I was chatting with a couple of friends, all of us are either copy writers or graphic designers…or both….in the advertising industry, so, naturally, our conversations leaned towards the topic. This one particular friend who works in an American advertising firm is now an Art Director, so, needless to say, he considers himself a notch higher than us mere freelancers and employees. After all, he is the one person who decides on the direction of a whole advertising campaign. He is also in-charge of a couple of large International brands of products. And during this conversation, he told me about this story that inspired me. He says that branding is so important to a product that it can either make or break a product…or even the company.

For instance, he was trying to come up with something unique for a particular brand of body wash (he thought the smell was awful because it smelt like mud…wet and totally disgusting). Guess what he did? He went the NATURAL WAY……

Obviously, it worked wonders for the product! He came up with headlines like

“So natural, you’d roll around in it”

“Just like a second skin”

“Aroma-therapeutic”

“Go back to nature”

…and the likes.

I was impressed. So happens that he brings back a lot of samples of products each time he comes back to Malaysia and this time he had the said product handy to show us – to although I didn’t think it was disgusting (he has a way with words, shall I say?”), it wasn’t your conventional bath wash. It sure didn’t smell like anything else I can get here in supermarkets.

Joe, my friend from America, said that he steered the product in the realm of conservation of the environment, going natural, using natural products, natural cleansing properties….etc and it worked wonderfully. When combined with a superb design and ad, the product sold like nothing else he had known! This was the product he thought smelt like mud, remember? And with good direction, copy and design, the product is as good as sold.

The theory is that, people’s mind accepts what they want to accept. Let me give you some examples of beautiful copy work for International brands.

“milk bath” – Johnson and Johnson. Sounds simple enough? But accordingly, many people bought the products, not because it was superb or any better than all the other Johnson and Johnson products or bath gels, it was because the ‘milk bath’ copy suggested that whenever you use the product, you’d be bathing in milk, pampering yourself, making your skin whiter and smoother. Asians will buy anything that you say can turn their skin white.

“Not perfumed, Not coloured. Just kind” – Simple.

This is a very unique stance taken by a skincare company because Simple is the first brand that suggested that you don’t need anything extra have superb skin. Simple is….well, simple, but it gives you good skin because it doesn’t make your skin look worse.

“Against animal testing” – The Body Shop.

The products being sold by The Body Shop, without a doubt, is produced without being tested on animals. This, they claim, is because the properties used to produce their products is very natural. I think placing the words “AGAINST ANIMAL TESTING” in bolded letters in all of their labels is a good idea. Anyone who loves natural products and are animal lovers will definitely stay true to The Body Shop.

“The beer only a true man knows how to appreciate”

This is a tagline being used by a well-known beer company. I am not certain of the exact words being used, therefore, I decline to name the brand and beer type. Anyway, this tagline suggests that if you’re a man at all, you’ll like this beer…..and if you don’t, you’re not a TRUE man. I am a woman and I like the beer because of its richness in taste but I absolutely object to their tagline. I suppose they have their reasons. Their target market were mostly men and if they were women who drink, they will let the tagline slide because they like the beer so much.

So, you see, the kind of branding, the kind of tagline and headlines that you use determines the direction of your product. If you use a tagline like ‘lustrous long hair”….don’t expect a lot of male customers who takes you up on your offer. So, decide on a tagline once and for all for each and every one of your products, take them very seriously and if you can’t think of anything, hire someone to do the thinking for you. Branding and copy writing is SO IMPORTANT that you’d rather pay for it than be stuck with one that gives out mixed messages.

Marsha Maung is a freelance graphic designer and writer who has been working from her home in Selangor, Malaysia the past 6 years. She is also the author of "Raising Little Magicians", "No products to sell" and the popular "The Lance in Freelancing" and other books. For more information, please visit http://www.marshamaung.com and for more info on her books, please visit http://www.lulu.com/marshamaung

Here is my personal list of things to do at your networking group:

(1) Bring your business cards. Sound simple? Well, I regularly meet people at networking groups who have forgotten their cards or their cards are at the printers. Keep an ample supply in your car, briefcase, and pockets; you never know when you’re going to meet someone important to your business.

(2) Wear a nametag. While attending a networking meeting, it is not realistic to expect to remember each person’s name and the business they represent. If your nametag says what you do, it makes meeting you, and remembering you later, a lot easier. A nametag can also stimulate conversation about your business.

(3) Door Prizes. At many networking groups, there is an opportunity to give away a door prize. This type of promotion is two-fold. First; your product or service will get mentioned in a special way with lots of attentive people listening. Second; the winner will have an experience of your product or service and may tell others within the networking group. Note-the door prize does not have to be expensive. Regardless of the price, your business will still be acknowledged-thus, getting more exposure.

(4) Set a goal. After the guest speaker, there is time to network with others. You may want to make it a goal to network with a specific number of people at each meeting. While each person is introducing himself or herself, take note of who you want to talk to, so you can tell them about your business and ask about theirs. Remember, make it a two-way conversation.

(5) Respect others. If there is someone you want to talk to and they are engaged in a conversation, respect their time with the other person, and do not interrupt them. Stand off to the side where they can see you. Interrupting them may break rapport between you and them, and between them and the person to whom they are speaking.

(6) Have fun and be enthusiastic about your business.

Michael Losier, a Law of Attraction Trainer and author, supports people in understanding and practicing the Art of Deliberate Attraction, so they can have more of what they want and less of what they don’t. Michael has been applying the principles of Law of Attraction for many years and enjoys a wonderful and rewarding life in the city of Victoria, BC, Canada. He facilitates a number of in-person Law of Attraction seminars as well as Teleseminars to a worldwide audience.

For more articles by Michael Losier, Teleclass information or to purchase the book, Law of Attraction, The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don’t, visit http://www.LawOfAttractionBook.com.

If you could have the secret recipe and all the manufacturing facilities of Coca Cola but not the Coca Cola brand—or have its famous brand but no facilities—which would you choose? It’s not a trick question. But it demonstrates the power of the brand. Walk into any bank and say “hi I’m Coca Cola, how about a loan”!

Let me ask another way. If you could have all the products or services your company produces, but not its name and brand, are you confident they would sell? The truth is, people don’t only buy products and services. They buy promises and reputations—what brands represent.

I’m the Brand Identity Guru. I’ve spent most of my professional life helping companies tap into the strength of their brands. Developing a strong brand identity is critical to any company’s success. Integrating brand-conscious thinking into communications is so critical, so synergistic, yet it’s seldom done by design groups and advertising agencies.

Why? It’s just not what they do. Graphic Designers don’t understand positioning or branding. And ad agencies are more interested in placing ads in the media. Or creating work that wins awards– for them.

A branding company’s total focus, their entire business practice, is based on the maxim that strong brands (new or repositioned) make companies more successful.

Pick the brain of a professional branding consultant. It’s bound to spur some powerful ideas. Whether you need to brand or re-brand products, services or the corporation itself, introduce new products or services or reposition existing ones—there’s a chance to lay a strategic foundation to re-energize your entire company.

Any qualified branding consultant can strengthen your company’s brand identity for sure.

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading Corporate Branding and Branding Research firm in Boston, MA.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.

This Article may be freely copied as long as it is not modified and this resource box accompanies the article, together with working hyperlinks.

Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

Let’s face it. Email marketing and publishing have became very popular tool for promoting your business, especially in the USA. Many people use email in everyday communication. Email is fast and cheap. What would you like more? Many people subscribe to ezines about Internet, Jokes, Tips, Recipes, Horoscopes… Majority of these emails are free and very quality.

Advertising and marketing online and offline has at least one thing in common - you have to know your target audience. Market segmentation is very important because you don’t want to loose your money sending your ads to someone who has no interest in it. Email advertising and online advertising in general is more effective because there are many state-of-the-art techniques which enable that you track every advertising.

Some good services for tracking are:

Web Site Tracking

Stat Counter http://www.statcounter.com
Web Trends http://www.webtrends.com

Email Tracking

Group Metrics http://www.group-metrics.com

In online advertising you can get information where your visitors are coming from, what do they read on your web site, how much is your email newsletter open-ratio, how much is click/thru ratio for every link in your newsletter, also you can get demographic reports about your visitors/subscribers and many other things. Because of that, in online presence you have great options for 1-1 marketing. You can adjust your web site design and content according to your visitor needs.

If you advertise on TV or magazines you can’t know exactly how many people actually saw your ad. There are some predictions but not that precise, of course.

One of the main advantages of offline advertising over online is that people still believe more in what they see on TV than on the Internet.

Online promotion has one very big advantage over offline promotion and that is interactivity. In online promotion you can have interactive ads that behave differently based on visitor’s behavior. Popular thing in online advertising is making ads like mini home pages. Yahoo! use that technique for advertising their services.

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Dejan Bizinger is a Contributing Editor for Infacta. Infacta is email messaging services company providing powerful, yet easy-to-use award-winning Group Mail, software for sending highly-personalized email messages and Group Metrics, software for email tracking. For more information visit: http://www.infacta.com

______________________________

NOTE: This article may be used freely in opt-in publications and websites, provided that the resource box is included and the links are active.

Developing brand value is critical to every organization and when professionally executed, delivers a clear and measurable competitive advantage to your firm. It does so by helping you establish a positive connection and value-relationship with your customer, which, over time, will build brand equity and increase brand value.

Once this value-relationship is established, both internally and externally, it can be measured, monitored and enhanced periodically, as needed, to strengthen your brand’s effectiveness and increase your bottom line. Whether you’re building a new brand or energizing an existing one, developing brand value maximizes the value-relationship between corporate profitability and the perception of your brand.

The Assessment

The first step in the fine art of branding

Customers factor brands into every purchase. The stronger the brand, meaning the clearer the position it occupies in their minds, the more value it has and the more likely they are to choose it — again and again. The goal is to get them to choose your brand over your competitions. And that’s where a strong brand value can help.

I recommend an in-depth assessment, a strategic survey used to determine the state of your company’s brand. It helps you discover key elements important to satisfying your customer base utilizing brand research findings. The assessment provides a foundation upon which to develop the best model for customizing your brand communications master plan.

The Assessment allows you to accurately measure the present effectiveness and value of your brand. It establishes brand value as a benchmark for future enhancement. How? By zeroing in on which qualities and attributes of your products, services and company make you different from your competition. And, how well they are perceived in the market. It helps you modify and align products, positioning messages and communications with laser point accuracy on your customers’ specific needs and wants.

The Assessment is really a personality profile of your brand. It describes your good points, but more importantly, highlights where you are weak. It does so by using a system of inter-related measurements to gauge brand perceptions and effectiveness.

Using a grading scale of 1-10, the assessment can test vital aspects of your brand as it relates to:

• Products or services

• Target markets

• Messaging

• Communications.

An assessment conducts interviews with management, marketing, sales and other key employees. It will uncover segments of company operations that can do more to nourish the brand, helping you pinpoint areas ripe for improvement. The external research of an assessment includes surveys with clients, prospects, vendors and key industry personnel. It will conduct a “competitive analysis” which tells you how targeted audiences see you, your products or services and how you stack up against the competition.

After your assessment is complete tabulate the results and ask for a customized Brand Analysis Report. These are usually very informative. Often revealing. Only after analyzing all the essential components of the branding assessment can information be provided. This detailed document shows exactly where you can improve.

The Brand Plan

How your brand can become a work of art

Your brand is your company’s power base, its number one asset. Developing a Brand Plan is designed to ensure that your company delivers on its brand promise. It provides companies with a guidebook for continually building, measuring and enhancing brand value and helps you achieve clarity of branding focus and direction.

First, I recommend an Assessment to find your brand’s present position and value. Then I recommend developing The Brand Plan, an in-depth master Brand Plan that defines the strategies, which can strengthen and improve your brand’s performance and market position by establishing a connection and value-relationship with your customer.

Unlike The Assessment, the picture that is painted is not a snapshot of what you are today. The Brand Plan helps you redefine brand personality in the marketplace. It’s how your company will be tomorrow, how it will be seen and perceived by customers, potential customers, your managers, employees and vendors. When managed properly, The Brand Plan increases financial security, growth and earnings potential. It will establish a clearly defined brand vision for employees and management. Both their motivation and commitment to the delivery of the brand promise will greatly increase.

The Brand Plan is a strategic master Brand Plan that will contain specific internal and external strategies and tactics, all with the goal of turning your brand into a work of art. It’s a brandmaster action Brand Plan that encompasses:

• Brand objectives

• Brand positioning, the promise of the brand

• Brand strategy & tactics

The Brand Plan aligns products, services, and communications for uniform delivery of the brand promise throughout your enterprise. Everything is spelled out, integrated, and ready for execution. This vital tool empowers every person in your company to show the true colors of your brand. It gives form and unity to communications that differentiate your brand in the marketplace. It provides a rallying point for employees and provides a cornerstone document of all corporate resources to support brand core competencies.

As people understand the defined objectives, more ideas blossom, making the brand grow even stronger. After all, the true test of any Brand Plan is for it to appreciate over time. The Brand Plan is not a static document to be hung in some dusty museum. It’s a living, breathing, dynamic statement of change based on proven scientific testing, data analysis and measurable results.

Capture more mindshare with a Brand Value Plan… your palette for branding success.

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading Corporate Branding and Branding Research firm in Boston, MA.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.

This Article may be freely copied as long as it is not modified and this resource box accompanies the article, together with working hyperlinks.

Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

Admittedly, I have not seen your advertising flyer. Then again, I probably don’t have to. I have reviewed hundreds, if not thousands, of advertising flyers for small businesses. After 30 years I have found that nearly every small business ad flyer contains the same mistakes and missed opportunities. Avoid these seven common mistakes, and your advertising flyer - and your marketing in general - will be stronger for it.

Advertising flyer mistake #1: A Blah Headline (Your Company’s Name)

Remember, your flyer is an ad. It needs to SELL. Your potential customers aren’t interested in your name. They’re not even interested in what you do. Sounds cruel? Well, it is but that’s life. Get over it!

Prospective customers are interested in their own needs and wants. So, hit them with a headline they can’t ignore, because it addresses their needs.

Instead of:

Sheri’s Pet Grooming

Try: Smelly Pet Stinking Up The House?

Or:

We Treat Your Cat Like The Royalty They Are!

Or:

Man’s Best Friend Deserves Something Special!

You get the idea. Figure out what’s important to your potential customers. Then, use your headline to immediately answer their question: "What’s in it for me?"

Advertising flyer mistake #2: Not Solving A Problem!

Although your ad flyer copy should include your key features or services, each feature or service should be attached to a clear, customer-oriented, benefit that addresses a problem, or hassle, or pain. Also, tell - or, better, show - how those benefits prevent or solve problems for your potential customer.

Think about all the problems, both real and potential, that could stem from not using your product or service. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Talk to them. Listen to them. Learn what their problems are. Identify benefits about your product or service that make a difference to your potential customers. Emphasize in your flyer the problems and solutions that set you apart from your competition.

Advertising flyer mistake #3: Be A Friend!

People buy from people they like. One key thing your potential customer needs and wants is to feel good about you. Are you knowledgeable? Are you trustworthy? Do you understand my problems? Am I comfortable doing business with you?

The more comfortable someone feels about buying from you, the more likely they are to do so. That’s why I recommend that you have an "I" section - a section where you talk about yourself, your qualifications, your values, your personal commitment. Help them understand who you are and who they will be doing business with (hopefully).

Advertising flyer mistake #4: Going Quietly Into The Night!

This is the typical close to a flyer: "for more information, call 555-5555." Instead, create a “call to action”. Here are three basic, proven closers:

· Buy before (DATE), and receive $10 off. This closer is effective at getting immediate action, and works especially well for one-time purchases or regularly purchased items.

· Act before (DATE), and get (VALUE-ADDED PRODUCT/SERVICE), FREE with your purchase! This closer offers an incentive for fast action. It also works "free" into your flyer. "Free" is a very powerful word.

· Purchase before (DATE) to take advantage of our slow-season! This closer attaches a negative consequence to any delay or hesitation. Note the more believable the reason for the limit, the more powerful this closer becomes.

Advertising flyer mistake #5: Forgetting There Are Two Sides!

With an advertising flyer, the printing or photocopying is but a small part of the overall expense. The larger expense, in time or money or both, is distribution. So, distribute a two-sided flyer, for twice the opportunity to make a sale! Just make sure your second side doesn’t compete with your main message side.

The second side could be used for:

· A comprehensive list of your services

· A map with driving and parking directions

· Customer testimonials

· Relevant tips or advice

· Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Use the second side to support, expand upon, or enhance the message on the main side.

Advertising flyer mistake #6: One Good Shot!

One-time advertising efforts are seldom effective. It is a rule of thumb among marketing professionals that you need to reach people at least eight times before they really notice you. Your prospective customers need to see the your ads over and over.

So, plan a series of distributions as part of your strategy. I recommend that you plan to hit each household at least eight times with an ad flyer. Mix the message up a bit! Change the color of the paper you use. Change the headline. Keep track of which flyer drives the most business.

If possible, combine your flyers with other localized advertising, so you reach those homes through a variety of media channels. At the very least, combine door-to-door distribution with posting in public areas where allowed. Community centers, schools, stores, and libraries often offer public bulletin boards.

Advertising flyer mistake #7: Flyers Gone Astray!

You should keep two objectives in mind when targeting neighborhoods for your flyer distribution.

· It’s much more cost-effective for you to have clients in convenient clusters instead of scattered all over town. Concentrate your ad distribution within and around your existing clusters of clients.

· Reaching the right people within the target area is also critical. An advertising flyer for a landscaper is largely wasted if it’s delivered to residents of an apartment building. The added advantage to walking your "territory" house-by-house will be giving you a better understanding for what services or mix of services you should offer.

Promotional flyers are one tool in the small business’ marketing arsenal. Learn to use them well and you will create customers while saving yourself time and money.

Michele Schermerhorn calls herself a “Corporate Freedom Fighter” dedicated to freeing cubicle prisoners. She has over 30 years experience in the business world and over 12 years running her own successful online businesses. She is President of Online Business Institute Inc. (http://www.obinstitute.com), authors a marketing blog (http://www.imarketblog.com), and regularly conducts free online seminars. Online Business Institute Inc. exists to “Create Successful Online Business Owners One Person At A Time”.

Do you have any idea how important your company logo is? Well you should. It appears on everything from your corporate identity system, brochures to your website, reaching customers, prospects, vendors and the press. In other words, your logo gets to everyone and as they say you only have one chance to make a first impression. Present yourself clearly and dynamically, and you’ll look like a professional, even if you are a small company.

We also recommend hiring a branding company to execute your logo. They can help you with positioning your company and creating the logo design. Here are some tips for effective logo design:

1. Your logo should reflect your company and it’s positioning. If your logo contains a symbol–often called an "icon"–it should relate to your industry, your name, and a defining characteristic of your company or a competitive advantage you offer.

What’s the overriding trait you want people to remember about your business? If it’s quick delivery, consider objects that connote speed, like wings or a clock. Consider an abstract symbol to convey a progressive approach–abstracts are a great choice for high-tech companies. Or maybe you simply want an object that represents the product or service you’re selling. Be clever, if you can, but not at the expense of being clear.

2. Avoid too much detail. Simple logos are recognized faster than complex ones. Strong lines and letters show up better than thin ones, and clean, simple logos reduce and enlarge much better than complicated ones.

But although your logo should be simple, it shouldn’t be simplistic. Good logos feature something unexpected or unique without being overdrawn. Look at the pros: McDonald’s, Nike, Prudential. Notice how their logos are simple yet compelling. Anyone who’s traveled by a McDonald’s with a hungry 4-year-old knows the power of a clean logo symbol.

3. Your logo should work well in black and white (one-color printing). If it doesn’t look good in black and white, it won’t look good at any color. Also keep in mind that printing costs for four-color logos are often greater than that for one-or two-color jobs.

4. Make sure your logo’s scalable. It should be aesthetically pleasing in both small and large sizes, in a variety of mediums. A good rule of thumb is the "business card/billboard rule": Your logo should look good on both.

5. Your logo should be artistically balanced. The best way to explain this is that your logo should seem "balanced" to the eye–no one part should overpower the rest. Just as a painting would look odd if all the color and details were segregated in one corner, so do asymmetric logos. Color, line density and shape all affect a logo’s balance.

Many logo gurus insist your logo should be designed to last for up to 10 or 15 years. But I’ve yet to meet a clairvoyant when it comes to design trends. The best way to ensure logo longevity, in addition to the rules I’ve listed above, is to make sure you love your logo. Don’t ever settle for something half-baked.

And once you commit to your logo design, be sure you have it in all three of these essential file formats: EPS for printing, JPG and GIF for your website. Essentially, these file conversions render your logo as a single piece of art-so it’s no longer a symbol with a typeface. Which brings us to the most important rule in logo design. . .

Never, ever re-draw or alter your logo! If you want to animate it for your website, fine. But don’t change its essence. Reduce and enlarge it proportionally. And if you become tired of your logo, that’s good. Because that’s usually about the time it’s starting to make an impression on everyone else!

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading Corporate Branding and Branding Research firm in Boston, MA.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.

This Article may be freely copied as long as it is not modified and this resource box accompanies the article, together with working hyperlinks.

Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

Cable has grown from 13 houses connected together in 1948 to coverage of nearly 70% of all households in the U.S. With dozens, even hundreds of channels, Cable is now a major player for local advertising dollars, some for less than 5 bucks.

On the Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1960’s, most of the people shortened her name from "Mary" to "Mare". We, as a group, have a tendency to find the short cut, giving nick name to names that could stand on their own. Mary didn’t need to be any shorter, but it was cute to cut it down. Many Margarets are called Peggy, figure that one out. And many if not most John’s are called Jack.

It is little surprise that Cable became the shortened name for Community Antenna Television, CATV. In the days of CATV, local commercial inserts were not available.

Community Antenna Television, CATV originated as a service to those who lived in an area where TV was impossible to see. I visited the home of a friend’s mother in the mountains of North Carolina several decades ago. With a tall antenna and booster amplifiers, the best she could do was a fuzzy picture on ONE channel. Legends abound about who had the first community antenna. Most research says the first official CATV company began charging a fee to hook up in 1948. In those days CATV was no more than one big antenna tower on a high hill (or mountain) with a Cable running down the side and two or more homes connected.

In 1972, Charles Dolan and Gerald Levin of Sterling Manhattan Cable launched the nation’s first pay­TV network, Home Box Office (HBO). Cable became more than an antenna for local stations. Cable became a major player.

Today, most Cable companies have the ability to INSERT your commercial into many of the Cable networks. The networks don’t stop the show with a black screen for local commercials, instead they fill the space with ads that sell something (exercise machines, fancy knives, or something from Ron Popeil). "..order now and we’ll make the 4th payment for you!"

Local Cable commercial insertions are available 15 (or more) major networks and the list grows every month. Local advertisers can no longer afford to ignore the marketing potential, and lost cost, available through the use of Cable advertising.

Most offer a package that will put your commercial into a mix of Cable network programs at all hours of the day for as little as $5 per commercial. Yup, $5 for a commercial on ESPN, CNN Headline News or the Discovery Channel. The premium channels (those that cost extra above the standard cable package, HBO, Showtime etc.) do not allow commercials to be inserted

The Cable people sell very large packages with hundreds of commercials, splattered over all the networks allowing insertions. You have no control over where, when, or what channel your ad will appear. As a result, you get hundreds for a low price.

You can see why this is so by working the math. Ask the Cable TV salesman how many channels he has on his system, and how many homes are connected. Then ask how many channels will have your commercials.

If there are 10,000 homes connected and the system has 25 channels and your ads will be inserted into 5 channels you will need a lot of ads to reach even a small percentage of the people. Ads are inserted into news and sports channels and entertainment and super station channels. Computers do it automatically, so the Cable company doesn’t have to have people on the job 24 hours a day to run your commercial. Cable companies can insert one or one thousand commercials with a few keystrokes and with thousands of slots every day, they have no problem selling you a bunch for little money.

The major drawback of advertising on Cable is the amateurish way most Cable commercials are produced. Because of the low price for the ads, Cable companies often produce commercials with a tech school graduate and a mini cam.

Don’t expect award winning commercials for five bucks. Some charge extra to produce your commercial, some offer it as a part of the package. Take a look at what they have done for others. Ask to see a demo reel. If you don’t like what you see, consider hiring your own crew to do it your way.

One way or another you will have to pay some extra to get a good commercial. Make one that will last for some time. After all it will take a long time for it to show up in all the prime slots on all the insert networks.

Professionally produced commercials can cost over $5,000 for 30 seconds and may take as long as a week for initial taping, longer for final editing.

This cost can be reduced if you perform the creative function and write your own commercials as well as furnishing talent for the ads. Some frugal advertisers have been able to hold production costs to as little as $200 per ad.

As with all commercials, make sure your name and what you do is at the beginning, at least in the middle and at the end. Phone number is not as important as name. You don’t watch TV with a pad and pencil to write down phone numbers and neither does anyone else. Get them to remember your company. Cook up a slogan.

Avoid the trap of being talked into standing in front of store and doing the ad yourself. Most Cable sales reps will trot this out first thing. Ego sells! Your friends may mention it, but it will not sell as well as a commercial featuring what you can do for those viewing at home. Remember, advertising is not about YOU, it’s about THEM. Value and benefits, value and benefits, not, "look at me and my kids".

Cable can be an effective part of your local advertising mix at a very reasonable price.

For more about advertising get my article "What the Newspaper Won’t Tell You" MailTo:NewspaperAds@BigIdeasGroup.com

©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com

Subscribe to "BIG Mike’s BIG Ideas" Newsletter MailTo:subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net

Branding Today

Have you ever had a good brand experience? How about a bad brand experience? Is there a difference in your mind? How many people do you tell about a positive brand experience? How about for a poor brand experience?

One poor brand experience will not destroy a firm. One poor brand experience per day, however, can ruin a company in the long run for sure. It’s really easy math. If one person receives a poor experience with a brand, they might tell 10 people. At 365 days a year that’s over 4000 people per year. Yikes! Not good at all.

So, how can your employees protect your brand everyday?

It all depends on delivering your internal brand and training. Not only do you have to train employees on customer service issues but also they must know how to deal with a customer that is upset or has a problem.

Let me give you an example. I purchased some artwork on a Carnival Cruise. Upon purchase from the vendor (not from Carnival Cruise itself) I requested custom frames. The vendor, Park West took my order and informed me that it would be 6-8 weeks for delivery.

10 weeks later I called Park West. They told me it shipped. I received my artwork 3 weeks late. I was so excited and I ripped the packaging away only to find they did not put on the custom frames. I waited 10 weeks for nothing.

I called Park West immediately. Guess what? I was going to have to wait another 6-8 weeks for the correct replacement. I asked for a refund and a pick up of the incorrect artwork. They denied me and said it was a final sale.

I called my credit card company. Guess what? The charge went through my Carnival Cruise account. I called them. Guess what? They would not help me, as it’s a third party vendor. This is a third party vendor that Carnival Cruise has partnered with.

Did I mention that this was my 19th Carnival Cruise?

Long story short I had to pay to ship my artwork back and my credit card company took care of me.

I will never take another Carnival Cruise again.

How could Carnival save itself from losing me as a customer? It’s really quite simple. Ultimately because the charge went through Carnival they needed to take responsibility. They should have said you’re a valued guest and we will credit you immediately. At that point I’m thinking wow, Carnival is even better than I thought. But instead I’m writing this article and never ever going on another cruise with them.

Carnival could have saved the brand. If they had gone the extra mile to put themselves in my shoes, I would have had a positive brand experience. I would have used Carnival again, and I would have probably told everyone I know how great there service was. Developing a proper internal brand strategy and training is the key to delivering a positive brand experience. Don’t make stupid mistakes with your brand.

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading Corporate Branding and Branding Research firm in Boston, MA.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.

This Article may be freely copied as long as it is not modified and this resource box accompanies the article, together with working hyperlinks.

Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

Most small businesses don’t have a high powered advertising agency to produce selling radio commercials for them and end up with something akin to a high school play, or with the business owner reading tired copy.

The radio salesperson knows that by suggesting the owner be the star, visions of Dave from Wendys or that guy with the talking dog who says "roll that beautiful bean footage" come to mind.

Worse, most businesses don’t have a plan to coordinate all advertising to the same message. The newspaper ad says one thing, yellow pages another and the radio commercial is off in its own world.

The radio ad person should know all about your campaign and image before leaving with the order. You should be promised a "proof" of your radio ad before it goes on the air. There should be at least two commercials, better four, selling the benefits.

Remember Tom Bodett and Motel 6? A great campaign. It was just Tom delivering solid copy about the benefits of staying at the motel (and a little twinkle music in the background). It won awards, put them on the map and raised occupancy rates and profits. The company was gobbled up by the Accor chain (one of the biggest in the world) who have the smarts to continue the same campaign. What does he say at the end of every commercial? Radio done right works!

Maybe you can’t get the local station to come up with Tom Bodett quality but there is nothing wrong with solid copy pitching benefits, benefits benefits. Answer the question WIIFM (Whats In It For Me). You don’t have to be cute, use lame humor, two voices or loud music to do that.

BIG Mike’s Tips for Better Radio Ads

» Buy more than one station (ones that target your customers, not ones you like)

» Buy 24 or more ads per week on one and 24 ads the following week on the other, alternate for four weeks, take four weeks off and do it again.

» Rotate two to four commercials, all with the same overall theme and opening and closing lines and change the meat in the middle (they call ‘em donuts)

» Don’t let the radio person talk you into being the star. Remember, its not about you. There is no need to spend a bundle to have 3 friends say "I heard you on the radio" or "I saw your mug on the billboard". That’s not advertising.

» Don’t let some drama school dropout cook up a slice of life commercial by dragging the receptionist into the studio to play a part. They never sell.

Pick a plan and stick with it. Tell ‘em to trade the cutsey stuff for real substance. Coordinate your radio with your other advertising and you can benefit from the power of electronic word of mouth, radio.

For more about advertising get my article "Cable Ads 5 Bucks" Send a blank eMail to the MailTo:CableAds@BigIdeasGroup.com

©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com

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