Photo by JerrySilfwerThese days, more and more clients are hiring us for one of two reasons—“Get me in the news!” or “Get me out of the news!” Advertising is what you buy from the sales department of the media. Public Relations (PR) is what you get from the news department—some of it good, some of it not so good.
How many ads do you suppose a good news story is worth?
Q: Which of the following statements is false?
1. Thomas Edison invented electric light.
2. Guglielmo Marconi invented radio.
3. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
Regardless of which statement you think to be untrue, you’re exactly one-third correct; because all three statements are false. Continue Reading »
“Rainy days and Mondays always get me down”– or at least they did Karen Carpenter as I grew up hearing her sing the song. Today is Monday and it’s pouring rain. I’m actually writing this blog article to waylay my having to go out and get wet delivering some printing jobs to clients. In my mailbox this morning I found a short email about competition. It conveyed some simple thoughts. See what you think about them.
“How good am I?” is the second question that every business owner must answer. “How good are my competitors?” is the first.
Like it or not, your competitors set the height of the bar you must jump.
It’s a weary old saying, but true, “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.”
And as venture capitalist I knew once told me, “We learned quickly that the most important predictor of success is determination. At first we thought it might be intelligence. Everyone likes to believe that’s what makes startups succeed. It makes a better story that a company ‘won’ because its founders were so smart. But while it certainly helps to be smart, it’s not the deciding factor. There are plenty of people as smart as Bill Gates who achieve nothing.”
So, essentially making money is easy:
Sell what people want to buy
Offer it at an attractive price
Occupy a high-visibility location
Wave your arms and draw a crowd
Maybe you can’t have all of those, but I have never seen the combination fail. Need some help? We’re here.
Everyday, business emergencies, crises, and disasters suddenly liberate organizations from the restraints of the institutionalized barriers to performance improvement. These events evoke powerful and dramatic responses that cannot be matched by any of the structured programs and technologies a company may currently use. They can be large or small.
Here’s an example:
When adulterated Tylenol capsules caused the deaths of seven people in September 1982, Johnson & Johnson organized a crash program to protect the public as well as to salvage its #1 brand product. One of the most critical tasks was to design a sealed package. Within seven weeks, a team of engineers and designers had developed and tested a triple-sealed package, redesigned production processes and equipment, developed new package graphics, and moved into full-scale production. Completing this series of complex tasks under normal circumstances would have taken well over one year, nearly two years.Continue Reading »
As a lot of my friends and business colleagues know, my oldest son is currently in the process of getting his driver’s license; ad guy by day, dad and driver’s instructor by night. One of the things we have been practicing without fail on a daily basis is parallel parking. When I was 15 years old, my grandmother was my driving coach and she taught me a few “tricks” about rearview mirrors, side mirrors and the blind spot just over your right shoulder as a way to glide any car into the parking space with just the three maneuvers you can have during your parking test. With a little practice and these little tips, my son has parallel parking down.
But what about business? Yes, your business and some of the tips and tricks necessary these days to make the most of your marketing dollars and keep you within the space allotted without bumping or hitting the curbs? Blind spots in cars are easy to identify. Blind spots in our businesses aren’t so easy. Why—because if we could see them, they wouldn’t be blind spots. Here are a few common blind spots I see in businesses with which I consult: Continue Reading »
Brands are dead. Advertising no longer works. Weaned on TiVo, the Internet, and other emerging technologies, the short-attention-span generation has become immune to marketing. Your marketing performance will determine whethere or not you can overcome these obstacles. Consumers are “in control.” Or so we’re told.
But the real truth is a much more important and lasting cultural shift has happened.
As technology has created avenues for advertising anywhere and everywhere, people are embracing brands more than ever before–creating brands of their own and participating in marketing campaigns for their favorite brands in unprecedented ways. In the process, they–we–have begun to funnel cultural, political and community activities through connections with brands. You can use consumers’ word-of-mouth to enhance your marketing performance without the consumer ever knowing.
What do you know about your product, company or brand? Our FREE marketing performance test is 12 questions that measure 7 key areas of your marketing performance. In just about 15 clicks you can have a thoughtful and measured review of how you’re really doing! Start here.
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