Advertisement Ideas: Allstar Celebrity Apprentice Shows Value Of Contacts!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Allstar Celebrity Apprentice Shows Value of Contacts!!!

Trace Adkins and the other celebrities had been here before as they were past participants on The Celebrity Apprentice now it cam time to step it up for The Allstar Celebrity Apprentice. Trace was named a team captain and Brett Michaels was named a team captain and they chose sides. Trace I believe made the better choices as he knew the first task was going to be a fundraising task so he chose the people with the best money contacts. Trace’s team won the challenge and raised a record number of dollars for his charity, The American Red Cross. As trace began to call his Rolodex he also made a bold decision to not open the restaurant to the general public and make it exclusive to the celebrity contacts. Trace’s plan worked as a donation for T. Boone Pickens of $100,000 came in and many other donations came in totaling over $400,000. the other team did a great job raising over $200,000, however in the end Brett Michaels was fired. The lesson here is to leverage your contacts.

Advertisement Ideas: How To Leverage Your Contacts!!!

In watching The Allstar Celebrity Apprentice I learned that Donald Trump has a knack for leveraging his contacts. The question now is how do you leverage your contacts?

Are you using your phone to call upon customers/clients that maybe you haven’t seen in a while? Are you using the phone to follow up with someone you met at a networking event. By communicating with contacts you begin to build a network that can help you with your goals and objectives. This week make a list of 25 people who you will call to see how you can be of service and value to them. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Allstar Celebrity Apprentice Shows Value Of Contacts!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Be Perceived Positively In The Market Place?

Advertisement Ideas: How To Be Perceived Positively In The Market Place!!!

I recently goggled Peggy McColl after hearing her speak at The Superstar Summit in Fort Lauderdale, FL. I found many articles on the front page that called her a scam artist preying on the likes of aspiring authors.Other articles were written by her where she gave advice about becoming a best-selling author. I have never worked with her nor purchased any of her products thus I can not make a definitive judgement about her, however if I based my decisions on the articles I read I would have to think twice about giving her my money. This led me to the question of what are people saying about you? I also asked what is my reputation like? This then led me to give you tools for creating a positive image in the market place.

Advertisement Ideas: Tools To Create A Positive Image In The Market Place

1: Your greatest tool is yourself and how you interact with others. Maya Angelo wrote the following and I believe this tool can help you in creating a positive image in the market place.

2: Utilize your satisfied customers to tout you with written and video testimonials. If you click on the testimonials on this page you can see what people are saying about me.

3: Address the negative press immediately, For example when I was featured in the newspaper several years ago for a monopoly game that I was developing for The Coral Springs Jaycees that didn’t come out on time. I immediately addressed it and then when the game was produced and distributed a retraction was printed from the initial story. This issue taught me that you must be upfront and transparent especially when dealing with the press. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Be Perceived Positively In The Market Place?

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.

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: WWE Delivers Message Of Branding

Advertising Ideas: WWE Delivers Message Of Branding

Show these images to most Americans and they will immediately tell you that is Dwayne “THE ROCK” Johnson and the World Wrestling Entertainment Logo. It wasn’t always like this as wrestling for years was looked down upon and the crowds they attracted were looked at as being less than desirable. Then it happened Vincent Kennedy McMahon started to formulate ways to take the genre to another level and made his brand appealing to the mainstream. The WWE has capitalized on the popularity of their characters and the appeal of their events to record record earnings and record TV Ratings. Some would say that The WWE is a publicity machine. This publicity machine did not grow to the mamouth proportion it is today simply by putting up a ring and announcing that there will be matches locally, no their leadership sat down and put together a business plan that was very extensive outlining everything that they wanted to accomplish. Today The WWE is a publicly traded company whose stock as of today was trading at $8.55 a share you have $855 you can have 100 shares. It is estimated that it will trade at $10.50 a share by the end of the year.

The WWE has become a champion in the sports entertainment industry by branding itself and aggressively marketing itself. Despite filing for restructuring under the chapter 11 bankruptcy laws The WWE continues to have a following and continues to grow. With It biggest event Wrestlemania, now in its 29th year, The WWE continues to build a fan base and gain revenue as they capitalize on knowing what their fans want. Recently their TV Show Monday Night Raw went from 2 hours to 3 hours and has beaten The NBA and NCAA in the ratings proving that if you appeal to the general public and you market yourself you will be successful. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: WWE Delivers Message Of Branding

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: 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: What Does Trump Have That You Don’t?

Advertisement Ideas:What Does Trump Have That You Don’t?

I think of Donald Trump and I see the living example of branding. Trump knew that if he was going to be successful he had to brand himself and create a buzz about who he was and what he did. This got me to thinking what does Trump have that you don’t? The answer was a following created by using public relations effectively and marketing savvy. Trump is in the news nearly everyday as he has become the man who media people go to for opinions on almost everything. He speaks his mind and makes a spectacle of himself on many occasion however he has built a brand that is synonymous with wealth and royalty. He did this over many years by continually promoting. He also built relationships with those that could be of service and value to him while also providing service and value. Donald Trump has also surrounded himself with other successful people who he can go to for help when he needs to. He may come across as brash and arrogant but who would you go to to invest with? Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: What Does Trump Have That You Don’t?

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: La Grande Narnaja- What Is In A Name?

Advertisement Ideas: La Grande Narnaja-What Is In A Name?

My Facebook feed was buzzing today as The New Year’s Eve Celebration in Miami, The Big Orange, was changed to La Grande Naranja. All the news outlets were seeking feed back and at first I thought why I are we worrying about the name when there are bigger issues to tackle. I then began to ask what is in a name and the began to realize that branding is an integral part of your business and you spent the last 20 years building The Big Orange so why would you change the name and begin with a new brand, La Grande Naranja, and I realized well most of the people in that area are hispanic and that is a primary target demographic and thus a name change can be used to attract more clients of hispanic origin. Better yet why not promote the event in both languages so as to attract a more diverse audience. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: La Grande Narnaja- What Is In A Name?

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!!!