Advertisement Ideas: KISS Delivers Important Message About Building Your Brand!!!

Advertisement Ideas: KISS Delivers Important Message About Building Your Brand!!!!

 I remember when I was younger and my younger brother Joshua was a big KISS fan and we would listen to this song. Today as I listened to the lyrics I thought the message is to SHOUT OUT About who you are, what you do, and give people a reason to use your product or services. I started to think why do people buy NIKE Products when there are other brands that are just as good? The answer is because NIKE Shouts the loudest and is constantly on the top of the mind of the consumer.  Every where you look during a sporting event NIKE Has some type of presence. NIKE has also aligned itself with very well-known celebrities and athletes to build credibility.

prgrsvimghttp://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4694726588894457&w=80&h=80&c=8&pid=3.1&qlt=90 You may be thinking but I don’t have a NIKE type budget. I am here to tell you yes it would be nice to have a NIKE type budget, however you can shout it out loud with your budget. I visit with many smaller businesses on a regular basis and the biggest excuse I hear when it comes to advertising is I don’t have a budget for that. I then ask do you have a marketing and advertising budget and yes there is a difference marketing is about building a brand so that when someone is ready to purchase your product or service they will choose you first. Advertising is promoting offers to drive traffic so you see a return on your investment. Many times I am told no. This is one of my pet peeves as I ask in mind how do you open a business and stay in business without setting aside some money to reach your desired target audience? I have encountered many people who don’t know who their target audience and I then ask them to give me a profile of who their customer is and they say everyone to which I reply your target audience can not be everyone for this is to broad of a spectrum to tackle.  One must have a budget and know who their target audience is of they are to be successful. I ask businesses all the time how are you marketing and advertising and they tell me word of mouth. Word of mouth is okay however it must be augmented with other strategies because not everyone who needs your product or service is going to know your current customers. In order to shout it out loud you must have a strategic plan and you must find what your potential clients/customers are reading, watching, listening to, visiting on-line, and what they desire. A great way to shout it out loud is to answer the question of what problem do I solve in my clients/customers lives? Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: KISS Delivers Important Message About Building Your Brand!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Be Open To Receive!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Be Open To Receive!!!

   In his seminars the first thing Rev. Ernest Chu teaches is the concept of being open to receive. As I thought about this concept I began to think how many businesses may be struggling because they are not open to receive. So many times when it comes to advertising and marketing a business will respond with a programmed response I am not interested, or it is not in my budget, or I tried something like that before and it did not work. Do you see the pattern here? Each response contains a closed word such as not. Each time you say not or turn away from an opportunity you may be closing yourself and your business off from receiving better name recognition, more revenue, and a positive reputation in the community.  In today’s market place it is important to understand that everyone you come in contact with can be of value and service to your business. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Be Open To Receive!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: What’s Your Problem?

Advertisement Ideas: What’s Your Problem?

 As you begin to develop you advertising program you must recognize your problem and understand how a properly planned and implemented advertising program will solve the problem. When I approach people to advertise with the many avenues that I represent like www.labonitakidz.com, www.miamifuryfootball.com, or www.spicemiami.com, I hear I am not interested or that type of marketing and advertising won’t work for me. That is a part of the problem as your lack of interest may have just cost you the potential to reach new people and thus strengthen your brand or you may have decided that it won’t work for you and lost out on an opportunity to work with someone who can make it work for you. I hear I can’t afford to ad more advertising at this time to which I  say  what if you were to cut what you are doing with someone else in half for example instead of a full-page ad with them runs a 1/2 page with them and run a 1/4 page with me and then you can run 1/4 page somewhere else thus giving you more exposure in the market place. I hear things are slow and I can’t afford to advertise. To this I say advertising should be done when it is slow and when it is busy as the consumer perceives that a business that is advertising is a strong business.  So now what is your problem? Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: What’s Your Problem?

Advertisement Ideas: Advertising Expense or Investment?

Advertisement Ideas: Adevertising Expense or Investment?

 Investment                                    Expense

In all my  20 + years of advertising sales and design and developing advertisement ideas I have always pondered the question of is advertising an expense or an invetment? In many cases it depends what side of the table you are on, are you the one selling the ad or the one buyimg the ad?  It all so depends on your mindset about about business. In many cases when businesses are slow they cut the marketing and advertising budget looking at it as an expense when that is the time to increase the budget and strengthen your brand and look at advertising and marketing as an investment because you can measure the results. If you run an ad with a specific tracakable number you can see haw many calls it generated, if you create a unique link to get to your website from the ad you can track visitors and the actions they took.  The key is to look at all the advertising choices and determine if I invest in this type of marketing will it increase my brand awareness, will it create a buzz, will it drive business. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Advertising Expense or Investment?

Advertisement Ideas: How To Make Your Advertising Work!!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Make Your Advertising Work!!!

I have been involved in advertising and marketing for over 20 years from selling advertising to being a production coordinator I have seen all types of advertising and I have heard all types of excuses. The biggest excuse I hear is my advertising didn’t work. This prompted me to write this blog how to make your advertising work.

 The first component is to have a catchy headline as the idea is to grab the audience. I remember when I was in college we designed an ad that read in big bold letters SEX and then in small letters underneath it read of both kinds will be attending Coffee and Donuts Night on Wednesday from 7- 9 PM at Hofstra USA. We had one of our largest turnouts that night. I remember when I joined The Coral Springs Jaycees we did a fundraiser we called it TOPLESS CAR WASH and the signs read TOPLESS CAR WASH $1.99 we do the top for $.01 it was a bit misleading but people thought it was cute and we raised over $500 in the day for our cause.

The right headline will grab your audience!!!!

 Creating a logo with a memorable slogan and using it across all of your advertising and marketing consistently will help in making your advertising work. People associate logos and a strong message with a strong company. Think about it here we are 50 years after Alka Seltzer introduced their Plop Plop Fizz Fizz What A|Relief It Is Campaign and what brand do most people reach for when they have some indigestion? Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Make Your Advertising Work!!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Dominate Your Industry Like ESPN, & CNN!!!!

  

Advertisement Ideas: Dominate Your Industry Like ESPN & CNN!!!!

When most consumers were asked to name their top sources for sports or news ESPN and CNN ranked in the top spots respectively. ESPN has built a brand that is synonymous with sports and has expanded through the development of niche markets with networks like ESPNU that focuses on college sports, and shows like Around The Horn, Pardon The Interruption, and Sports Center to dominate the marketplace and be the leader in their industry. CNN has become the #1 news source for people as they continue to meet the demands of their viewers. This led me to the question of How Can You Dominate Your Industry like ESPN and CNN? Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Dominate Your Industry Like ESPN, & CNN!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Make Strategic Partnerships Work!!!

           

 

Advertisement Ideas: How To Make Strategic Partnerships Work!!!!

I first learned the value of Strategic Partnerships back in 1989 as I was assisting with The Coral Springs Jaycees Spreading The Joy Program, which provided needy families with A Thanksgiving Food Basket and then took the children from those families on A Holiday Shopping Spree. The chapter didn’t have much money in the treasury at the time to fund the project. As a new member I spoke up and said “Have you ever done Strategic Partnerships,” they asked what they were and I explained that is when you ask those you do business with to support your charitable efforts. The answer was no and I said let’s start. They said you can try. I said okay and in 2 weeks I had formed 10 partnerships and secured over $3000.00 in in-kind and cash donations. I then took it to another level when I leveraged our relationship with the local KMART when I asked the manager about collecting in front of the store. The manager said yes and we collected for 21 days and collected another $5,000 in donations. That year we took 64 children on a holiday shopping spree.  Those that supported our efforts saw The Jaycees return the favor as we supported the businesses that helped us. KMART saw the value of The Strategic Partnership and The Jaycees kept working with KMART until the store in Coral Springs closed.  The question that I am asked often is JDOGG how do I make Strategic Partnership Work? Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Make Strategic Partnerships Work!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Advertise or Die!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Advertise or Die???

           

I walked by a few businesses that I had once approached about advertising when I worked at Forum Publishing and then when back to them when I left Forum to see if they were doing any advertising.These businesses were so busy finding reasons not to advertise that they are now boarded up. Why is it when sales are down the first thing that a business wants to cut is advertising? If people do not know who you are and you are not promoting your business you will  eventually go out of business. In today’s market place a business has many chances to advertise and those that choose not to advertise choose to die a slow death.  I have seen this cycle happen many times in the last 2 years. I approached a local yogurt shop about advertising and marketing their business and was told I don’t have a budget. Hello the first thing to think about after opening a store is to think how am I going to get the people to come to me and spend money and then come back to me. This yogurt store ran an ad for 1 week in a local community paper expecting an influx in business well guess what a one time ad is not going to work you need frequency and consistency. The key is to have people see you and get to know your brand.  Advertising needs to be proactive and  not reactive. Think of what is coming up and how you can capitalize on upcoming events. You Know from The Day After Thanksgiving until December 23 that the consumer will be geared toward buying and  that is a great time to run an ad wishing everyone a Happy Hanukkah, A Merry Christmas, and  a Happy New Year with some other incentives to shop. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Advertise or Die!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Make Effective Marketing Choices!!!!

       

Advertisement Ideas: How To Make Effective Marketing Choices!!!!

When you begin the marketing process you first understand the complexity of it  and a great way to get a grip  and make effective marketing choices is to us the 7 P’s Marketing Mix Below. When you know each phase and you truly analyze the plan you can then implement the plan and evaluate and adjust accordingly.

Many times I hear JDOGG I need to get my name out there and drive business what do you suggest: Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Make Effective Marketing Choices!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Finding And Capitalizing On PR Opportunities!!!

Advertisement Ideas Finding and Capitalizing On PR Opportunities!!!

I have posted this question before as I ask it on several occassions as I speak to people who may want to work with me and put my knowledge and expertise in this field to work for them. I have been developing ways to maximize messages for several years and I am always astounded by those who are not taking advantage of Public Relations Opportunities. This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend The Women of Faith Conference on Friday Night (10/26/12) in Sunrise, FL I was very impressed by World Vision and their presence at the event, I stopped by The Liberty University Booth to learn more about them. All the while I was loaded with literature about The Addict’s Mom (one of my clients) to hand out  as I knew many of the 6,000 women in attendance may know a mother of an addicted child and may be seeking assistance for that person so I made it a point to talk to people and promote www.addictsmom.com.

 As I left the Women of Faith Conference I began to think how many businesses missed out on an opportunity to promote themselves because they did nor know about the event or were so busy blaming the economy and other factors that they missed out on an opportunity to build their brand and strengthen their business.  I then cam up with the idea to encourage everyone to visit www.womenoffaith.com and to see when one of theses events is coming to your community and how it can be a benefit to you and your business.

 On October 27-28, 2012 I had the pleasure and honor of being The Public Address Announcer at The Sean Taylor Classic, The SUPER BOWL for Youth Football. As I announced the sponsors I began to think how many businesses could have benefitted from being part of this event if they had known about it. In two days over 2,000 people came through the gates to watch youth football. I had the opportunity to cut a video with the help of Generation Next and I immediately put it up on face book. As I have often said if  make videos when ever you are at a special event and share them.

Advertisement Ideas: How To Find and Capitalize on PR Opportunities?

I am often asked JDOGG how do you find and capitalize on PR opportunities? Here are a few strategies that I have utilized to do just that.

1: Be aware of what is going on in your community and see if it is synergistic with your business and your message.

Look on the internet for special events in your area, talk to you customers about things they may be involved with and how you can be of assistance. Many times it is just being in tune and having a presence at events that will build your brand.

2: When you attend an event be prepared to do a quick video like this one.

3: Take photos and create a story to send to the media. For example the photo below with a brief story.

 JDOGG Lederman Honors Community Leaders and Creates A World With Less Cancer And More Birthdays.

On March 24, 2012 The Unity Church Fellowship Hall was buzzing with joy as JDOGG Lederman hosted The Spiritual Entrepreneurs Visionary Awards, honoring outstanding community leaders for their service to the community. Proceeds from the event went to The Reaching Out To Cancer Kids Program of The American Cancer Society. 50 community leaders were honored and treated to a very special lunch provided by Subway and deserts provided by Chocolate Luxuries. The day consisted of fellowship and speakers on a variety of subjects. For more details about supporting events like this call JDOGG at 954-254-8227.

4: Find ways to provide products and services for events or how to capitalize on existing programs. For example The American Cancer Society has a program for Relay For Life, Stars and Moons, where merchants sell the Stars and Moons to customers/clients and the merchant displays them in their business. You can take a photo of the Stars and Moons with a caption (Insert your business name here) supports The American Cancer Society Relay For Life Program and recent raised (insert dollar amount) to help with research, education, advocacy, and services. “Our reason to participate in this program was driven by the fact that many of our customers have been touched by cancer and we felt this was an excellent way to give back while helping those affected by cancer,” said (insert name here).

5.  Use your social media platforms to engage people and ask about ways you can be of service and value. Post how you are being of service and value to others.

Public Relations is not something that is done once in a while it is something that can be done everyday.

Every day you have something noteworthy happening in your business it is imperative that you share and capitalize on public relations. For example a local Dentist is opening up his practice from 8 PM – 10 PM on Halloween to x-ray candy, it is a shame that this has to be done. The dentist has been written about in several local papers, featured on the local news, and interviewed on the radio.

This chart will help you to find and capitalize on PR opportunities.