For later-life brands that sell things people need but don't want to buy
Your marketing talks about your brand. Your customers only care about their problem.
That gap is where your response goes.
Free. A few minutes.
Tested against their own controls
Tapi CarpetsChurchill LivingSussex BedsVintage Cash Cow
Sound familiar?
- Response is flat or falling, and nobody can say why.
- Every campaign gets signed off, looks right and performs about the same.
- What to change next comes down to whose opinion wins.
- You're paying more for every lead.
Before you change the media, the design or the agency, look at the argument.
Why it happens
You're in the Value Trap
Your comms say what your brand values. They start with your product before your audience's problem. They shout about your solution before they show you understand how people feel.
Your audience doesn't care about what your brand values. They care about what they value.
| Your comms start with | Your audience is looking for |
|---|---|
| Your product | Their problem |
| Your solution | How it feels |
| What your brand values | What they value |
It happens because the people judging your comms are the people paid to care about the brand. Nobody's doing anything wrong. They're judging the work through the wrong eyes.
Stop thinking about what your brand wants to communicate. Start thinking about the people who might need what you sell, but don't want it.
What changes
Same brand. Better argument.
2x the response.
Same brand.
Everything that makes up your brand stays the same.
Better argument.
But every piece gets judged the way your audience judges it.
2x the response.
Your comms work twice as hard with what you already have.
One example, start to finish
Churchill Living, door drop. I rebuilt it around a stronger argument, and they tested it against the version they were running.
Before: the control
- A brand-first headline
- Competing messages
- No social proof
- A weak incentive
- A buried call to action
After: the rebuild
- Rebuilt around the reader's problem
- Proof they can see
- One clear next step
+100%
response vs control
Why it worked: the rebuild opened on the reader's problem, gave them proof, and asked for one clear next step. Same brand. A better argument.
The results
What happened to response when they changed the argument
Tapi Carpets
Direct mail
Arguments tested head to head across a testing Roadmap. Separately, the first test returned 7:1 against control.
+100%response
Churchill Living
Door drop
The rebuild shown above, tested against the original.
+100%response
Sussex Beds
Direct mail and inserts
The incentive was the only reason to respond. Rewrites across seasonal campaigns, each one tested and built on the last.
+324%uplift
Vintage Cash Cow
Door drop
A new format, built from a Consult, against a control that had worked for a year.
+25%response
Separate tests, separate results. Not an average, and not a promise.
See what changed in each"I've finally got a creative person who talks my language."
Homewise
"On QR redemption alone, £140k+ in sales, the door drop test paid for itself."
Tapi Carpets & Floors
"Best performing door drop campaign we've ever run."
Sussex Beds
Brands I've worked with
How your comms get judged
The No One Cares Framework
The name says it: no one cares about your brand, your product or your service.
The No One Cares Framework judges every piece of comms against that truth, and helps you build your argument around four questions:
- 01Is it valuable?Does it talk about a problem your audience cares about?
- 02Is it persuasive?Does it give people reason to believe you, answer their doubts and make them act now?
- 03Is it organised?Does it make the reading easy, so nobody has to join the dots themselves?
- 04Is it clear?Can someone understand what you're selling in two seconds?
What you get
Check if your brand is in the trap
- Step 1 · FreeTake the Value Trap testA few questions, a few minutes. It tells you whether your brand fails to communicate value to your audience.
- Step 2 · FreeGet your No One Cares ReviewUpload one piece of print and answer three quick questions. You get your score, with what to fix first.
- Step 3 · OptionalTalk it throughBook an hour to go through your Review with me.
When you want the work done
The Consult: I rebuild one piece around a stronger argument, and you test it against your control.
The Roadmap: your customers' problems go head to head in live tests, and the results build your Value Map.
How the Consult and the Roadmap workQuestions
Is it free?
Yes. The test and the Review cost nothing. You only pay if you want me to do the work: a Consult or a Roadmap.
What do I upload?
One piece of print: a door drop, insert, direct mail pack or press ad. PDF, JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 pages.
Is my creative kept private?
Yes. Only you and I see it. I never share it or use it as an example without your permission.
Why print?
That's where the Review starts. Print costs the most per contact, so a weak argument costs the most too. The framework itself works in any channel, and a Consult can apply it to your digital comms.
Who's behind it?
Alec Bartlett. 20-plus years fixing underperforming creative, starting in off-the-page advertising. Why later-life brands?
Your customers only care about their problem. Does your marketing?
Not ready? Watch the 18-minute talk: The hidden cost of OK creative