Tag: Business advice

Advertisement Ideas: Coca -Cola And Others Make Bold Moves Pay Off!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Coca-Cola And Others Make Bold Moves Pay Off!!

Recently Coca-Cola made what many will consider a bold move with this Super Bowl Commercial. The social media stratosphere was all a buzz from Twitter  to Facebook and others there were mixed feelings as to whether the commercial was good or bad. My personal view is That Coca-Cola as a Multi-National Company was showing diversity and chose to use America The Beautiful as a catalyst to do achieve their message. The $4 million that they spent was well worth it, though I could have thought of other ways to spend $4 million, as today is 3 days after the airing of the commercial and people are still speaking about it. I personally do not use Coca Cola products on a regular basis, however when I do I buy Sprite. Coca-Cola has always been a company that has made bold moves and as a result continues to maintain a strong market share. Ask yourself what bold moves are you making in your business?

... drinks company coca cola and colorado state university coca colaAnother bold move that Coca-Cola made was to begin an empowerment movement for women. They supported many worldwide programs to educate women on entrepreneurship so as to level the playing field. When they first started their empowerment programs there was much backlash as many still held the belief that women should be at home raising kids. I personally believe that it takes a whole village to raise a child and if women can become entrepreneurs and improve the quality of life for themselves and their family they should be empowered to become leaders.  In being bold Coca-Cola continues to be a leader in the soft drink industry holding a large market share of 42% with annual revenue of $35.2 Billion spending $2 Billion on advertising.  When I visited the Coca-Cola Website I found the following and thus was further convinced that there aim is to bring people together.

Diversity brings out the best in us.Fostering a Diverse and Inclusive Culture

Diversity at CCE is the mix of visible and invisible differences including differences in gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, physical and mental abilities, sexual orientation, religion, education, and thoughts. We aim to create a diverse and inclusive workplace, in which everyone feels they belong and can make a contribution.

It’s important for us that the inclusive values of our brands are reflected in the way we treat people, and we aim to attract, develop and retain a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities in which we operate. Our diverse and inclusive culture helps us better engage our employees, understand and serve our customers, strengthen our employer brand and generate creative ideas. We achieve this through ensuring fairness, fostering inclusion and promoting equal opportunities.

By creating diversity taskforces, training, check-ups, self-assessments, employee networks and more, we promote a diverse and inclusive environment at CCE. For more information about how our efforts are showing results, take a look at our country CRS reports. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Coca -Cola And Others Make Bold Moves Pay Off!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Create Positive Cash Flow!!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Create Positive Cash Flow!

Uterine Fury Records - Happiness Is Positive Cash Flow As a marketing and media relations specialist I am asked many times JDOGG how is this going to create positive cash flow? The simplicity of the situation is that advertising is meant to create traffic and by creating traffic and fulfilling the desires of the consumer you will create positive cash flow. The first thing you need to do to create positive cash flow is to understand what your client/customer wants. A great example is my customer wants exposure in the market place so I create a strategy for them to get this exposure and I charge fees for the program that they choose. In promoting their business and getting results I am able to garner a fee and thus create positive cash flow.  A colleague of mine Ken Esrig speaks of putting yourself in a dollar bill sandwich where you put your name on the top of a paper with 5 dollar signs on one side of your name and 5 dollar signs on the other side of your name to illustrate that money flows to you and from you.  It is important to understand that everything you do in business has a value and the key is to maximize the return on your investment so that you will create positive cash flow. The mindset should be one that I will maximize my message and that I will make smart choices and be open to receive so as to create positive cash flow. The question now is how do I create positive cash flow?

Advertisement Ideas: Ways To Create Positive Cash Flow!!!

To create positive cash flow you must put yourself in a positive money mindset understanding that you have enough and that there is abundance available to you. You must shift your mindset from the lack paradigm to the prosperity paradigm. Someone coming from lack uses words like I can’t afford, I don’t have a budget for that, I don’t see how this will benefit me.  A person coming from prosperity says I can do that how much is I will find a way to do it, I am amble to fit it into my budget, this will benefit me. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Create Positive Cash Flow!!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Get Into The Media!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Get Into The Media!!!

Media Relations- Delivering Your Message
2011-05-06_14-46-39_161[1] Media Relations Maximize your message
          I am often asked JDOGG, How do I get my story into the media? My answer over my 30 years of doing media relations is develop a relationship with the media sources, know who the editor is of your local newspapers and magazines, know the program director at the local radio station, get to know the producers of your TV news and, make friends with as many people with media related platforms as you can. After you build a relationship make sure you are sending them items that are relevant, resonating, and entertaining. For example the photo of me at The Skyline Chili Fundraiser was sent out to media outlets across South Florida with a Caption Love of Mother leads to unique partnership and fundraiser to help those affected by cancer. I sent this out and The Sunrise Forum ran a story on the front page about The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Sunrise, FL.  Tying things in your business to a charity is a great way to pique the interest of the media.

A Great Event To Shift The Consciousness of the World One Community At A Time
A Great Event To Shift The Consciousness of the World One Community At A Time

This is a banner that was made for a special event and it was included in all the media releases sent out and in many posts on social media outlets.  I used the following formula to get media coverage and this formula has worked for several clients I have worked with like Octavia Trimm of Butterfly Renewal, Barbara Theodosiou of The Addict’s Mom, and Coach Shantel Smith. Over the years I have utilized this formula to obtain media coverage for several non-profit organizations as well as for myself. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Get Into The Media!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: What Is Your Advertising Strategy?

Advertisement Ideas: What Is Your Advertising Strategy?

 

 This is always the first question I ask a client? You would be surprised how many people tell me I don’t have one or I don’t have a budget for advertising. I am always surprised by this because without advertising how are you going to grow your business. It all comes to the concept of investing in yourself and building your brand. I run across many small businesses as I host an Internet TV Show, The Anything Bucket, which airs on www.wrpbitv.com on Tuesday at 6:30 PM and I offer them a chance to be interviewed by me. I offer a free segment and a chance to purchase the clip so they can use it in their marketing and advertising programs. I am always amazed by those who do not invest in purchasing the clip. I ask them what type of advertising they are doing and they stumble to answer and then confess that they really don’t do any advertising.  I then explain to them how important it is to be out in front of your target audience daily and that you must have an effective strategy.

 I learned many advertising strategies when I was a member of The  Jaycees as we were constantly looking for new members, working to retain existing members, and garner support for our community projects. I was often mystified by how many people who did not know about the organization because we had welcome signs on the signs entering the community, had several articles in the community newspapers, and spoke at city council meetings. I stated on several occasions that if we are to attract new members and retain existing members we must have a solid advertising strategy so that when we walk into a business they will have heard of us. This is when I devised my three-foot rule, which I still use today. The 3 foot rule is where if someone is with in 3 feet of you, you engage them and gain their interest. I recently used this principle at a local Starbucks and the women I approached told me she was very impressed that I came over to exchange business cards.  Think about it if you carry your business cards wherever you go and begin to ask people about themselves and hand out your card the positive effect it could have on your business. It comes down to the fact that some will, some will not, so what, some waiting, next. Not everyone will want to listen to you but those that do can be converted into customers or advocates for you. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: What Is Your Advertising Strategy?

Advertisement Ideas: How to Build Your Customer/Client Base!!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Build Your Customer/Client Base!!!!

It doesn’t matter if you have a brick and mortar business, and internet based business, or  work from your home in each case there is a common thread needed to insure for your success. That common thread is customers/clients. When I worked for Forum Publishing Company as an Advertising Consultant I was always conscious of the # of clients I had because the more clients I had the more money I made based on the fact that the position was a commission only position. I always made every effort to have  a few smaller accounts, a few medium-sized accounts, and a few big accounts. I treated each account as an important part of my business. In selling of the advertising I became someone who would give my clients ideas because in many cases having someone like myself on the outside looking in can be a major asset as I am not so married to the business. Those that chose to listen and implement the ideas did well while those who were set in their ways seemed to struggle week in and week out. In the 2 1/2 years that I worked at Forum Publishing Group I learned a lot about the business people in my territory, which was Margate and Coconut Creek, Florida. In my initial consultation with a potential advertiser I would always ask how are you building your client/customer base? I usually knew where they were already advertising but I would ask anyway. One thing I learned was to never put down the other publications but to build up the reason they should be in my publications. In building a solid customer/client base you have to be aware of what the potential client wants.

 By finding out what your potential clients/customers want you will be able to effectively do a needs analysis and deliver what they are seeking.  I was in a recent meeting of commercial property owners and I asked them what is it they think is keeping their properties from being fully occupied. I heard answers like price, location, the economy, the banks, lack of interest. I asked when was the last time they did an interest intake evaluation? They all looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. I explained that they all needed to ask their current tenants why they chose to rent or buy property from them, then asked what characteristics they look for when seeking office, warehouse, or retail space? I then used a case study from Jacky Smith’s Book Relevant Selling where she found out that it wasn’t price at all that led to the decision of where to lease or buy property but rather it was security as people wanted to feel they were safe when coming to the location. One landlord implemented a daily security concerns hotline where security issues were addressed as they came up.  As a result of meeting the desires of current and future tenants this developer now has 95% of all his properties full with a renewal rate of 89%. The lesson here is to find out what your target audience wants and then give it to them. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How to Build Your Customer/Client Base!!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How Deep Is Your Network?

Advertisement Ideas: How Deep Is Your Network?

 With the passing of Nelson Mandela yesterday I began to think about how many lives he touched for standing up for what he believed. I began to think how deep was Nelson Mandela’s network? Then I began to think of a question that many business owners must ask and that is how deep is my network. Nelson Mandela was able to touch many lives as he built a network of people who believed in what he represented. The obstacles he faced were tremendous and he rose above them. he gave up 27 years of his life as he spent those years in jail. Part of his network was his wife Winnie who kept the movement going while Nelson Mandela was in jail. Together Nelson and Winnie Mandela were a formidable couple who used the power of their network to affect change in the world. Nelson Mandela lived his philosophies and beliefs daily and if he were a brand was as well-recognized as NIKE. Mandela created a buzz because he built a network of followers who knew him, liked him and trusted him. Mandela leaves a legacy for with many lessons for us to follow. One lesson is to build a network.

Advertisement Ideas: Building Your Network!!!!

 I first learned the concept of networking as a member of The Jaycees, an organization of young men and women aged 18-40 dedicated to providing leadership training through community service to its members.  The Jaycees network was made up of  members, who made up chapters, districts, regions, state organizations, national organizations, and Junior Chamber International. These groups created a network for good. In building the network the one thing that was stressed was to share the organization with others and get them to join the organization. After they joined the idea was to provide them with services that would enhance their personal and professional lives. In building the membership I began to understand the power of building a network as each person who came into the organization had something to offer. The key to my success in the organization was my ability to share the organization with others. I learned the following that I hope will help you to build your network: Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How Deep Is Your Network?

Advertisement Ideas: Frequency And Consistency Are The Keys To Success!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Frequency And Consistency Are The Keys To Success!!!!

 In marketing and advertising one of the keys for a successful campaign is consistency. Ask yourself am I being consistent with my message? Am I using the same logo with a consistent brand message or tag line? Am I sharing a message that is memorable that will put me on the top of the mind of  my target audience? In being consistent with your message you create a brand awareness so that when someone is ready to utilize your product or service they call you instead of your competitor.  Ask yourself do I consistently advertise or market myself and my services or do I do it on occasion?  The key is to continually be out in the marketplace so that when someone is seeking your product or services they see you and are compelled to do business with you.

 How many times a day do you market your product or services? The more times people see you the greater the chance you have to capture them as customers/clients. When I sold advertising for Forum Publishing Group I would hear I advertised once and it didn’t work. I felt like say NO S***, what did you expect a miracle after one advertisement?  I have come to the conclusion that many entrepreneurs and marketing executives just do not get it when it comes to advertising and marketing? Many think oh I’ll place an advertisement one time and people will respond. My answer survey says XXX as it is proven that the consumer needs to see an ad 6-8 times before they respond unless they are in the buying cycle at that time.  It is very rare when a one time ad gets a response, however there are exceptions to every belief. The key is the more you put yourself out there the more chances you have to capture your audience and thus turn the ads into sales. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Frequency And Consistency Are The Keys To Success!!!