Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share #68 How To Turn Your Brand Into A Household Name
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
#68 How To Turn Your Brand Into A Household Name
#68 How To Turn Your Brand Into A Household Name
Becoming a household name is all about building an emotional connection with your customers. And the best way to do that? Storytelling.
Benton Crane is the CEO of the Harmon Brothers, the multiple award-winning marketing agency behind groundbreaking ad campaigns for Squatty Potty, FiberFix, and Orabrush, and many more! Their ads have been seen over 1.4 billion times and driven over $500 million in sales.
We’re honored to welcome Benton to The Ecom Show for a fantastic conversation with our CEO and podcast host, Daniel Budai about:
✔️ The Harmon Brothers: What’s Their Story?
✔️ Which Ad Formats Work?
✔️ Effective Storytelling
✔️ The Best Ads Out There
✔️ What You Need for Video Advertising
✔️ Turning Your Brand into a Household Name - Benton’s Advice
The Harmon Brothers: What’s Their Story?Benton says that the Harmon Brothers’ “Genesis event” occurred in 2006, when Google bought YouTube. Prior to 2006, YouTube lacked any business application. Google, of course, had visions for turning YouTube into an advertising platform.
Benton’s partners, in particular, Jeffrey Harmon, was one of the very first creators to put an ad on YouTube.
When Jeffrey was working on an ad for Orabrush, he chose what his colleagues considered to be a really odd ad length: two and a half minutes long. At the time this was unheard of: TV spots were usually 30 - 60 seconds and infomercial spots were 20 - 30 minutes long. But Jeffrey persisted. He reached out to YouTube and asked them if they could give him a “Skip Ad” button, so that those who want to watch the ad could do so and those who didn’t, well...they can skip it!
No one knew what a big deal the “Skip Ad” button was at the time. It was a giant shift in power from advertisers to viewers. Since the viewer was first given this choice 15 years ago, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok news feeds evolved and continue to operate on the same principle: if you don’t want to watch something, you scroll right past it.
“Everything we’ve ever done since then has been all based on the principle of giving the viewer something that they actually want and something that they can really enjoy.”
As Benton points out, a lot of people have not heard of the Harmon brothers, but almost everyone has heard of their clients. After Orabrush came Poo-Pourri, which, with help from the Harmon Brothers, grew from about $7 million per year to $30 million per year. Then came Squatty Potty which grew from $4 million per year to $30 million per year. Then Purple Mattresses which grew from $3 million per year to over $100 million per year, then Chatbooks, then FiberFix. The Harmon Brother’s most recent client is Lume Deodorant, starting off with $1.5 million earnings in 2018 to breaking $40 million in 2021.
It’s safe to say that the Harmon Brothers know how to scale. Every campaign operates on the same principle of adding value to viewers. This helps brands on their journey from what Benton calls their “poop to gold journey”. Taking them from obscurity where all entrepreneurs start, and helping to build trust over time to turn them into a household name.
Which Ad Formats Work?Benton advises that ads need to be “as long as it needs to be, but not a second longer.” The Harmon Brothers are very careful about getting rid of fluff. It’s all about getting the rhythm right. When it’s a good ad, your viewer could watch a five minute long ad without even realizing how long it is. A 30 second ad, however, if lazily done, can drag on and on because it’s boring.
The longest ad the Harmon brothers have ever created was 11 minutes, and their ads range all the way down from there. They also make shorter 15 to 30 to 60 second versions of two to four to five-minute ads. On average, Benton says a successful ad usually runs from two to four minutes.
Great, that’s the timing down, so what about the formats?One of the most effective but easiest to implement ad formats is what Benton refers to as the “explainer testimonial ad”. It starts with your elevator pitch: one - two sentences about what your product is and why it’s different, or why it matters to the customer. Then it’s a very simple case of providing five - eight customer reviews. Your customers essentially write the ad for you! You just need to go in and find ones that are compelling, entertaining, and make sure to include some variety.
This can be as simple as putting dynamic typography over images, or product shots. Or product shots while a narrator is reading your reviews. Or, if you want to make things really authentic, you may want to feature your customers actually giving their reviews on camera.
An explainer testimonial ad the Harmon Brothers created for Lume Deodorant was phenomenally successful, driving $3 million in direct trackable sales.
Another simple but fantastic ad format is a product demonstration video. A stop motion video of a product in use is a creative but clear way to convey value to the customer.
Effective StorytellingSo at what level do you need to start on your storytelling?Benton advises that in the early stages of startup, all investment needs to go into making sales. It doesn’t make too much sense to focus on storytelling investments and character development before sales are coming in. Once you’ve grown your business to $1 to $2 million a year then you should start thinking about storytelling, character development and building a brand universe.
As for the Harmon Brothers?“We believe that we’re an organisation of storytellers. And we’ve become famous for the ads that we make.”
Storytelling is so important to advertising because humans are wired to transmit knowledge through storytelling. We remember stories, and we connect with stories. So when a brand taps into that, it makes the brand more memorable and trustworthy.
Essentially, Benton argues, a brand would be crazy not to be thinking about storytelling and making it a core part of who they are.
The Best Ads Out ThereBenton's favorite advertising series of all time is Apple’s “Get a Mac”, or “Mac Vs PC” ad campaign. The video series follows a standard but highly effective template: two men appear in a minimalist all-white background. The young man in casual clothes introduces himself as a Mac and the other, wearing a more formal suit and tie introduces himself as a PC. The PC is more of an “old timey” nerd, often frustrated with the Mac’s creative but effortless abilities. The series solidified Apple’s “cool”, “artistic” and “young” branding.
Of course, Benton holds many Harmon Brothers video ad campaigns close to his heart. One of his all-time favorites was their campaign for ‘FiberFix’, which involved throwing cars off a cliff (yes, really, check it out on YouTube!).
What You Need for Video AdvertisingBenton confirms that yes, picture quality, lighting, and resolution are needed for great cinematography. So yes, having the right equipment does make a difference.
However, in the storytelling world, the story comes first, and art comes second. If you don’t have a great story, or even a great sales pitch, none of the expensive gear matters. Benton recommends starting by experimenting with cell phone footage. It’s a great way to experiment with your stories and learn what works and what doesn’t work. Remember: an expensive camera can shoot bad footage and a lackluster story.
From Obscurity to Household Name: Benton’s AdviceBenton advises that every entrepreneur should have a roadmap on how to become a household brand that people love and trust. Having a holistic picture is going to be very valuable on what you need to prioritize and identify.
Knowing your strategy will help you identify your toolkit. You may need Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, or you may find that social media does not actually suit your personality and skill set. It all depends on your brand and strategy.
TL;DR - Nail your story, cut down the fluff, and make an ad your viewer wants to watch.
Join the Harmon Brothers University to get the knowledge you need to create ads that brand and sell, connect with Benton on LinkedIn , or visit the Harmon Brothers to get a crap-ton of eyes on your ads.
Follow Daniel Budai:Daniel's LinkedIn
Daniel's Facebook
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
View all episodes
By Daniel Budai
5
88 ratings
#68 How To Turn Your Brand Into A Household Name
Becoming a household name is all about building an emotional connection with your customers. And the best way to do that? Storytelling.
Benton Crane is the CEO of the Harmon Brothers, the multiple award-winning marketing agency behind groundbreaking ad campaigns for Squatty Potty, FiberFix, and Orabrush, and many more! Their ads have been seen over 1.4 billion times and driven over $500 million in sales.
We’re honored to welcome Benton to The Ecom Show for a fantastic conversation with our CEO and podcast host, Daniel Budai about:
✔️ The Harmon Brothers: What’s Their Story?
✔️ Which Ad Formats Work?
✔️ Effective Storytelling
✔️ The Best Ads Out There
✔️ What You Need for Video Advertising
✔️ Turning Your Brand into a Household Name - Benton’s Advice
The Harmon Brothers: What’s Their Story?Benton says that the Harmon Brothers’ “Genesis event” occurred in 2006, when Google bought YouTube. Prior to 2006, YouTube lacked any business application. Google, of course, had visions for turning YouTube into an advertising platform.
Benton’s partners, in particular, Jeffrey Harmon, was one of the very first creators to put an ad on YouTube.
When Jeffrey was working on an ad for Orabrush, he chose what his colleagues considered to be a really odd ad length: two and a half minutes long. At the time this was unheard of: TV spots were usually 30 - 60 seconds and infomercial spots were 20 - 30 minutes long. But Jeffrey persisted. He reached out to YouTube and asked them if they could give him a “Skip Ad” button, so that those who want to watch the ad could do so and those who didn’t, well...they can skip it!
No one knew what a big deal the “Skip Ad” button was at the time. It was a giant shift in power from advertisers to viewers. Since the viewer was first given this choice 15 years ago, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok news feeds evolved and continue to operate on the same principle: if you don’t want to watch something, you scroll right past it.
“Everything we’ve ever done since then has been all based on the principle of giving the viewer something that they actually want and something that they can really enjoy.”
As Benton points out, a lot of people have not heard of the Harmon brothers, but almost everyone has heard of their clients. After Orabrush came Poo-Pourri, which, with help from the Harmon Brothers, grew from about $7 million per year to $30 million per year. Then came Squatty Potty which grew from $4 million per year to $30 million per year. Then Purple Mattresses which grew from $3 million per year to over $100 million per year, then Chatbooks, then FiberFix. The Harmon Brother’s most recent client is Lume Deodorant, starting off with $1.5 million earnings in 2018 to breaking $40 million in 2021.
It’s safe to say that the Harmon Brothers know how to scale. Every campaign operates on the same principle of adding value to viewers. This helps brands on their journey from what Benton calls their “poop to gold journey”. Taking them from obscurity where all entrepreneurs start, and helping to build trust over time to turn them into a household name.
Which Ad Formats Work?Benton advises that ads need to be “as long as it needs to be, but not a second longer.” The Harmon Brothers are very careful about getting rid of fluff. It’s all about getting the rhythm right. When it’s a good ad, your viewer could watch a five minute long ad without even realizing how long it is. A 30 second ad, however, if lazily done, can drag on and on because it’s boring.
The longest ad the Harmon brothers have ever created was 11 minutes, and their ads range all the way down from there. They also make shorter 15 to 30 to 60 second versions of two to four to five-minute ads. On average, Benton says a successful ad usually runs from two to four minutes.
Great, that’s the timing down, so what about the formats?One of the most effective but easiest to implement ad formats is what Benton refers to as the “explainer testimonial ad”. It starts with your elevator pitch: one - two sentences about what your product is and why it’s different, or why it matters to the customer. Then it’s a very simple case of providing five - eight customer reviews. Your customers essentially write the ad for you! You just need to go in and find ones that are compelling, entertaining, and make sure to include some variety.
This can be as simple as putting dynamic typography over images, or product shots. Or product shots while a narrator is reading your reviews. Or, if you want to make things really authentic, you may want to feature your customers actually giving their reviews on camera.
An explainer testimonial ad the Harmon Brothers created for Lume Deodorant was phenomenally successful, driving $3 million in direct trackable sales.
Another simple but fantastic ad format is a product demonstration video. A stop motion video of a product in use is a creative but clear way to convey value to the customer.
Effective StorytellingSo at what level do you need to start on your storytelling?Benton advises that in the early stages of startup, all investment needs to go into making sales. It doesn’t make too much sense to focus on storytelling investments and character development before sales are coming in. Once you’ve grown your business to $1 to $2 million a year then you should start thinking about storytelling, character development and building a brand universe.
As for the Harmon Brothers?“We believe that we’re an organisation of storytellers. And we’ve become famous for the ads that we make.”
Storytelling is so important to advertising because humans are wired to transmit knowledge through storytelling. We remember stories, and we connect with stories. So when a brand taps into that, it makes the brand more memorable and trustworthy.
Essentially, Benton argues, a brand would be crazy not to be thinking about storytelling and making it a core part of who they are.
The Best Ads Out ThereBenton's favorite advertising series of all time is Apple’s “Get a Mac”, or “Mac Vs PC” ad campaign. The video series follows a standard but highly effective template: two men appear in a minimalist all-white background. The young man in casual clothes introduces himself as a Mac and the other, wearing a more formal suit and tie introduces himself as a PC. The PC is more of an “old timey” nerd, often frustrated with the Mac’s creative but effortless abilities. The series solidified Apple’s “cool”, “artistic” and “young” branding.
Of course, Benton holds many Harmon Brothers video ad campaigns close to his heart. One of his all-time favorites was their campaign for ‘FiberFix’, which involved throwing cars off a cliff (yes, really, check it out on YouTube!).
What You Need for Video AdvertisingBenton confirms that yes, picture quality, lighting, and resolution are needed for great cinematography. So yes, having the right equipment does make a difference.
However, in the storytelling world, the story comes first, and art comes second. If you don’t have a great story, or even a great sales pitch, none of the expensive gear matters. Benton recommends starting by experimenting with cell phone footage. It’s a great way to experiment with your stories and learn what works and what doesn’t work. Remember: an expensive camera can shoot bad footage and a lackluster story.
From Obscurity to Household Name: Benton’s AdviceBenton advises that every entrepreneur should have a roadmap on how to become a household brand that people love and trust. Having a holistic picture is going to be very valuable on what you need to prioritize and identify.
Knowing your strategy will help you identify your toolkit. You may need Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, or you may find that social media does not actually suit your personality and skill set. It all depends on your brand and strategy.
TL;DR - Nail your story, cut down the fluff, and make an ad your viewer wants to watch.
Join the Harmon Brothers University to get the knowledge you need to create ads that brand and sell, connect with Benton on LinkedIn , or visit the Harmon Brothers to get a crap-ton of eyes on your ads.
Follow Daniel Budai:Daniel's LinkedIn
Daniel's Facebook
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.