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Know your market

Recently, this flyer landed on my mat. It’s for a local gym (I’ve removed their name to avoid embarrassment). know your market My first reaction? It’s a bit tasteless. But even worse, it’s probably likely to alienate half its readership. Don’t think so? You’re probably male. Imagine a tanned male bottom in a pair of tight briefs. Now would you feel as comfortable? So I didn’t join, right? Yes and no. You see, I was already a member. But If I’d got this back when I was looking for a gym, I’d have wondered if it was really the one for me. It’s crucial when you’re writing to keep your audience in mind. It’s one of my Top 10 tips. Also, remember, it’s not about you, it’s about them (that’s another one of my tips). What this ad is really trying to say is that you can get into great shape at the gym. So why now have somebody who’s smiling, happy and obviously healthy, looking straight at the viewer? Better still, why not have a man and a woman to cover all bases? Whoever designed this probably thought:
  • women would think they’d get a desirable bottom by working out at the gym
  • men would would get to see lots of those desirable bottoms while they worked out
But it’s more likely that:
  • women felt insulted and wondered if they’d really feel comfortable at the gym
  • while some men felt attracted, others were deterred by the sexual overtones
Not forgetting gay men, who probably didn’t react at all to the picture. So what were the gym marketing gurus thinking? Easy. They saw a sexy picture with a tanned, svelte woman against an azure sky and thought it would say ‘get ready for summer’. Then, all they had to do was think up a really bad pun. And voilà, the mailshot was ready. They probably even joked about the campaign improving their bottom line. Take it from someone who’s been there: if you find yourself smiling at the thought of how clever you’ve been, and want to pat yourself on the back, think again. The only smile that matters is the reader’s. If it doesn’t strike the right note for your audience, stop and go back to the drawing board. You won’t regret it.

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Kevin Advertising, Copywriting.
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