Dee Snider the front man for Twisted Sister was booted off of The Apprentice last night as a result that his message on the box from The Walk With Walgreens Task not going over well with the 3 people who were deciding the winner.His idea to use words ending in ING was good however some of the words were negative and thus did not deliver the message that the executives were looking for. As I watched the episode unfold I thought before you do an ad campaign answer the question what is your message?
Having a clear easily understood message is a key ingredient in any form of advertising. For example Converse is known for its Chuck Taylor Allstars and this message is very clear
When you decide what your message is remember to keep it simple and appealing. If you were an athletic footwear retailer you may want to add your location, phone number, and a special offer. Also remember when you decide on the message that it is targeted for the audience you want to reach.
Advertisement Ideas: Failed Messages
I chose these three examples to show you that placement of your message is important and also that the wording of your message is important as well. When deciding on the message you want to utilize:
1: Think of the wording
2: Decide where you will place the message
3: Decide how you will maximize the message
4: Have several people check the message
5: Ask does this represent who I am and what I do appropriately
Would you eat here?
Talk about mixed messages!
Always check your spelling and grammar.
This week as you put a message together for your ad campaign be aware of what your message is.
How To Inegrate Special Interests to Drive Traffic
Define Your Target Audience
When you begin to advertise and market one asect to consider is how do I integrate special interests to drive traffice? When I mention special interests I am not talking about your interests but the interests of the target audience you are attempting to reach. I am very surprised by the number of so called business owners that when asked who their target audience is will say everyone. Wrong answer there is no way your business be it homebased or a brick and mortar structure will reach everyone. The key is to know your business and your best customer so as to crerate a strategic marketing plan that works.
Knowing who the bullseye is the 1st step to integrating special interests to drive traffic. One can not just blindly throw things out there in hopes to reach your target audience. You must define the audience. This is done by:
How many times are you going to blame others, make excuses, and do the same thing over and over again expecting different results? It is time to wake up and Market Your Self. Think is there anything that you do that no one else can do? What is it that makes you stand out? What is it that truly makes you a leader in your marketplace.
In The Olympics the difference between a gold, silver, bronze or no medal at all is the fact that you reach down deeper inside and find something that no one else can do. In 1976 Bruce Jenner, won the decathlon and has been using that fame and his positive attitude to market himself ever since.Bruce Jenner captivated the world when he broke the world record and won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1976 Olympic games, earning the title, Worlds Greatest Athlete. Jenner has become a highly respected motivational speaker, sports commentator, entrepreneur, commercial spokesperson, television personality, actor, producer, author, and charity supporter. Audiences are captivated by ‘ unique Olympic, personal and professional success story.
Using the decathlon as an example think of ten things that set you apart from your competition and capitalize on them using them in all your marketing material.
Advertisement Ideas: Brand Yourself
Whatever business you have the key is to brand yourself and market yourself. When you find out what you have that no one else has you can capitalize on that and market yourself. For example I have a unique voice and come from a spiritual perspective and I also have great experience in marketing and media relations thus my tag line is The Spiritual Emcee Maximizing Your Message. What is that you are known for and what do excel in?I ask this question of my clients so as to create a tag line for them and then help them to market accordingly. I recently met with a women who was helping people to creat a better financial position for her clients and thus gave her the moniker of The Financial Fixer, another client was helping people to find happiness and create the life they were seeking and I named her business, The Happiness Way, and gave her tips on marketing and promoting.
One of the best people at branding is Donald Trump, like him or not he has built a strong brand and you see his image everywhere. You may not have the resources that he has, however you have resources that when used effectively will build your brand. To build your brand you will want:
1: Consistency- From logo design to advertising you want to convey the same message
2: Recognizablity- When someone sees your logo or your name they should be easily able to know it is you
3: Publicity- You will want the media to take notice of you so make PR a priority
4: Reaching Your Target Audience- Know who you want to reach and use resources to reach them
5: Promotion- You want to promote creatively and effectively so as to maximize your message
How Recognizable Are You?
When I say Allstate what do you think of? When I say Nike what do you think of? When I mention McDonald’s what do you think of? You may not have the budget of these big companies but you can use their models to follow. They all share one thing in common they developed a brand that most everyone recognizes. Getting recognition can be as easy as using a 3 foot rule and talking to people that are within 3 feet of you. You can also look into print publications that are synergistic to your goals and objectives and offer them content thus creating a following. You can create a blog and publicize it with information. You can utilize social media to gain recognition.
Think of ways you can stand out and build your brand. I often look at the set up of a business and ask what they are doing to drive business. I have this uncanny ability to look at a retail establishment or a home based business and come up with plans that will attract new business. For example I was at a Pizza place that had two TV’s and the owner was telling me how slow things were. I asked him have you thought about capitalizing on events like March Madness? He asked me what that was? I explained it is what the NCAA Basketball Tournament is referred to as. I explained that many offices have office pools where people pick their teams and if that team wins they win a prize. I suggest that he put a sign in the window Watch March Madness Here. I also suggest that he run a pool where patrons would fill out a bracket give him their name and email address and the winner gets a meal for 2. By be creative and using the resources he has The TV’s he could increase traffic to his restaurant.
I chose this calendar so as to plant a seed for you to consider what can you do in your business to create a buzz and attract client/customers. take August 1 Sports Day and offer a special to anyone that wears their favorite team shirt, ball cap, or jersey. You can get shirts made up like a jersey with your company name and if someone spends a specific dollar amount or higher they receive the shirt as a token of your appreciation. You could also do a chance drawing for sports memorabilia with the proceeds being donated to a charity. The more creative you are the more recognizable you will be. You could do in-business and external promotion. Think about an ad that Says Come Celebrate Sports Day at XYZ and spend $50 or more and receive one of our collectible jerseys. We will also have a chance drawing for (Insert Charity Here). Show your team pride and receive a 10% discount. Place this ad in your local publications, around the store, place it on your social media sites, your web site, record a commercial and play it on your voice mail.
This week think of ways you can wake up and market yourself.
Advertisement Ideas: It is not the economy it is you!!
I can not tell you how many times a day I hear I can’t donate because business is slow due to the economy? I hear I can’t advertise because business is off because of the economy. I hear things are tough, things are bad, I can’t, and simply I’m Not interested. When I hear these things I want to scream, IT IS NOT THE ECONOMY IT IS YOU. I want to scream this because I am someone who regardless of how tough things may be perceived to be I have solutions that are simple and easy to implement. I have this ability to walk into a business and come up with 3-5 ideas that when implemented will work. For example I walked into a hair salon it seemed to be a bit slow for a Saturday. I was there collecting donations for The American Cancer Society Relay for Life the receptionist said our owner doesn’t allow for that. I said okay and asked what does the owner do to attract business and the answer was nothing we rely on our regular customers. I then asked, are the stylists independent contractors or do they work for the salon. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: It is not the economy it is you!!
I am asked many times why should I use a professional voice when I have my own voice? The simple answer a professional voice adds credibility to all that you do. Often times I hear a commercial with the owners voice and I think why did his marketing people let him do this. There is a car dealership in Palm Beach that advertises and the gentleman comes on and his voice is very annoying to me and I think I am never going there. Then I think how many people think the same way. Sometimes even a professional voice can turn off potential clients so think about how someone sounds when you hire them.Let’s compare a few videos, tell me which one you would have chosen to use and why did you make this choice.
Advertisement Ideas: Stop Making Excuses and Do Something
Magic Johnson didn’t make excuses when in 1992 he was diagnosed with HIV, his performance in the NBA All Star Game that year was amazing. I chose Magic as my lead example because he could have said poor me, however he used the resources he had and stayed on a regiment to keep him healthy. When the economy wasn’t so good and most people were pulling money out of the community Magic was expanding his commitment to the community.
Kevin Costner hears and acts upon the voice,”Build and They Will Come,”
We all remember the scene in Field of Dreams where the voice says build it and they will come, well people did come, then again it was a movie. Due to the large promotion of the movie many people trek to the movie site in Iowa. The Convention and Visitors Bureau for the area lists in in the attraction section. They have a marketing director and a special events coordinator to keep the traffic coming. What are you doing to create your Field of Dreams? Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Building Isn’t Enough!
This is probably the most recognizable logo of all companies in the market place today? What are you doing to brand yourself?
Advertising Ideas: Is Your Plan On Par With Nike
I am often asked, How do I create a plan that will get me the results that NIKE gets though I don’t have a Nike type budget? The answer is to lok at what NIKE did in the beginning. Nike was first introduced to the world by Steve Prefontaine, whose coach specially designed running shoes for him while Steve was running for The University of Oregon. The shoes were seen and people began to inquire about them and the coach found a manufacturer. The name Nike was adopted as it comes from Greek meaning goddess of Victory. The SWOOSH logo is a graphic design created by Caroline Davidson in 1971. It represents the wing of the Greek Goddess NIKE. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Is Your Plan On Par With NIKE
Advertisement Ideas: Create a Buzz Like Gaga, Trump & Sheen
I am often asked how do a create a buzz in the marketplace like celebrities? To answer this I thought who are the top three that pop into my mind when I think of publicity magnets. I came up with Lady Gaga, Donald Trump, and Charlie Sheen. Who are the top 3 you think of? I then started to loom for the commonality in these 3 and saw the following:
1: Controversial -When you mention them it evokes an emotion that will stir conversation and create a buzz. There is an old adage in public relations that it doesn’t matter if people are talking good or bad about you what matters is that they are talking about you. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Create a Buzz Like Gaga, Trump, and Sheen
When I do consultations with businesses I am often asked how can I pay it forward. I usually answer find a charitable cause that you are passionate about and research programs that you can participate in and then create a marketing strategy that will promote how you are paying it forward. One of the charitable causes I am involved with is The American Cancer Society Relay for Life in which I participate annually, this year my website that you can visit to make donations is http://main.acsevents.org/goto/jdogg1. I mention this as I use my involvement in this cause to garner free publicity for my business. Last year I wrote an article JDOGG Barks to Assist Cancer Patients, this article appeared in several local newspapers, and on many radio station web sites as a result of paying it forward I was able to garner a few emcee bookings. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Pay It Forward