Prioritize picking the right audience over an irresistible offer and great ad creative for marketing success

Prioritizing correct audience selection over an irresistible offer and ad creative underpins any successful marketing campaign.

The longstanding rule of thumb was 40/40/20, but I no longer think that's right.

In other words, the old rule advised you to allocate 40% of effort each to picking the right audience and having an irresistible offer, and then the final 20% to ad creative.

However, after reviewing Brian Kurtz's book "Overdeliver" for a second time, I've revised my view to 41/39/20 based on his advice and experience.

WHO IS BRIAN KURTZ?

He's a former executive of direct response giant Boardroom Inc and over his thirty plus years there, worked directly with legendary copywriters and marketers such as Eugene Schwartz, Gary Bencivenga and Dan Kennedy.

On top of that, he helped Boardroom generate hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue during his tenure.

So it's safe to say he knows a thing or two about running successful marketing campaigns.

Here are the specific reasons why I agree with Kurtz's view that the old 40/40/20 rule of thumb should instead be updated to 41/39/20:

CORRECT AUDIENCE SELECTION

Great ad creative (words, images, audio and video) and an irresistible offer is of no use if a completely wrong audience is selected.

For example, would you try to sell wisdom tooth extraction services to 5 year olds (or more precisely, trying to sell their parents)?

Or how about selling snow boots and winter coats to people living in tropical climates (say, Singapore)?

No, it makes no sense at all. And that's why I agree with Kurtz that correct audience selection is the number one priority (at 41%), rather than an equal peer of your offer.

AN IRRESISTIBLE OFFER

After picking the right audience, you need an offer that deeply resonates with them.

Great ad creative is the sizzle, but for long-term success you still need a quality steak (your offer).

You might fool the market in the short term using great ad creative to sell a shoddy product, but it inevitably catches up to you. Don't try to fool the market lest your business suffer the inevitable consequences.

COMPELLING AD CREATIVE

No change here and this remains the third priority.

It's "only" 20% but this isn't meant to downplay the importance of compelling ad creative.

You still NEED good ad creative to be successful both in the short-term and long-term.

Rather, the 20 in the 41/39/20 rule of thumb is only meant to give you an idea of how to best divide up the pie when you start any marketing campaign.

Ignore any of these three parts at your own caution.