Category: Advertising
Be Imaginative
Whatís the easiest way to kill a great ad campaign before it even begins? Take it too seriously. Advertising is not rocket science. You shouldnít need a degree in the physical sciences to create or understand an ad.
And you should never, ever, under any circumstances, kill an ad because it is not literal enough. On the contrary, if you find your ads are too literal, you should destroy them all and start fresh.
Are Volkswagens flawed pieces of junk? No, but an ad with the headline ìLemonî gets your attention, doesnít it? It makes you want to read the story, which goes on to explain how the particular car shown in the ad would never be driven because VW cares so much it weeds out the lemons so you never get a bad car. Think what an opportunity would have been missed if the folks at Volkswagen had taken that headline too literally.
Think about it from this angle. Why do people read an ad or watch a commercial? The majority do so because they find them entertaining and informative. If your ads are all information and no entertainment, youíve wasted your budget.
This is not to say that an ad should be created purely for entertainment purposes. Again, a great ad is both entertaining and informative. The entertainment value should be derived from a feature of your product or brand. In other words, what youíre selling should be the star of the show. Sounds simple enough, but it is often hard to strike the right balance. Thatís what makes advertising so fun.
How much information does your audience really need? What kind of story will they find entertaining? These are questions that should be asked and answered early on so that when you finally are presented with an ad or a campaign, you can judge the work according to these preordained guidelines.
A good campaign will reach your target audience and talk to them on a personal level. This has a valuable effect on your sales and reputation. A great advertising campaign will do more than that. It will create a buzz outside of your target audience.
Apple Computerís ì1984î commercial ran only once. But it is still one of the most talked about commercials because it was rebroadcast on every major news show and written about in every major newspaper for weeks and months. And none of this cost Apple anything more than a single TV buy.
Itís worth noting that Appleís Super Bowl commercial helped make the company a household name and created unbelievable demand for the new Macintosh computer-yet the ad never showed the product or explained any details about it.
BMWís Mini Cooper was one of the first cars to be introduced in the United States with no TV advertising. Blasphemy! Instead, they bolted the Minis to the roofs of SUVs and drove them around major cities. They created tongue-in-cheek billboards, interactive print ads and great guerrilla promotions. Most importantly, they created a waiting list of customers who couldnít wait to get a Mini.
Companies that think bigger become bigger. Itís a self-fulfilling cycle. If you just think like a local operation, you might miss the opportunity to expand regionally, nationally, or even internationally. Your advertising campaign should reflect the direction of your companyóeven if youíre not yet there.
Challenge yourself and your agency to think bigger
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Advertising Temptations & How Small Businesses Can Handle Them
New advertising ideas and techniques most always get the quick attention of the optimistic small business owner.
The first time you hear about a something new to use or adapt, your mind races forward, especially if the testimonials are realistic and seem to relate to what you are doing.
To illustrate, picture that ad salesperson standing right there in your business.
Temptation is staring you in the face. “It’s a great deal,” they tell you. Do you go for it or not?
Here are three sets of realistic questions to ask yourself as you evaluate the proposal:
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1. Take a step to the side and consider this. Is your current advertising already covering the basics? Is this new temptation part of your basic advertising plan or does it fall in the “next level” category? Remember that you’ve got to do the basics first, just as you have to open a showroom before you can decorate it. So make sure you are doing the basics well before you move to the next level.
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2. Will the new idea or technique stand on its own as a profit generator? Can the new idea or technique be integrated into your basic advertising thrust so it can compliment what you are already doing? Will it contribute to building a cumulative advertising effect?
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3. Can you afford it? Is your advertising budget already strained? Will this advertising method pay for itself? Or will it break the bank?
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Background: The informed small business owner keeps good records of all promotions and advertising. You want to develop enough information to figure out what works and what doesn’t. It’s called learning from your experiences of being in the trenches.
Temptation stares you in the face at the least expected times. Temptation can come from hearing or reading about super results others have gotten with their advertising.
Often it appears when a salesperson tells you about the “great deal” they are offering. Temptation can come from looking forward to how great it would be if you could get similar results. It always sounds so easy.
Is temptation worth listening to? By giving yourself honest answers to the three questions above, you’ll know if it’s time to move ahead to the next level and succumb to your latest advertising temptations.
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Be Single Minded
Youíve read about the importance of being courageous, rebellious and imaginative. These are all vital ingredients in an effective advertising campaign. However, they must be tempered with the most important ingredient of allóstrategy.
As long as the advertising industry has been in existence there has been debate about whether advertising is art or commerce. Quite frankly, this kind of divisive argument is a waste of time and has only helped to diminish what little respect the industry has earned through the years. Besides, the answer is simple. Advertising is the art of commerce.
It canít be pure art because pure art wonít engage the consumer on behalf of the brand. Art can certainly get peopleís attention, but it rarely causes them to take action. If the consumer is not actively engaged, the brand wonít grow. If the brand doesnít grow, the company wonít profit. And if the company ceases to make a profit, it dies and takes its brand with it.
On the other hand, advertising canít be mere commerce because capitalism, in and of itself, is not pretty. It doesnít make people sit up and take notice. Pure commerce deals with the exchange of money for goods and services. How boring is that. Besides, you donít want to encourage simple commerce. You want to promote branded commerce. That is what makes strategy so important.
Letís be clear. Weíre talking advertising strategy. Advertising is not marketing. Marketing involves several disciplines including product, pricing, packaging, distribution, customers and promotions (which encompasses public relations, advertising, point-of-sale, direct marketing, e-marketing, etc.).
If your ad agency canít tell the difference between marketing and advertising strategy, run like hell. Youíre liable to waste a lot of money. Now some agencies do understand the balance between the broader marketing picture and the narrow, targeted advertising scope. If they are capable and comfortable operating in both realms, they will be a very valuable partner to you.
The importance of a strong ad strategy canít be stressed enough. Creating ads without strategy is like throwing a ping pong ball at a speeding car in a wind storm. There is little chance you will hit your target.
With a sound advertising strategy, however, even a company with a limited budget can compete against deep-pocketed competitors. Such is the power of the single idea that remains constant over time. This, my friend, is the essence of long-term branding.
You must start by knowing to whom you are speaking and to whom you should be speaking. What are their hot buttons? What kinds of things are they paying attention to (art)? What would make them want your product or service (commerce)? What kind of life do they lead? What are some of their daily hassles? Can your product or service help with any?
The key, of course, is to begin thinking about your customers and potential customers. Focus on their needs instead of your own. By offering solutions to their needs, you will fulfill your own profit needs. It doesnít work the other way around. Trust me.
Only after you know your audience, should you start thinking about how to communicate with them. Because only then will you know how and where to reach them.
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Be an Independent Nurse Contractor and Start your own Successful Nursing Agency
How To Start A Nursing Agency Business Guide Books are flooding the internet. Most of these manuals are extracts from articles found on the world wide web. Because individuals seeking to start their own nursing agency buy information guides that do not have all the contents and key tools for success, a good number of these agencies either fail within their first year of business or simply never get to launch their new business.Thats many business man today want to build their own nursing agency.
Entrepreneurs have made lucrative business in nursing agency, nursing registry, homecare business, medical recruiter recruiting, or as independent nurse contractor in their own field.The time is now for entrepreneurs to start a nursing agency,nursing registry business, operate a homecare business, or as a medical recruiter or just become an independent healthcare contractor. By being an independent healthcare contractor, you are bypassing the agency and are self employed. Healthcare facilities are the clients. Homecare are regulated by all levels of goverment from local to fedeal level. Homecare levels of regulations depends on the category of service provided to clients. Homecare services ranges from providing just companions or the more medically needed clients such as terminally ill clients. Homecare services can be in the form of social service, non-medical, and medical services.
Nurses now a days wake up and take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity. Are you tired of having no input in your career, little money in the bank, lack of respect for your profession and little compensation for the long hours and years of dedication? Starting a nursing agency business or becoming an Independent RN Contractor is a great way to renew your interest and rejuvenate your nursing career. An Independent contractor can contract his or her nursing services directly with a healthcare facility or with a patient and continue bedside practice.
You don’t have to be a nurse or a doctor to start your own Nursing Agency. All you need is our packages and the desire to be self employed. This is the only industry where there will always be a shortage. 2007 Professional Edition of “How To Start A Nursing Agency” covers all 50 states and is jam packed with new additional products and services, making it the most comprehensive guide offered on the internet today! And NEW Searchable Database of over 22,000 Hospitals and Nursing Homes.
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Beverage Company Sponsors Teen Games
As part of an effort to contribute to the community that has added to its success, Fire Mountain Beverage Co. recently sponsored this year’s L.A. Watts Summer Games, the largest high school athletic competition in the nation.
“Our goal here is to support elite high school athletes by giving back to the same markets that support our sales,” said Anthony Miller, chief executive officer of Fire Mountain Beverage. “This event helps to accomplish one of our objectives by promoting healthy living through education.”
Since the passage of the Pupil Nutrition, Health and Achievement Act of 2001, California schools have banned the sale of sugared, carbonated beverages and are moving toward juices, certain sports drinks, diet sodas and bottled water. And recently, major beverage distributors have followed suit, agreeing to stop selling sugary drinks to the nation’s public schools.
Fire Mountain’s Five O2 oxygenated bottled water is enriched with vitamins A and C, niacin, potassium and calcium, making it a more nutritious alternative to beverages containing sugar, caffeine, sodium and carbohydrates. Five O2 also comes in fruit flavors that are appealing to consumers of any age. By sponsoring the games, the company hopes to show teen athletes that they have healthier options with which to quench their thirst.
The L.A. Watts Summer Games started in 1968, three years after racially charged riots tore the Watts neighborhood apart. The goal was to foster understanding and camaraderie among the area’s high school students. The games now include competitions for both boys and girls in soccer, track and field, volleyball, tennis, cheerleading, music, art and poetry and more. Nearly 200,000 young people have participated in the games to date.
To promote the achievements of high school students in areas other than athletics, scholastics were added to the mission of the games. In 1992, a scholarship program was established for youth dedicated to serving the community through volunteerism.
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