Las Vegas is proof that a great marketer can sell pretty much anything.

Arriving in Las Vegas by car or by plane, (as many of us did last week for the annual NBAA convention) one has to marvel at the ingenuity of Las Vegas marketers. Millions of lights and millions of gallons of water have literally transformed a desert wasteland into a thriving cultural, art and civic center. Whatever your moral judgments of gambling or showgirls, the economic impact has been remarkable. Despite Barack Obama’s famous (and repeated) references to the city as an example of excess; Las Vegas provides extensive (and inexpensive!) convention facilities, and provides an income for millions of American families. It is the home of a vibrant university and probably the largest cultural center for visual and performing arts for hundreds of miles. When people we coach talk about the difficulties of articulating the unique value proposition of their product or service, I have to think about how the first developers sold the idea of Las Vegas to investors. But those original promoters obviously didn’t sell investors on what WAS there, but sold them a possible future that COULD be there. Most marketing and sales professionals in aviation tend to focus on what their product is and does, but not on the possible value that it could provide to customers. The marketing textbooks will tell you to sell a product based on benefits rather than features. I would have to say that 90% of the marketing materials I see for aviation products and services are based on features, and could be much more effective if they were based on benefits. Let’s say you’re a marketing professional in 1945, just before the Flamingo opened. Here’s what you have to work with:

*Features*	*Benefits*
Hundreds of miles from anywhere	A remote, romantic destination getaway.
Lack of water	An opportunity for infrastructure.
Hot weather	A warm respite from East Coast winters.
Cactus and rattlesnakes	A rustic, old-west experience.
Lack of civic organization	The opportunity to provide visitors with exciting gambling and companionship opportunities.

Our comparison, though intentionally tongue-in-cheek, describes how it can be helpful to be uninhibitedly creative in the early stages of developing marketing materials. You can always edit them later if they seem “over the top.” The point is that just about anything is a great opportunity for somebody. Your job is to find the right somebody and point it out to him or her. Unsure about your marketing pieces? We’d be happy to give them a once-over, including a features vs. benefits analysis using our Ad Preflight Review Service. Now you can get a quick, inexpensive, ruthless written review of your ad BEFORE your prospective customers see it. Here’s how:

Buy an Ad Preflight Coupon (They are good for a full year.)
Fax or email the coupon and your ad and the provided cover letter to ABCI.
Within two business days, you’ll have your ad thoroughly reviewed by a marketing professional, using our exclusive Ad Preflight checklist.

We don’t pull punches, and we won’t tell you it’s “fine” when it’s not. We grade each element of your marketing piece; including concept, delivery method, visual design, headline, copy, offer and presentation. If anything needs to be changed, we’ll tell you. And we’ll give you solid advice for improving it. At $175, it’s a very affordable double-check for any ad you send out. ($25 each additional page.) Includes complete report including review of targeting, delivery, headlines, graphic elements, format, and proofreading of content. Does not include rewriting or reformatting. Please allow 2 business days.