Category: Advertising
12 Handy Tips for Generating Leads through Cold-Calling
Cold calling can be a great way to generate quality leads. You get to speak to the gatekeepers and stakeholders, and you get a great insight into their requirements and influences.
But cold calling is an art-form. It can be daunting, itís always a lot of work, and you always need to make a good impression. So you need to do it right. Following are some tips which will help you do just that.
1) Record everything
Always write down all details of every phone call. Write down any names and titles you learn. Not just the name of the person youíre trying to contact. The receptionist’s name can be vital to remember as they’re often gatekeepers. Write down when you called, and when you said you’d call back.
2) Use a database or spreadsheet to record everything
Youíll never manage by hand, and Excel spreadsheets arenít user friendly in the long term. If youíre prepared to invest in a real CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool, thatís a great idea. If not, you there is a cheaper alternative. I created my own database using Microsoft Access. Visit https://www.divinewrite.com/downloads/contacts and jobs.mdb to download a 208KB working copy for FREE. Youíll need Microsoft Access 2000 to run it. Iím no database expert, so itís not a work of art. Itíll certainly get you started though. (TIP: When using the database, press Ctrl + ; to enter todayís date.)
3) Always call back when you said you would
Donít let them down. They may not even remember that you committed to calling back. But if they do, and you donít meet your commitment, youíll lose valuable credibility and respect. And wherever possible, work to their schedule. You’re here to help them, not make things harder.
TIP FOR COPYWRITERS: If youíre an advertising copywriter or website copywriter, ask to speak to the Marketing Manager (or if the person who answers the phone says they don’t have a marketing manager, ask for “the person who looks after your advertising & website” – all businesses have that person – it’s generally one of the owners).
4) Always try to get on with the gatekeepers
Receptionists and personal assistants have great influence, and quite often do more of the real work and decision making than the person youíre trying to contact! Make friends with them and youíve got a foot in the door. (But donít waste their time or crawl ñ they get a lot of that!)
5) Keep it short ën sweet
When you do get to speak with someone, keep it short ‘n sweet unless they want to talk a lot. The purpose of the phone call is to get their attention, let them know you’re there, get their name and contact details, and assess whether they have any requirement for your services. (TIP FOR COPYWRITERS: If youíre an advertising copywriter or website copywriter, you might have called about brochure writing and then find out they need web writing.)
6) DONíT HARD SELL!!!
Donít pressure people or make it hard for them to get off the phone. Tell them what you do and that you’d like to send them an email with a link to your website with samples and testimonials (or with an attachment containing samples), then leave them to it.
7) Follow up with an email
If you have permission, always send a follow-up email ñ and do so immediately. Be specific in your subject line. (TIP FOR COPYWRITERS: If youíre an advertising copywriter or website copywriter, use the words “advertising copywriting” or ìwebsite copywritingî in the subject. Most people don’t get many emails with this in the subject line, so it’ll be distinctive and probably wonít be snuffed by their spam filter if they have one.) Address the email to them (e.g. “Hi Joe”), keep the email short ‘n sweet. Include only the essential info, make it easy to read and conversational, and bold the important words or phrases as they’ll probably only skim it. Include a link to your website, reference the day and date you talked on the phone (and thank them for that time), mention any names you learnt (e.g. receptionist’s name, especially if the receptionist gave you an email address but you didn’t actually get to speak to the decision maker), tell them that you’d like to follow up in a few weeks (assuming the conversation indicated that this would be a good idea).
8) Follow up with another call
If the lead looks promising, make sure you follow up. And when you do, always mention the day and date of the original call, as well as the fact that you sent an email. Give a quick summary of who you are and what you do, and say that you’re just calling to make sure they got the email. Most of the time, youíll find the lead will talk to you about your services, if only to remind themselves of what you do!
9) Donít expect to make too many calls
On a really good day, I’ve made 80 cold calls. Most days, though, you should be very pleased to average around 40. Youíll spend a lot of time playing telephone tag.
10) Donít leave message
Unless you absolutely have to (or youíve just about given up on the lead), donít leave messages. Most people have trouble returning phone calls from people they know and like; returning phone calls from someone whoís trying to sell them something isnít high on their list of priorities.
11) Donít expect to qualify too many leads
Depending on your business, if you get one good lead a day, you’re probably doing very well.
12) Donít expect immediate conversion
Unfortunately, most leads take a long time to come to fruition (up to 2 years). So you have to be prepared to be patient.
Good luck and happy calling!
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
A Guide to using T-Shirts for marketing
Promotional T-shirts have been a part of business promotion and marketing of brands for a long time. Promotional T Shirts can be given to clients, to prospective customers, and also to your employees to give them the added feeling of belonging to a brand. You do not need be a world famous brand to benefit from promotional T-shirts. Even new busineses have used T Shirts to create awareness of their product, brand or business.
giving Promotional T Shirts to your employees is a great way for brand endorsement. You can design T Shirts with your company brand and marketing message for your employees and if you are hosting a conference, exibition or promotional event, make it mandatory for your employees to wear promotional T Shirts. It is a very inexpensive method to make your staff stand out from the crowd and you present an orderly unity among your employees, the same way in which a uniform serves.
Some businessesthink that it is too expensive to buy a t-shirt online but they are often incorrect. Purchasing t shirts online is a fast and easy process and the choice of online shops is very much better than you expect it to be with some allowing you to undertake the entire design process and payment online.
Corporate branding on T-Shirts can significantly improve the brand awareness of a business in a very short period of time and aside from the obvious marketing advantages branded T-Shirts and other clothing can enhance the perception of customers to your business. Considering the relatively low cost of purchase and printing T shirts against the length of time a good quality T Shirt can last makes branded T shirts one of the most cost effective methods of marketing for many businesses.
It is widely believed that DTG tshirt printing is more environmentally than screen printing. DTG uses water-based inks to print directly onto clothing, this means that there are no excess inks used in the actual printing and the only waste that occurs is from the occasional print head cleaning ñ itís worth noting that head cleaning does not involve any external materials only ink. Then as long as waste ink is disposed of correctly, printing tshirts using the DTG method should have virtually no environmenal impact. Screen printing however has excess inks from parts of the stencil not printed to the tshirt and when screens are cleaned these excess inks are usually washed down the drain.
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
A Guide to Brochure Printing
Brochure printing can be easy if you first identify your needs and have a clear sense of your budget. Whether it is for is a real estate listing, a trade show handout, a data sheet, or another application, brochures are a great promotional tool.
Start with a layout that includes the text and images you will need to convey your message. Then choose the type of printing that best suits your brochure. Brochures are typically printed in more than one color.
There are two basic choices in printing: offset printing and laser or digital printing. Both printing processes are capable of producing large quantities of high-quality documents. Most high quality, full-color commercial printing is done on offset presses using the four-color process. Offset printing is a process whereby ink is spread on a metal plate with etched images, is transferred to an intermediary surface, and is then applied to paper by pressing the paper against the intermediary surface. Although set-up costs can be relatively high, the actual printing is generally inexpensive.
Laser or digital printing uses a laser beam to produce an image; this is also the way copy machines work. Offset printing usually produces clearer, crisper type and higher resolution images than laser or digital printing. However, smaller printing jobs can be done on a small low-volume laser or inkjet printer, or at a copy store, thereby eliminating set-up fees and some shipping costs.
Choosing paper is another very important aspect of brochure printing. Most printers will recommend a heavyweight, coated, or glossy paper to achieve a more vibrant, upscale look.
The folding of your brochure is another key consideration. Basic folding options include: the half fold or single fold, the tri fold (the left and right flaps open), and the ìZî fold (which opens up like an accordion). Almost all printers will give you a greater discount the more you print.
Brochure printing can be easy and fun and allow for a good deal of self-expression, so go ahead, what are you waiting for? Print that brochure.
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
A Good Autoresponder
How many free autoresponders have you tried? Really how many? And how many emails did you get through using them? How do you know? How many people opened your followup message?
My point here is that if you have no clue for the answers above you probably are not operating a followup campaign successfully. These are crucial element that must be explored when you are choosing an autoresponder.
Some good steps to take to ensure you are getting what you need out of a autoresponder include… Compare your autoresponder with those of top marketers, chances are they are using the best in the business. You can’t go wrong with this step!
Other observations you might make are related to spam filters. Have you ever gotten an e-mail and seen something like this…”F`R`E`E” Yes this is a good way to beat the spam filters as they won’t read Free they will read something totally different. However it can be time consuming going through your article and finding which words are “Danger” words. This can go along way in your marketing efforts. So make sure you find an autoresponder that has a spam rating feature… these features will automatically show you where in your article your “Danger” words are.
Another crucial element of e-mail marketing are your statistics. How many e-mails are being opened can tell you if your subject line is any good or if you did a good job branding your name. If you know your e-mail statistics you are one step in the right direction in optimizing your potential sales. Finding an autoresponder that shows in depth analysis with your followups are also key.
What should a followup contain? Good question… My personally experience suggests directing your subscribers to a full article located on the web. There are some good reasons for this. You can create an excitement teaser in the followup e-mail and beg your article to be read on the web. There is also the chance that since you have an article archive on the web many subscribers will often read more than just your original article. Your subscriber might not be interested in one article but they may find what they are looking for browsing through your previous articles.
Broadcasting! So your subscribers are finished receiving their original followup series… now what? Find an auto responder that allows you to broadcast an update or an offer to the entire subscriber list. Don’t let your subscribers go to waste, this feature is a must!
Remember not to bore your hard earned subscribers. Present them with a problem and offer them a solution! Its that easy…
Find my recommended autoresponder on my marketing blog!
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
A Guide To Advertising In The Media
The media is a powerful thing — the average person spends an enormous amount of their life consuming it in one form or another, and will spend a significant percentage of that time looking at, listening to or watching advertisements. If you want to use the power of the media, though, you need to know what you’re doing.
Advertising in Newspapers and Magazines.
There are two kinds of advertising you can get in newspapers and magazines: classified and display. Classifieds are the small ads towards the back of the publication, while display ads can be almost any size, from a small corner of a page to a massive double-page spread.
If there’s a publication you’re interested in advertising in, either go to its website (the rate card section) or call its advertising department to find out the rates it charges. Now pick your jaw up off the floor. Yes, advertising in the print media really is that expensive, and for most home businesses it probably just won’t be that economical.
There is, however, an exception: niche and trade magazines. If you’ve ever looked around in a newsagent, you will have seen just how many magazines there are out there, filling every conceivable gap in the market. You need to find the magazine that people who are interested in your services might read. For example, if you’re a wedding photographer, look for a magazine called ‘Your Wedding’, ‘Bride’, or something similar. Advertising in these magazines will be far cheaper than placing an ad in a general-audience publication, and far more likely to actually get some responses.
Advertising on the Radio.
Wherever you are, the chances are that there’s a local radio station. Once your home business grows to a decent size, you might consider buying some time on it.
Really, though, the only kind of home business that can benefit enough from radio ads to justify the cost is one that does anything to do with cars. Since radio is almost entirely limited to use as in-car entertainment now, you know that almost everyone your ad reaches will be a car-owner, and so might be interested in what you’re offering. If you offer something that people need cheaply or even for free, you can get a big response.
Unfortunately, that response could be a little too big — thanks to the time-sensitivity of radio, you’ll get mobbed the next day, and then everyone will forget you again. Radio advertising offers the listener no opportunity to keep your ad and refer to it later, or to find it again in the future. You will find that any ads involving a phone number are spectacularly useless.
Advertising on the Television.
Unless your business is getting pretty big, this would be quite a bad idea. You’d have trouble producing and airing an ad even on local cable channels for less than $10,000. Of course, if there’s a market for your product and you’ve got the budget for this, you could take a gamble and make a mint. The home businesses that tend to do best out of TV ads are ones that have a ‘unique and useful invention’ product with easy-to-demonstrate benefits — think infomercial. Research shows that you can sell almost anything given a 60-second ad, a free phone number and a price point of $19.95.
Advertising on Billboards.
Here’s one that gets overlooked pretty often, but can be very effective if you do it right. Billboard ads are relatively expensive, but they do generally stay up for a long time, and they can be very specifically targeted to an area — the one where they’re physically located. You’ll have the best results with this if you can put one near enough to your business that it could say ‘turn left at the next junction’, or something like that. Phone numbers are, again, pretty useless, although you could have some luck putting a website address up there.
Advertising at the Movies.
Finally, here’s one that often gets overlooked. If you turn up to the cinema early, you might have seen that before the big-budget ads, ads for local businesses are run. This can be a great place to advertise relatively inexpensively in quite a high-profile way, and it works especially well for takeaway food businesses.
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
A Fold thatís worth a Thousand Gain
How much are you charged for an online ad? How much will you be paying for an advertisement space in a magazine or newspaper? Advertising and marketing can be a very extravagant business. Every second, space and word is paid accordingly.
If you have invested a large sum in your ads and promotions, how sure are you that you will get it back more than you expect it to be? How will you profit from it?
Some businessmen are having qualm about spending high on ads and promotions. This is because they are not sure that they will profit from it. Some perceive it as just throwing away of money. This may not be a serious bother to multinationals or big corporations and business. Nonetheless, to the point of starting entrepreneurs, spending high may mean ëmake or breakí endeavor or worst may result to future bankruptcy.
When talking about your business, everything matters ñ even the minutest details. One detail that must not be overlooked is effective communication. Therefore, promotions and advertisements are indispensable.
If you are this point worrying about expenses, worry no more. There are affordable alternatives in connection with marketing your business. Tiny pieces of paper can do you a great favor. Brochures for one are effective marketing materials.
Brochure may come in a fold or several of them. These folds can give you the edge in the marketing world. In fact, they may return as several folds of bucks. Imagine, you are hitting two birds at the same time. Brochures printing are affordable plus the aftermath of its distribution can be financially rewarding to business enthusiasts.
Brochures printing can be had in an easy and practicable manner. In fact, you can transact online. Brochures printing companies are rampant. All you have to do is select the best ñ the printer with outstanding reputation and credibility can do your printing job superbly.
Your friendís personal recommendation is a good recommendation. You can also rely on reviews and goodwill. Just be sure that your printer will bring life to your folds of communication.
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
66 Ways To Promote Your product or Services
Some guru sells his program because he has 60 ways of marketing. One Dentist was asked about his marketing he said he had 100 ways and use them all. Well I came up with 66 so far. I will work on more sometime after tax season or you can email me with ones I might have missed.
The true is you canít use them all. Some are too costly for many of us. Some wonít work. Try as many as you like and find the ones that work and work them till they stop working or you stop working, whichever comes first.
Here they are:
1. Direct to Consumers
2. Party plan
3. Rack Jobbers
4. Wholesalers
5. Mail Order House
6. Resident Buyers
7. Fairs and Exposition
8. Chain Stores
9. Discount Stores
10. Lease Departments
11. Supermarkets
12. Free Publicity
13. Sales People
14. Franchising
15. Co Party
16. U.S. Government
17. Direct Mail
18. Co-op Mailing
19. Trade shows
20. Advertising Specialties
21. PXís
22. Premiums
23. Classifieds:
24. In Papers
25. In Magazine
26. On the net
27. In Special papers
28. Articles
29. Ezine
30. Emails
31. Sig files
32. Radio
33. Television
34. Seminars (paid to You)
35. Bill Boards
36. Flyers
37. Brochures
38. Seminars you give free
39. Telephone
40. Referrals
41. E.books
42. Free Search Engines
43. Paid Search Engines
44. Post cards
45. Yellow Page ad
46. Cross Selling with others
47. Joint Ventures
48. Telemarketing
49. Take out Boxes with ads on
50. Posters
51. Booth at Mails or stand at mall
52. Man or Women with sign about your business
53. Window Display
54. Outside Signs
55. Articles for directories on the net
56. Free downloads with ads about your business products or services
57. Free Recording
58. Free Video
59. Free CD
60. Free Report
61. Free Samples
62. Special Events
63. Contests and Sweepstakes
64. Column in a Newspaper
65. Editorial writing by you
66. Free Phone Messages
Let me know at Joetrevis@aol.com if you would like me to explain any of these in a report that your interest in. It will be at least 2 pages with a lot of information.
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
A Catering Directory Helps You Find Local Caterers
Catering is one service where you are likely to prefer a local supplier. Very few persons would want to bring a caterer from some other country and risk a party disaster. Corporate parties might go for specialized and reputed catering organizations headquartered elsewhere. Even they might often find it necessary to go for local caterers when time is short.
Catering directories generally focus on the final consumers, listing vendors by food categories such as beverages, chocolate fountain, fruit, juice, etc; and by supplier categories like food vendors, caterers, mobile vendors, party organizers, restaurants, party shops, etc. There might also be sections on Health & Safety and Catering Tips.
Another catering directory might arrange vendors by such categories as caterers, event venues, entertainment, photography, transportation, wedding, event planners, florists, etc.
All are likely to provide the option to narrow down the lists to locations you select, such as a city or area.
Some might collect information such as number of guests, event type, services required (such as food, servers, liquor, chocolate fountain, decorations, tables/chairs, tents, etc), date and time, location and so on, and give you a quote based on your requirements.
Caterers might even help you select a menu depending on your budget per person or an event venue or other related matters. Services offered could include sit-in, food station and buffet type serving options, and also clean-ups, drop offs, beverages only service, etc.
<b>Detailed Catering Directory Categories</b>
A brief look at some detailed catering directory categories would help you understand what you could expect. A selection is listed below:
<ul>
<li>Corporate catering</li>
<li>Personal Chefs</li>
<li>Banquet Halls</li>
<li>Yachts/Boats</li>
<li>DJs</li>
<li>Live Music/Bands</li>
<li>Videographers</li>
<li>Limousines</li>
<li>Wedding Planners</li>
<li>Wedding Financing</li>
<li>Equipment Hire</li>
</ul>
<b>Catering Directories Are Not Only for Party Hosts</b>
Another kind of catering directory focuses on the requirements of caterers by listing suppliers of catering requirements. The following sample list provides a look at the kind of requirements caterers typically have:
<ul>
<li>Refrigeration: Chilled display cabinets, Ice makers,…</li>
<li>Beverages: Coffee Equipment, Beverage Jugs,…</li>
<li>Bar supplies: Spirit measures, Bottle openers, Blenders,…</li>
<li>Cookware: Pots & Pans, Cooks Knives, Chefs Clothing,…</li>
<li>Tableware: Cutlery, Napkins, Tablemats,…</li>
<li>Furniture: Bar stools, Tables, Outdoor furniture,…</li>
<li>Kitchen planning: Assessing requirements, design, advice,…</li>
</ul>
<b>Regional Directories</b>
You can find catering services providers near you either through regional directories, such as Chicago Caterer directories, or through national directories that lists caterers by cities and areas. Local catering can be arranged quickly and is ideal when you are short of time. For domestic parties, local catering would be the better option in most cases.
A local catering directory like a Chicago catering directory might list such local resources as banquet halls, buffet services, corporate party organizers, and so on.
<b>Conclusion</b>
Catering directories generally focus on the consumers of catering services, listing different types of caterers by their services or locations. Thus, you could find a wedding organizer in or near your town, or a restaurant that offers Chinese dishes in city you plan to visit.
Other catering directories focus on the caterers, helping them find cookware, tableware, furniture, refrigeration equipment, and so on. Some might offer kitchen planning and design services and other kinds of consultancy services.
This article looked at the kinds of information you could expect to find in a catering directory.
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
9 secrets Mark Twain taught me about advertising
ìMany a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.î
Advertising is life made to look larger than life, through images and words that promise a wish fulfilled, a dream come true, a problem solved. Even Viagra follows Mark Twainís keen observation about advertising. The worst kind of advertising exaggerates to get your attention, the best, gets your attention without exaggeration. It simply states a fact or reveals an emotional need, then lets you make the leap from ìsmall to large.î Examples of the worst: before-and-after photos for weight loss products and cosmetic surgeryóboth descend to almost comic disbelief. The best: Appleís “silhouette” campaign for iPod and the breakthrough ads featuring Eminemóboth catapult iPod to ìinstant coolî status.
ìWhen in doubt, tell the truth.î
Todayís advertising is full of gimmicks. They relentlessly hang on to a product like a ball and chain, keeping it from moving swiftly ahead of the competition, preventing any real communication of benefits or impetus to buy. The thinking is, if the gimmick is outrageous or silly enough, itís got to at least get their attention. Local car dealer ads are probably the worst offenders–using zoo animals, sledgehammers, clowns, bikini-clad models, anything unrelated to the productís real benefit. If the people who thought up these outrageous gimmicks spent half their energy just sticking to the productís real benefits and buying motivators, theyíd have a great ad. What they donít realize is, they already have a lot to work with without resorting to gimmicks. Thereís the product with all its benefits, the brand, which undoubtedly theyíve spent money to promote, the competition and its weaknesses, and two powerful buying motivatorsófear of loss and promise of gain. In other words, all you really have to do is tell the truth about your product and be honest about your customersí wants and needs. Of course, sometimes thatís not so easy. You have to do some digging to find out what you customers really want, what your competition has to offer them, and why your product is better.
ìFacts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable.î
In advertising, you have to be very careful how you use facts. As any politician will tell you, facts are scary things. They have no stretch, no pliability, no room for misinterpretation. Theyíre indisputable. And used correctly, very powerful. But statistics, now thereís something advertisers and politicians love. ìNine out of ten doctors recommend Preparation J.î Who can dispute that? Or ìFive out of six dentists recommend Sunshine Gum.î Makes me want to run out and buy a pack of Sunshine right now. Hold it. Rewind.
ìWhenever you find youíre on the side of the majority, it is time to reform.î
Letís take a look at how these statsóthis apparent majorityómight have come to be. First off, how many doctors did they ask before they found nine out of ten to agree that Preparation J did the job? 1,000? 10,000? And how many dentists hated the idea of their patients chewing gum but relented, saying, ìMost chewing gum has sugar and other ingredients, that rot out your teeth, but if the guyís gotta chew the darn stuff, it may as well be Sunshine, which has less sugar in it.î The point is, stats can be manipulated to say almost anything. And yes, the devilís in the details. The fact is, thereís usually a 5% chance you can get any kind of result simply by accident. And because many statistical studies are biased and not ìdouble blindî (both subject and doctor donít know who was given the test product and who got the placebo). Worst of all, statistics usually need the endless buttressing of legal disclaimers. If you donít believe me, try to read the full-page of legally mandated warnings for that weight- loss pill youíve been taking. Bottom line: stick to facts. Then back them up with sound selling arguments that address the needs of your customer.
ìThe difference between the right word and almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.î
To write really effective ad copy means choosing exactly the right word at the right time. You want to lead your customer to every benefit your product has to offer, and you want to shed the best light on every benefit. It also means you donít want to give them any reason or opportunity to wander away from your argument. If they wander, youíre history. Theyíre off to the next page, another TV channel or a new website. So make every word say exactly what you mean it to say, no more, no less. Example: if a product is new, donít be afraid to say ìnewî (a product is only new once in its life, so exploit the fact).
ìGreat people make us feel we can become great.î
And so do great ads. While they canít convince us weíll become millionaires, be as famous as Madonna, or as likeable as Tom Cruise, they make us feel we might be as attractive, famous, wealthy, or admired as weíd like to think we can be. Because thereís a ìLittle Engine That Couldî in all of us that says, under the right conditions, we could beat the odds and catch the brass ring, win the lottery, or sell that book weíve been working on. Great advertising taps into that belief without going overboard. An effective ad promoting the lottery once used pictures of people sitting on an exotic beach with little beach umbrellas in their cocktails (a perfectly realistic image for the average person) with the line: Somebodyís has to win, may as well be you.î
ìThe universal brotherhood of man is our most precious possession.î
Weíre all part of the same family of creatures called homo sapiens. We each want to be admired, respected and loved. We want to feel secure in our lives and our jobs. So create ads that touch the soul. Use an emotional appeal in your visual, headline and copy. Even humor, used correctly, can be a powerful tool that connects you to your potential customer. It doesnít matter if youíre selling shoes or software, people will always respond to what you have to sell them on an emotional level. Once theyíve made the decision to buy, the justification process kicks in to confirm the decision. To put it another way, once theyíre convinced youíre a mensche with real feelings for their hopes and wants as well as their problems, theyíll go from prospect to customer.
ìA human being has a natural desire to have more of a good thing than he needs.î
Ainít it the truth. More money, more clothes, fancier car, bigger house. Itís what advertising feeds on. ìYou need this. And you need more of it every day.î Itís the universal mantra that drives consumption to the limits of our charge cards. So, how to tap into this insatiable appetite for more stuff? Convince buyers that more is better. Colgate offers 20% more toothpaste in the giant economy size. You get 60 more sheets with the big Charmin roll of toilet paper. GE light bulbs are 15% brighter. Raisin Brain now has 25% more raisins. When Detroit found it couldnít sell more cars per household to an already saturated U.S. market, they started selling more car per caróSUVs and trucks got bigger and more powerful. Theyíre still selling giant 3-ton SUVs that get 15 miles per gallon.
ìClothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.î
Who gets the girl? Who attracts the sharpest guy? Who lands the big promotion? Neiman Marcus knows. So does Abercrombie & Fitch. And Saks Fifth Avenue. Why else would you fork over $900 for a power suit? Or $600 for a pair of shoes? Observers from Aristotle to the twentieth century have consistently maintained that character is immanent in appearance, asserting that clothes reveal a rich palette of interior qualities as well as a brand mark of social identity. Hereís where the right advertising pays for itself big time. Where you must have the perfect model (not necessarily the most attractive) and really creative photographers and directors who know how to tell a story, create a mood, convince you that youíre not buying the ìemperorís clothes.î Example of good fashion advertising: the Levis black-and-white spot featuring a teenager driving through the side streets and alleys of the Czech Republic. Stopping to pick up friends, he gets out of the car wearing just a shirt as the voiceover cheekily exclaims, “Reason 007: In Prague, you can trade them for a car.”
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
7 tips in creating publicity for corporate events
Organising corporate events can be exciting and interesting but simultaneously stressful and nerve-racking. This is especially true when corporate event managers are faced with a dilemma in balancing the need to create an enjoyable and beneficial event, and at the same time entrusted with the responsibility to create publicity for it.
Nevertheless, if the right approach is used, creating publicity for corporate events will become an easier task to manage. The following tips will provide you with an insight on some of the best practices used in creating publicity.
1. Itís always a good idea to work in a team, and delegate the task of creating publicity to a particular team member. This way, you wonít be caught up in the legwork, but rather be involved from an event manager perspective. Your responsibility then is to make decisions and guide others in getting things done for you.
2. Selecting the right person to delegate this task to is also an important factor in making your event a success. It is essential for this person to possess the necessary contacts with media companies, such as television stations and newspapers, way before the event kicks off.
3. Use short copywriting for direct mailers or newspaper advertisements. Good editing and good writing go hand-in-hand to create impact for your publicity pieces. Also, thick information packs are out of the question, unless specifically requested by the recipient.
4. Try not to use copywriting that may be a tad too creative or flowery. Your audience has no time trying to figure out your message, and it is best that you send them something direct and concise.
5. Although it may be common sense to include a contact number or an email address in your publicity pieces, you may be surprised that many corporate event organisers actually overlook this. Keep this in mind so that you can be contacted for further information.
6. No one wants to read outdated information. That is why your press releases should be kept as relevant and up to date as possible.
7. Always stick with the truth when you are answering questions from the media, or holding a press conference. Many corporate event managers tend to exaggerate and end up presenting an event that falls short of expectations.
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar