Product demonstrations are the very essence of marketing. Despite being somewhat stigmatised through their association with high-pressure selling and dubious product claims (snake oil being the one of the most enduring examples), being able to show a potential customer how your product solves their problem is really the most powerful marketing you can get.
Decades before Tim Berners Lee decided an internet might be a good idea, travelling salespeople all around the world were going door to door, town to town, showing awestruck prospects the amazing power of their vacuum cleaner/washing machine/cleaning products/photocopiers (insert product here).
As televisions became ubiquitous in households all over the globe, brands suddenly had the power to talk to literally millions of people at once, doing the humble salesperson out of a gig in many cases, and instead leaving Don Draper and crew to craft mini-product demonstrations that could be broadcast to a larger audience, repeatedly. (Of course not all advertisements were about the product, many were about more nuanced concepts such as ‘brand’, but in the early days at least, advertisers tended to be a bit more literal).
Fast forward to today and – even in the era of online shopping – the tv shopping channel retains its mythical power. Indeed, earlier this year it was announced that Channel 7 had signed a deal (presumably a costly one) to become the exclusive broadcaster of TVSN (TV Shopping Network) across its free to air and on-demand platforms.
What got me thinking about all this?
Am I an avid TVSN viewer? Do I have a room full of unused exercise equipment, salad spinners, and knives that can slice a 44-gallon drum in two before being used on your steak?
Not quite.
I am however an avid viewer of great advertising, and I was recently reminded of one of truly great tv commercials of the last – well, ever, to be honest. The Jean Claude van Damme Volvo commercial – which incidentally was voted by readers of The Drum website as the 38th best tv commercial EVER – is surely the ultimate product demonstration, all wrapped up in a mind bogglingly display of courage (on the part of JCVD) and precision (on the part of the Volvo trucks he was split between, and the two drivers who were powering these massive beasts at speed, backwards!).
Called the Epic Split, the ad became an online sensation. Last time I checked it had racked up more than 120 million views. Not bad for a truck ad.
The hall of fame of epic product demonstrations is undoubtedly a big one. Glue so strong it can hold a ute would certainly be a member, probably within the Legend section. VW ads of the 60s were largely built on product demonstrations, with a long running and quirky campaign demonstrating all the ways the oddly shaped car within an engine at the back – and which didn’t have a radiator – solved for the pain points common with traditional American cars.
But for me, JCVD remains the benchmark.
When product demonstrations make sense
Product demonstrations are a powerful way to showcase the various ways a product can solve a consumer’s problem.
They are particularly powerful when the product/service demonstrated is not well understood, perhaps because it is new, the category itself is new, or it is highly complex, (or it is expensive). Technology is a great example of a category that frequently ticks all these boxes.
Demonstrations are also a great way to address any objections or reservations the buyer might have.
Demonstrations allow potential buyers to learn by seeing/doing, make it easier for them to envisage how the product may help them. The best product demonstrations are interactive, meaning the buyer can ask questions, to gain a more specific understanding of how the product may be applied to their unique problem and circumstances.
As a way of simultaneously building credibility and awareness, they are hard to beat (just ask Volvo).
Demonstration as Education
At Ensombl, while our focus on education is paramount, we have long recognised the power of demonstrations in helping advisors source solutions to problems, especially complex ones.
For several years now, our ALPD Day has been the vehicle that allowed providers to showcase solutions to a large audiences (the average attendance over our first 5 events has been around 1,800). By ensuring these demonstrations are at a category level, and framed in way that is about educating – rather than indoctrinating – the audience, engagement remains strong, and their willingness to repay brands for investing time in educating them (rather than ‘flogging a product) is usually very high indeed.
The newest kid on the block for brands looking to demonstrate a solution – in the tech space at least – is the Solution Showcase we are looking to make a feature of our new AdviceTech space. This space is a dedicated community within the main Ensombl platform, where members have opted in for more frequent and direct engagement with technology brands, including more product-specific resources. As the most engaged-with topic across the Ensombl platform, we’ve no doubt the space will prove to be immensely popular with those who are using, and making decisions about, advice technology.
If you have a solution you want to showcase, especially involving tech, then we’d love to hear from you.
For now, however, it’s time for me to make an ‘Epic Split’.
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