This story is about a plumber, and while that might not sound relevant to you, if you've ever advertised your business, if you're currently advertising your business or if you plan to advertise your business - you need to read this.

Jim and Rebekah Ypma own Sonoran Desert Plumbing (SDP), about a year ago they asked me to design an advertisement that would help to separate them from the competition. SDP did not have a brand image or any way to separate them from the rest of the field, consequently, prospects didn't pay them much attention and they had to compete on price more than they would like; that's where we came in.

Plumbers love to advertise in the yellow pages, so there's a tremendous amount of competition, that's the bad news; the good news is that 95% are under leveraged, boring and ineffective ads that most people are inclined to ignore.

Take a moment to look at the plumbing section in the yellow pages, what do you see? You see questions like, "Do you need a plumber" or the obligatory plumber's van in the ad. Well, these two ideas fail the "Well, that's obvious" Test, which all marketers/designers should know; if the idea or information you are placing in the ad is obvious, take it out.

For example, "Do you need a plumber?" Well, I am in the plumbing section, there's a good chance that I do. And you might guess that a plumber might drive a van over a semi truck or an Infiniti FX 35. Make sure that the content in your ad address your prospect's pain, problem and wants, if what you are thinking of putting in there doesn't, you need to get rid of it.

So what's the solution? In order for this ad to be effective, we had to find out how people and why people selected one plumber over another, and finally, we wanted to get to the root of why people chose to work with Sonoran Desert Plumbing.

After talking with Jim and Rebekah, we determined it was Jim, his friendly demeanor, boyish looks and yes, his smile that made people feel at ease. It turns out that prospect's are apprehensive about having a stranger they don't trust in their house - imagine that!

Despite some initial reluctance to break away from the crowd, Jim agreed to have us photograph him and feature him, and his smile in the ad.

Well, the ad worked, it really worked!

In fact, here is the reaction I received:

"Thank you so much for all of your hard work on our logo & ad! You did a fabulous job! The ad was a home run, we love it! I feel we hit the nail on the head with adding his picture to the ad, people are noticing it, talking about it, and calling! It feels good to have professionals in the artwork and design field comment on what a great ad it is too! We are very proud of it."

What can this case study teach you about how to invest in an effective ad?

• Work with a designer who is business and marketing savvy, if you want results from your investment, this is the only way to go.
• Don't follow the crowd unless you want to blend in with them.
• Remember that people don't talk or pay attention to businesses that are just like all the others
• Find out why clients really do business with you and use this as a part of your marketing message
• Hone your marketing strategy around the real value and benefits clients receive from you.
• Tell new prospects about the experiences your clients have had with you.

Thanks Jim and Rebekah.

Jeremy Tuber runs the only business savvy graphic design firm who helps companies build more confidence and credibility into their business identities. He is an atypical designer with a passion for marketing as well as design. Jeremy infuses solid marketing expertise into design projects that he guarantees to bring satisfaction and results. Clients often remark that he brings a terrific enthusiasm and a