acted TV spots.

So if Sullivan is looking to grab a spot next to Bob’s Discount Furntiure and Ernie Boch, kudos, you’ve made your way to the top. Personally I don’t want prospects perceiving me as a cheap company. But that’s me…the branding guru.

Not every TV ad needs a “call to action.” You may not like when businesses do their own TV spots, but the fact is they are often very effective in a local market. Sullivan Tire has grown to over 60 locations so they must be doing something right. There are countless other local businesses that find success doing their own creative even though the spots in many cases are not pretty to look at. It works in a local market. In fact, it gets people talking about the ads. Look what you have just done, you’ve just given Sullivan Tire free publicity!

Mick