Credibility: I admit it is a term I use quite often. In fact you’ll see it all my company’s marketing materials. Credibility is often ignored by my businesses, but if you have it, your business has a tremendous chance of continued growth, if you don’t have it - buckle up, it might be a bit of a bumpy ride.

You need to establish three things before people will even consider doing business with you:

Interest
Credibility
Trust

To get into your customer’s heads, think about whom you buy from: do you buy from anyone you really aren’t interested in? Do you buy from anyone who doesn’t appear credible or anyone who you don’t trust? Odds are, you don’t. Your customers think the same way so it’s imperative that you establish all three features to give your business the best chance for success.

So What is Credibility?
To make sure we’re clear, Dictionary.com defines it as: The quality, capability, or power to elicit belief, or, a capacity for belief.

I see this as prospects and clients having the belief that you will be able to help them solve his/her problem (whatever that is). I’ll cover this point in another article, but understand that prospects call on you to solve their problems, that problem might be: hunger, balancing their books, or improving confidence in their business image.

So what exactly does that mean to you?

Think about it for a second, "the power to elicit belief". If someone doesn’t believe you or believe in you, what’s the likelihood they will do business with you? It’s pretty simple, if people trust you and you can elicit belief from people (credibility), there’s a solid chance they will do business with you.

How Marketing and Design Influence Your Credibility?
I know you’ve heard, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression", but I’ll bet you never have considered that most people make up their minds about your credibility in a matter of minutes based on a first impression. Yep, all it takes is a look at your logo, web site or brochure and customers have already sized up your business and your credibility. Shocking isn’t it?

Take that a step further, once customers make those snap judgments about your business, they tend to cling on to them like a barnacle on a sailboat, so creating a credible first impression is not ideal - it’s essential.

Again, your customer’s first impression might be your business card, logo, web site, advertisement or signage, so you’ll want to ensure that ALL of your marketing and design efforts exhibit credibility to your prospects. Since you don’t know which impression will be first, you want to be consistent and professional.

You may not realize it but you choose to establish credibility or lose it based on the quality of your marketing and design projects. If you view your business marketing and design as an asset and work with business savvy designers, you are setting you

Consider this quick example:
Say you’re considering a vacation to Florida and browsing the web to find some local attractions.

You visit 3 theme park web sites:

* One of them is not working
* The next one has a couple of pages but the pictures of the park are small and fuzzy, and the information about the park is vague, confusing and has spelling errors.
* The last web site you visit has a consistent, professional look and feel, and provides helpful information and pictures.

Based on this example, you can assume the last theme park knew that their image and credibility was a huge influence on whether customers bought from them. So at this point (not considering other variables), who are you more likely to visit? Exactly…theme park number 3.

Now the key is to translate this example into your own business situation, put yourself in the shoes of the people you want to do business with, do you have credibility with them? If you don’t, do you think they will still buy from you?

Do you know what’s really scary; your prospects (the people you are targeting) will never tell you that you don’t have credibility; they just won’t buy from you. If this is a concern of yours, I’ve got good news. I’ve developed a special report for small business owners like you called the "Can-Do Credibility Checklist".

If you want to see how you stack up against the competition, contact me today at 480.391.0704, or comments@candgraphics.com, and I will be happy to send this insider’s bulletin to you. Make sure you indicate that you want your free "Can-Do Credibility Checklist" .pdf document - and find out how much credibility your business has, through your prospect’s eyes.

Jeremy runs the only business savvy graphic design firm who helps companies build more confidence and credibility into their business identities. “I help you take your business’ vision and shape it into a company identity that will make you look better, feel better and have more confidence about your business.”

Like the article?

Email Jeremy today at comments@candographics.com for your choice of a free insider’s bulletin: the “Can-Do Credibility Checklist”. You’ll also want to check out the “Can-Do Confidence Builder”. Emailed weekly, the Confidence Builder provides you with essential marketing and design insights that help you get the most out of your marketing/design investments and help you to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Remember to include in your email your name, that you want the "Credibility Checklist" and any additional feedback.

Learn more about Jeremy and how you can gain a competitive advantage with a better brand by visiting http://www.candographics.com

When you spend time with Mary Stengel Austen, you come away with one feeling. "That woman is affable." After thinking it over, you might find other words which describe her: smart, realistic, enthusiastic, tough minded, determined, articulate, strategic, focused. But you’ll always include affable in your memory of her because that’s what she is.

Perhaps she has to be that way because of the two most significant challenges in her life: managing five small children and managing one of the largest ad agencies in this part of the country, Tierney Communications. Affable is good, perhaps necessary.

Having grown up in this area, she then graduated from Lafayette College and was directed to a job in sales for age copier company. Quickly convinced that she was not made for a direct sales role, she found her way into the former Spiro agency and found the career that challenged her, enthused her and excited her. Obviously, she loved what she did and, after a few other steps forward, she still loves what she does as president and CEO of Tierney and its 135 employees.

Mary sees great opportunity for the advertising business but she insists that success will come to those who understand that it’s a "time for new reality." That’s her way to acknowledge and respect change which is happening faster and faster. She believes that agencies must adapt more quickly to market changes, technology changes and even to the changing expectations of employees. More than ever before, she hopes that Tierney is understanding and respecting clients’ perceptions of their own needs which often change with the speed of light.

Her concerns for the overall health of the agency business are partially based on the pressures clients feel in these changing times. It’s not a new thought that solid relationships with clients are vital for ad agencies. However, those relationships are harder and harder to develop because of the pressures of time and the pressures of the bottom line. However, she says the key to a superb client relationship is no different today than it was ten years ago. Just remember that "It’s not about you, it’s about your client." Good advice.

When pressed, she has some advice for clients, too. Directed to clients in just a few words, the "wisdom" of Mary Stengel Austen is simple to state. She would ask them to be careful about articulating the business plan and the marketing objectives to the agency. She would urge them to have realistic expectations about their marketing/advertising efforts. She would hope for an open, honest working relationship with the agency and a consistent viewpoint about image, brand and sales. She also fully understands that clients have their own pressures and sometimes are forced to abandon well thought out plans.

A consistent lesson has guided her in her home life, in college and in her career. She has learned the importance of being able to multi-task. She says that learning to "juggle" has helped her in her career and in her role as a Mother. According to her, "Kids and clients have helped me to learn how to prioritize and have forced me to remain focused." She further explains, "Both clients and children need to feel as if they are the most important thing in your world." In these two separate situations, they are, so it’s working out quite well for Mary, for Tierney and for her family.

Predictably, her hopes for her own career cover a broad spectrum of topics. When she thinks about her life in ten years, she first mentions her family and its importance. Then she talks about continuing to enjoy her work, about continuing to learn and grow and continuing to do the things she does best. She is quite comfortable and enjoys managing good people and hopes to continue that function. She also wants as much strategic involvement as possible, both in her own operation and in the operations of clients.

She gives an interesting example. When a client crisis occurs, she hopes to contribute to the strategy/solution and to "Slow things down when others are compelled to speed things up." She seems calm and, apparently, is convinced that calm and smart is better than frenzied and active without a good plan.

Mary Stengel Austen is even more than a busy, successful executive at Tierney and a busy, effective family woman. She is also a committed supporter of the community, serving on many boards including the Please Touch Museum, Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, Maternity Care Coalition, Philadelphia Ad Club, Lafayette College Advisory Council and as Chairperson of the Pennsylvania Economy League.

She lives in Radnor with her husband, Peter, who is an Insurance Broker and her five children: Thomas(8), Andrew (7), Christopher (6), John (4) and Sally (2).

Affable? Yes. Successful? Yes. A nice combination!

Allan Kalish founded, managed and sold Kalish & Rice, one of Philadelphia’s largest ad agencies. He is currently chairman of Trichys, providers of intranet and extranet solutions for online collaboration and document sharing.

There are many things to consider when creating a software interface for an electronic kiosk. One of the areas that needs a particularly vested interest is the interaction design of the kiosk software. Three important aspects of kiosk software interaction design are branding, speed and sound.

Branding is an important component of any kiosk user interface. If you are designing a kiosk for use in a retail location, you should take care to incorporate a brand image or logo into the interface. This can be beneficial to both the interaction experience of the user for your kiosk and also for the branding of your company.

Logo branding is most effective on screens that are not part of a task process in your software. Because of this, the best screens to show off a logo are those that are displayed when the kiosk booth is idle, and also at the beginning and end of a task. For instance when the user first interacts with the kiosk, it should show a brand image along with a list of tasks. Another opportunity comes when the user has finished a task with the kiosk, a completion screen accompanied by the brand can have a great impact.

The speed of software for a kiosk is something that should be taken into account when considering the interaction experience of a kiosk user. You want to make sure that they do not get held up between screens of a particular task or you may risk losing the user’s interest in completing a task sequence. An example of this would be at a bookstore catalogue kiosk. If a user is searching for a particular author name, they will expect the search results display within a few seconds.

Before considering the use of sound in the interface for an electronic kiosk, there are a few things to consider. First, how will the location of the kiosk be affected by additional noise from the emplaced unit? Certain locations, especially in retail, are not fit additional noise from a machine.

If a particular unit is to be placed in an area tolerant of some additional noise, such as a large airport terminal, you must consider which particular actions are best suited for sound feedback from the kiosk. For instance, should the machine give a warning sound if the user attempts to enter invalid input? Studies show that a visual indication of error is sufficient indication of a mistake. Instead consider using a positive sound to reinforce task completion or correct data entry from the user. Adding credits, completing an order or successfully creating a print out are all candidates for positive reinforcement.

Branding, speed and sound are all important items for consideration in the design and placement of any electronic kiosk. By paying attention to the particular needs of users and current research about user interface, you can ensure the interaction between users and your kiosk’s software is successful.

Tom Samus is a retired legal clerk and writer for a retail information site. He also writes articles for the electronic kiosk information site Interactive Informational Kiosks. He is a father of two children and husband of Clara Parks.

As an entrepreneur and business owner I am always on the prowl for creative and effective ways to capture the attention of potential customers. During a long flight from Seattle to Columbus Ohio I was seated next to an executive from a large marketing firm with whom I’d managed to strike up a conversation. Her questions and responsive interest indicated to me that she was genuinely interested in the services I offered so I handed her my finest business card which she tucked into her pant pocket while gather her luggage from the over head compartment; as she did this I suddenly thought of all the paper wads I had found in the bottom of the washer that had been business cards I really wanted to save. So I decided to scientifically measure the value of this age old marketing / networking tool. Here are the results:

Over 600 people interviewed
Subjects sampled more than 29 states
(a very scientifically substantial and relevant sampling)

40% said they discard cards received because of no value.

So what happens to the other 60% of cards we hand out?

40% said they usually lose or misplace business cards.

10% said that most cards are difficult to spot in piles, files or organizers so they turn to resources like yellow pages.

Less than 5% said they have secured services from a business card.

Let’s sort through the data. By the way if you search the web you will find studies that conclude the business card is your most vital business investment. So, who’s right and who’s wrong? Actually no one is entirely wrong. Business cards have their place and uses. What research and experience tell me is that business cards are a great value when used well and in a timely fashion.

Business cards are seldom a good front-end marketing tool. This is true because most of them are discarded, lost or avoided due to obscurity. The exception to this rule is the creatively valuable business card.

Some examples of creative business cards include: calendar cards, magnet cards, coupon cards, info. Cards, etcetera. I will never forget the first business card I had ever actually kept and used; it had been handed to me by the owner of a print shop, on the back was a years calendar, so I placed it in my wallet and referenced it often for nearly a year before I was asked to lead a project at work that involved securing printing services, you know who I called first. Another example was a magnet card I picked up just because I thought it would be nice to secure notes to the front of my file cabinet; several months later I needed to buy tires for my car and the first call I made was the tire shop on that magnet. Another card I held onto for months was one that had some interesting facts and statistics that I thought I could reference in the future. The bottom line is, be creative and come up with a reason your potential customers should hold onto your card.

Business cards make great back-end marketing tools. Once you have you foot in the door they can and should be used frequently to ensure the customer knows how to contact you. I include a card with all correspondence. At the front end and back-end it is important to make sure your business card stands out.

Precautions and Tips
•Avoid depending on the business card to get the potential customer to contact you.
•Ask for the potential customer to give you their contact information in exchange for yours.
•Make notes that will be helpful for the potential customer on the back of the card.
•A photo of yourself is a nice personalizing touch.
•Follow up with card recipients within five days if they’ve never done business with you, ten if they have.
•Include a card with every correspondence.
•Personalize the business card by writing on the card what you can offer in your own handwriting.

The same precautions and tips may apply to the business card alternatives I’ll suggest next. If business cards aren’t all they’re cracked up to be what are the alternatives? There are actually many, and here we’ll explore just three that I have found are powerful.

Promotional Items

Instead of carrying business cards consider carrying a book of promotional checks. I like to ask this sales question, “If I could give you a blank check that you could fill in the -in the amount of- blank with any amount and cash it with guaranteed payment would you be interested in hearing more?” I then give them a check from my “special” checkbook that contains my contact information, a hand written expiration date, unique authorization code (the check number) and states that it is valid for a FREE 30 minute coaching session with me via telephone. They tend to generate second hand leads because the person I give it to finds it so interesting that they talk about it to others and they then contact me as well. You can order your checks from Current checks. Obviously you will not want any account information on the check. You will want your contact information and Key selling information or services on the check. You may also consider ordering look-alike checkbooks from a printer; unfortunately they may lack authenticity and resulting novelty as well as the unique check numbers.

Brochures & Booklets

Brochures and booklets are a great alternative to cards because they provide valuable information that encourages the receiver to keep it or better yet pass it on after retrieving your contact information. Brochures can offer research information, tips, innovative ideas, interesting facts or even fictional writing. Because brochures are relatively inexpensive you can distribute them liberally.

The most important rule to follow is, make sure your brochures are content rich. Put time and effort into brochure design to make them stimulating and attractive. You may consider having several different brochures to ensure you have a brochure that will best meet the potential customer’s need.

Consider including coupons, special offers and free gifts that must be claimed by an expiration date. You may also consider providing space where you can add handwritten notes to customize the piece for the customer.

Charles Carpenter, affectionately known as "Bill" by friends, has inspired and empowered audiences to reach peak performance and dreams for more than a decade. He is known for being a “straight forward” communicator who shares practical ideas that help listeners overcome the most difficult challenges of life and business.

Charles serves his clients and customers through keynotes, seminars, literature and personal career and life coaching. His clients include small non-profit organizations and Fortune 500 & 1000 companies. He has taught Project Management, Leadership, Management Skills, Communication and Conflict Management at the University level for more than four years.

Charles’ wit and wisdom has been published in numerous periodicals, books and multimedia resources. His works include university curriculum, magazine articles and two best selling books: “Core Success Journal” and “Real World Project Management”.

At times it can seem as though the airwaves (especially late at night) are saturated with commercials touting the latest cure for hair loss. Some of the most ubiquitous advertisements are for hair transplant surgery. Many are familiar with the Hair Club For Men’s famous tagline: "I’m not just the president, I’m also a client." (Incidentally, the company is now named "Hairclub" to indicate its wider focus on the hair restoration needs of men, women and children.)

Hair transplantation surgery is a controversial business. In 1996, Bosley Medical Group settled a lawsuit leveled against it by the district attorney of Los Angeles for nearly $650,000. The attorney general alleged that the company had engaged in "dishonest and harmful advertising" about its services. Specifically, the attorney general said that before and after photos of hair restoration surgery were misleading and that the amount of pain the procedures caused was minimized.

Despite these allegations, Bosley Medical Group continued to attract clients. And, in August 2001, the firm was sold to the Aderans Group, a Japanese wig manufacturer, for $45 million.

How can we explain consumers’ continued uptake of hair transplant surgery, despite the risks and uncertain results associated with the procedure? The success of the hair restoration business can be partially attributed to the power of emotional branding.

Continue reading for an overview of emotional branding, an analysis of how it drives hair replacement surgery sales and how pharmaceutical companies have employed it in product advertising. The final section provides guidance on how you can utilize emotional branding to boost uptake of your products and services.

Emotional Branding: What Is It?

Emotional branding refers to marketing communications activities that seek to connect a brand to specific consumer feelings and emotions. Marketing expert Marc Gobe has suggested that successful emotional branding "brings a new level of credibility and personality to a brand by connecting powerfully with people at a personal and holistic level." Gobe cites Ben & Jerry’s, Nike and MTV as a few of the brands that have successfully identified their customers’ most basic needs and moved to satisfy them.

Emotional Branding and Hair Replacement Surgery

Drs. James Harris and Emmanuel Marritt, authors of "The Hair Replacement Revolution," have asserted that men unconsciously associate hair loss with death. Specifically: "Loss of hair = Loss of youth = Inevitable aging = Death."

The powerful emotions associated with hair loss are significant drivers of behavior. Hair replacement surgery marketers have learned to leverage these emotions. Their advertisements suggest that hair restoration surgery is a safe, highly effective procedure that can forestall death. This brand of emotional marketing speaks to the most basic of human desires: long life and prolonged physical attractiveness.

The emotional branding associated with hair transplant surgery has driven sales of procedures despite their expense, uncertain results and safety concerns. It appears that the procedure’s ability to mask the appearance of aging is enough to convince people to undergo it – in spite of the risks.

Emotional Branding and the Pharmaceutical Industry

While the hair transplant industry has successfully utilized the power of emotional branding, pharmaceutical companies have had mixed results with this marketing tactic.

Traditionally, pharmaceutical marketers have sought to differentiate medications according to their functional attributes. For example, Kos Pharmaceuticals has differentiated its cholesterol medication, Niaspan, by focusing on the fact that it significantly raises "good" or HDL cholesterol. Other cholesterol medications like Lipitor primarily lower "bad" or LDL cholesterol.

Since 1997, pharmaceutical companies have increasingly used DTC (direct-to- consumer) advertising to tout the emotional benefits of their medications to patients. Some of these benefits include increased vitality and mobility (anti-pain medication Vioxx), freedom (allergy medication Claritin) and empowerment (acne medication Differin).

The pharmaceutical industry has been roundly criticized for its advertising efforts. Critics have suggested that DTC advertisements have boosted sales of expensive drugs. In addition, they have noted that some heavily advertised medications have been proven unsafe. Commercials for Vioxx, which Merck removed from the market in 2004, have been cited as an especially egregious example of irresponsible pharmaceutical marketing.

Pharmaceutical marketers have responded to calls for more responsible DTC advertising. In August 2005, the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) announced new industry guidelines. A key objective of the recommendations is to educate patients more effectively about the benefits and risks of medications.

These developments have prompted significant changes in the tone and tenor of recent pharmaceutical advertisements. In general, advertisements have begun to feature physicians and other health care professionals more prominently. In addition, some commercials have focused more on increasing consumer awareness of a disease state than promoting a specific product.

This adjustment in advertising strategy can be viewed as another form of emotional branding. With the headlines filled with news about product withdrawals and lawsuits, the industry has concluded that people want reassurance. The primary emotion that the new advertisements convey is security. Manufacturers want people to feel comfortable about taking a medication. One way to do this is to ensure that information about the risks and benefits of medications is clearly communicated.

Emotional Branding and You

Organizations of all types can benefit from emotional branding. The more people associate a product or service with a positive emotion, the more willing they will be to rely on it. For example, after the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, the American Red Cross received the vast majority of donations. People may have felt secure supporting the Red Cross’s efforts because they trusted it. They believed that the organization would deliver what it promised.

However, recent developments indicate that the Red Cross’s brand reputation is at serious risk. In December 2005, Congress began investigating allegations that the organization was slow to respond to Katrina and provided uneven service — especially to African Americans. It will be critical for the Red Cross to quickly address the concerns of its constituents and Congress to maintain its position as one of America’s preeminent service organizations.

Following are some ways to strengthen the "emotional quotient" of a brand and reap the benefits of emotional branding.

* Focus On The Customer: Customers respond well to brands that establish partnerships based on mutual respect. Organizations should respect customers’ boundaries and respond to their needs.

* Fulfill The Customer’s Desires: Try to associate your product or service with a customer’s desires rather than needs. For example, a customer needs a car to get from point A to point B. However, they may desire a car that will make them feel different, flattered or important. To be more successful, fulfill your customers’ desires.

* Be Trustworthy: Deliver on your brand promise: Be what you say, and say what you mean. This builds trust and trust drives uptake.

* Build A Relationship: Customers like to feel that those they are dealing with care and respond to their needs and desires – both stated and unstated.

Emotional branding is a powerful and useful tool. When applied correctly, it can boost uptake of your products and services and help you establish a stronger bond with your customers.

(c) 2006 Fard Johnmar

Fard Johnmar is founder of Envision Solutions, L.L.C., a full-service healthcare marketing communications consulting firm. Envision Solutions provides innovative products and services to not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. Envision Solutions’ goal is to make our clients more efficient and successful. For information about how Envision Solutions can help you please visit http://www.envisionsolutionsnow.com.

1. Give Testimonials

When you purchase a product or service and it exceeds your expectations e-mail the business a testimonial. Tell them in the testimonial the benefits you got from the product or service. Give them permission to publish the testimonial on the web site if they include your sig file at the end.

2. Leave A Message

When you visit a web site with a discussion board leave a message. You could post a question, interesting content or a compliment about their web site. Include your signature file at the end of the message. Some discussion boards let you post your banner ad or text link.

3. Sign Guest Books

When you visit a well designed web site leave a compliment on their guest book. You could give them a compliment on their content, ease of navigation, graphics etc. When you post your compliment include your sig file so other people will see it when they sign the guest book.

4. Write A Review

When you visit a web site you enjoyed a lot write a review for the web site Write about the benefits you gain from the site, the web site design, interesting online services it offers etc. E-mail the review to the web site. Tell them they can publish it on their web site if they include your resource box at the end.

5. Send An E-mail To The Editor

When you read a good article or enjoy a certain e-zine, e-mail a compliment to the editor. Give the editor permission to publish the compliment in their e-zine if they include your signature file at the end. The editor may post it on his or her web site.

About the author:

Rojo Sunsen is a specialized bounty hunter who prefers to work quietly/confidentially for the benefit of her clients.

Question: Why are my affiliates asking for brandable reports? How am I supposed to manage that?

Dear Affiliate Manager,

What tools are you providing to your affiliates? If it’s just a standard button or text link, you’re only doing half your job. Not only is it less productive for you to have a group of affiliates half-interested in promoting your product, but it’s just irresponsible to have an affiliate program without helping your affiliates to make money.

You heard me. I’m sick and tired of it and I’m speaking my mind.

Help me… to help you. Affiliate marketing is supposed to be win-win. So, let’s work together on this to make us both some money.

My favorite affiliate programs provide many free tools. All things the same, I’ll promote an affiliate program that looks like they care more than one that isn’t even trying, because, to me, it is a reflection on their overall quality.

Perhaps it’s because I’m a woman. I like to build relationships. I like to feel appreciated.

And, of course, I’m in affiliate marketing because I want to make money! So, when I find an affiliate program that offers a brandable free report that I can share with my subscribers, promote a great product and make money in the process? Score!

Now, don’t insult my intelligence by packaging up some random articles that have nothing to do with anything and telling me it’s an ebook. Don’t give me junk. First of all, you’re representing your quality, and I’m representing mine. So, give me something good. A quality report or ebook, with a great preview of your product and what you offer.

My readers will be loyal, and so will I.

Do you want a loyal army of affiliates? Walk a mile in their shoes. Why did they sign up for your affiliate program? Because they believe in your products. Treat them well, and you’ll have loyalty that you can’t buy at any price.

Are you looking for affiliate programs that don’t stink? Nicole Dean is looking for a few good affiliate programs. She’s found a handful of programs that don’t stink. Check them out at freeaffiliatearticles.com/free-affiliate-programs.htm For free ebooks, including brandable ones, don’t miss http://www.free-ebooksonline.com/brandable-ebooks.htm

In a sense, the entrance to SFGT is a window into the person who leads the company, Dudley Fitzpatrick, CEO. Open the big front door of the old town house on Walnut Street and the first thing you notice is three old stone steps. Couldn’t they afford new steps? Then you see the second door. It’s all glass and through it you see the modern reception room, the classic furniture, the attractive receptionist and the small oriental rug in the center of the beautiful wood floor. "I get it," you think to yourself.

When you meet Dudley and chat with him, you really get it. He’s a traditionalist, like the steps and the beams on the ceiling. He’s confident and assertive, like the stately furniture and the offices themselves. He’s tasteful, like the oriental rug and like the conference room on the fifth floor. You go there for the interview after a trip on the modern elevator.

And Dudley’s a trip.

This is a man who knows where he’s going, who wants to do it the right way, who has strong feelings about his beloved business. Notice that I didn’t say "his beloved advertising business." He has different views about that way of looking at the business of marketing and advertising.

Life and career are quite different than he would have anticipated when he graduated from Miami University in Ohio. He got a degree in Mass Communication even though he says he went there primarily "to play hockey." While there, he discovered that "movies were more fun" and decided that he would like to write movies. Off to New York, he "bummed around for over two years" trying to connect in the film business and finally had to get a steady job.

He decided to settle for "30 second movies" and he landed a job in the creative department of one of New York’s biggest agencies, now known as Ammirati Puris Lintas. There, he worked exclusively on television and participated in network spots for Heineken, Diet Coke, Lysol and Mennen.

The agency was account-service dominated which influenced his firm belief that "strategy and creative are really the same thing." That is an idea which continues to drive his work and the agency’s intentions.

While in New York, he was recruited to a Los Angeles agency, Dancer Fitzgerald-Sample. He took the job and became their youngest ever vice president but he admits that he probably took it because making movies still had some intrigue for him. At D-F, he worked on their efforts to get accounts to supplement their Toyota business. The agency landed Pioneer Electronics which became one of his proudest successes. His campaign, "Catch The Spirit of a True Pioneer," led Pioneer to great success.

Dudley created and produced the first music-video commercial in the industry for his client, Pioneer. It was a takeoff on West Side Story. Because it reflected the social realities of that era, it was selected to be part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s Cultural Mores Section.

Both Dudley and his wife, Tanice, were raised in New Jersey. They live there now, in Pennington, with their three children: Aubrey, Drew and Tess. The two older children go to The Lawrenceville School, Dudley’s alma mater. The proximity to New Jersey was one of the reasons he responded to an opportunity at Lewis Gilman and Kynett (now Tierney Communications.)

He was very impressed by the quality of LG&K’s work. As vice president and group creative director, he participated in what he calls their "glory years" but was one of the victims of one of their many top management changes.

He and a good friend at LGK, Bob Schell, were both let go with quite limited severance. Fortuitously, they were contacted by Herr’s Potato Chips which offered them the account if they wanted to start an agency. That was in 1992, the beginning of what is now SFGT. Herr’s was with them for 12 productive years. Today, the agency has 30 people and serves eight accounts. Interestingly, two of their accounts, Tylenol and Sunoco, are deeply involved in NASCAR racing.

Dudley feels that their work with NASCAR is one example of why he prefers not to be thought of as a traditional advertising agency. He insists that the agencies which rely primarily on "advertising" for success are on the wrong track. His vision calls for an agency which is deeply involved in all aspects of a client’s marketing communications activities. For SFGT’s clients, NACAR is one (important) ingredient in all-inclusive programs for the clients’ core consumer markets, for clients’ public relations focus and for clients’ employee pride.

When asked about the account he is most proud of, he winces and reminds me that he’s proud of every account. Prodded, he volunteers that he is particularly proud of the work SFGT did for the opening of the Constitution Center. His feelings of patriotism seem to be reflected in the positioning they created for the Center, "The Freedom To Be You. It All Starts With The Constitution."

Oddly, he says that the "dumbest" and the "smartest" things he ever did in business are actually the same thing. "The smartest thing I ever did was to surround myself with my two partners: Sarah Lenhard, Managing Director and head of Account Service and Dan Reeves, Managing Director and Executive Creative Director." The dumbest thing? "Not bringing them on board sooner."

That supports his conviction that the toughest part of the ad business is finding, hiring, nurturing and growing with good people. He worries about that because he finds it difficult to find candidates with outstanding talent, valuable experience and a good cultural fit. He also worries about the possibility that good clients may be losing confidence in agencies. He says, "Agencies have to be emotionally able to have complete confidence in themselves in order to be secure enough to warrant meaningful collaboration from clients and in order to provide optimal service."

Dudley Fitzpatrick is confident. It’s apparent. Think about the old stone steps leading into the agency. Sure, they could afford something new but "old" has character and character is what he wants to project. It’s apparent when you take the elevator to the spiffy conference room on the fifth floor. That’s another, positive message to visitors. It’s apparent when you hear his straight forward answers to direct questions. Yes, Dudley Fitzpatrick is confident about his agency, about his vision of the business he’s in and about himself.

Allan Kalish founded, managed and sold Kalish & Rice, one of Philadelphia’s largest ad agencies. He is currently chairman of Trichys, providers of extranet and intranet solutions for online collaboration and document sharing.

I know it’s asking a lot but you need to set aside a minimum of 15 minutes a day to build your brand. You can do many things in 15 minutes a day that will help build visibility credibility and a strong personal portfolio.

Here’s a short list to get you thinking about your "packaging" your brand.

• Refine your "elevator" pitch.
The best ones simply don’t happen overnight. They come from refining and condensing the message down to its core elements. Spend time every week tweaking yours. If you want, send it to me and I’ll give you my impression. (Serious branders only, please.)

• Update your resume.
This can be done in increments. List your best, most recent accomplishments and put them into sound bytes that can be inserted into any resume or personal self-promotion. Remember to use real benefits here, not dry language about where you went to school or what happened ten years ago. Tell me what you have accomplished lately.

• Call a couple of magazines and introduce yourself to the editor.
Spend just a few minutes on the phone and follow up via email with your expertise and credentials and a suggested idea for an article.

• Do some vanity searches.
Type in your name in various search engines. Remember to use the quotes around your name so you won’t get a lot of unrelated queries. Not showing up? It’s time to get busy building that brand.

• Start a personal blog.
You have to be serious about keeping it updated. Most people start one only to become pressed for time and quit. NOTE: It takes about six months to get results.

• Write a personal press release template.
Once you do, you will always have it on hand when you get that important call. NOTE: In the "Packaging Yourself Workbook,” we have done all the work for you so all you have to do is fill in the blanks.

• Research the industry trade shows schedule for 06.
Find out which shoes or conferences you should attend where you can learn something new, or more importantly ones where you can be a speaker.

• Start working on your own personal website.
This will requite a lot of time and effort to do it right so spend a few minutes every day. You can generate lots of personal press around this too.

• Set up your competitive news alerts. You know the people you admire or aspire to emulate. You need to know what they are doing.

• Last but not least renew your professional memberships even if youhave to pay for them yourself. Its one of the least expensive self-promotiontools available

Give six months dedication to building your brand. That’s the soonest you are likely to see results. In any case keep meposted about what you are doing and above all tell about your successes.

These tips and more come from the extensive library of personal branding tools developed by JoAnn Hines the Chief People Packager available in the "Packaging Yourself Workbook."

If you have a question or issue that needs an answer please let me know email packagingcoach@aol.com.

How to create an elevator speech; How to make most of those first 30 seconds or less; How to use networking to build your business; How to speak your way to fame and fortune; are all included in the Packaging Yourself Workbook Order now @ http://www.packaginguniversity.com/pkgustorefront.htm

To subscribe to the personal branding e-zine "Packaging Yourself" email me @ pkgcoach@aol.com

If you’re in concurrence with over 90% of all business owners—Ads don’t work! They’re expensive, a low ROI, and all they do is fuel ad agencies to churn out more ridiculous rubbish.

So why do most ads fail to bring in sales?

Simple. If you browse the ads in your local paper, just about all of them talk about themselves:

This is our business name;
This is our logo;
This is what we do;
This is how long we’ve been in business;
This is our product/service; and then usually, Call us now so we can sell you something. Yeesh!

This is nothing more than making announcements. Just like scanning the Yellow Pages. And the prospects that do reply are the 1% that are looking for your product at that time.

But what about the 99% browsing your ad who aren’t interested? They’ll scan your ad each week till they’re blue in the face and never respond.

And why not?

Because you’ve failed to connect with your audience. And convince them you’re the only business that will solve their problem. You’ve got to position yourself as the definitive expert in your field. Otherwise, your ads will bleed your promotions budget.

How to transform your ads into Money-Machines…

If you’re placing ads in your local publication - flyers, newspapers, magazines, coupon books, post card mailers, or through a website - here are three types of ads that will generate more revenues and customers:

1) The "Advertorial."

Ads generate huge revenues for the publication they run in, but people don’t buy the publication to read ads. People are looking for specific information. I don’t know any subscribers who purchase a magazine mainly to view ads.

People are looking for interesting articles, news, product launches, interviews, how-to information, and so forth. And the way to structure your ad is to format it as an editorial.

Give away useful hints and tips that relate to your target audience. Contribute valuable advice. Send them to your website for more useful helps and hints they can forward to their friends.

Your ad should:

Grab attention;
Generate interest;
Create desire; and,
Move your reader to action.
This is the opposite of what ad agencies do for you. They sell you the idea of getting your name, logo, and killer graphics to display their skillful artwork. And then you must cross your fingers hoping the more times you run their ad, the more people call.

This may be effective in certain situations, but I’m betting you have too much business savvy to leave your company’s new customer acquisition to chance.

Here’s the next type…

2) The "Open Letter."

This is an ad that looks like a letter. It contains a salutation and reads like a warm letter from you to a friend. Because it doesn’t look like an ad, it gets immediate attention.

Imagine writing a letter to your best friend inviting her to a celebration. You want to tell her all the details, or maybe omit some. You want to inform her who’s showing up, what to dress, and maybe hint at what to bring. You want to excite her with some of the event activities. And you want to give her the RSVP information.

The secret behind your letter is to compel her to show up. And it’s the same with your ad. You must compel your prospects to respond. Your ad should include some, if not all of these components:

A photo;
A benefit, intrigue, or fear-of-loss headline;
A salutation;
A grab-them-by-the-throat lead-in;
A conversational/bucket brigade flow;
Compelling reasons why they need your product/service;
Useful tips and facts;
The cost;
The offer;
The guarantee;
The call-to-action;
A signature;
A post script; and finally,
Your contact information.
And here’s the third type…

3) The "Classic Direct Response."

This is the textbook direct response advertisement. On the strength of this ad, you want people to call, visit, send-in, go to your URL, snip out your coupon, jump at the offer, or book you. In short—you want a direct response.

It’s a huge mistake to think this ad will get the entire readership responding. Believe me, that’s not what you want. You want to target your ad toward a specific market.

You also want to disqualify time-wasters, tire-kickers, and brochure collectors. You’ve got to cut through the clutter and quickly hook qualified leads. And then compel them to contact you—and not your competition.

Important checklist before running your ad:

Does your ad attract the right audience?

Does it capture their attention?

Have you created desire?

Have you positioned yourself as the expert?

Can you show great value?

Have you given them a reason to act now?

Have you initiated urgency?

Did you include your contact info?

In conclusion…

These three types of ads will do more for your advertising dollars that any ad agency’s "being creative for the sake of being creative" nonsense. You probably don’t have the budget to experiment with creativity. You’re banking on instant results.

So try these three ad styles instead of trying to build your brand and image. Your brand and image will grow when more of your products are in the hands of consumers. Or when your customers absolutely rave about your service.

Tommy Yan is a direct response specialist. He started "Ads That Make Money" to help clients multiply their response rates. He knows the emotional and psychological triggers that empower prospects to respond. Go to TommyYan.com for more moneymaking articles.