Ever driven by a billboard that made you smile for the rest of the day? Or watched a television commercial that nearly brought you to tears? Chances are you’re thinking about one now as you’re reading this. (And we don’t even mean the ones with Sarah McLachlan and the saddest animals you’ve ever seen in [ … ]
Thinking Long Term and Seasonally
As the seasons change, so do consumer needs and attitudes While the reasons for thinking long term when it comes to advertising are many – agencies and clients need time for strategizing, creating, purchasing time slots, etc. – the bottom line is that companies that keep the seasonal ebbs and flows of consumer needs and attitudes in [ … ]
Formulaic Advertising
Think back to the last perfume ad you saw. It probably went very much like this: A beautiful woman in a glamorous gown floats down a palatial stairway. Cut to a scene of a gothic masquerade party. Everyone is dancing when this young beautiful thing glides into the party and all eyes on her. Close [ … ]
Making Dealership Ads That Stand Out Means Creating a Theme
Think about it: if you take all the dealership ads that run on a daily basis, and add in the nationwide automobile manufacturer ads, car advertising can start to seem ubiquitous. Everyone, it seems, is trying to tell viewers they have the lowest prices, that they’re the most trustworthy place to purchase a car.
Create an Identity, Not an Ad
As humans, we are wired to attach meaning and identity to everything. It’s in our tribal nature, from what we wear to what kind of coffee we get. Find a person drinking Starbucks and a person drinking Dunkin’s, and ask them both, at the same time, which is better. Then sit back and watch the [ … ]
Stock Photography: Pick your Pics Wisely
Stock photography is made up of pictures that are licensed for specific uses, and can come in handy when you don’t want to hire a professional photographer for your latest project. Today, many stock photography agencies have large databases online so you can easily search for pictures using keywords and categories. While stock photography is [ … ]
Cereal Aisle Verdict: My Eyes Are Spoiled Rotten
By Erika Scopino The other day I was at the grocery store having my usual cereal aisle dilemma. I’m not picky about my cereal and certainly wouldn’t call myself brand loyal. What I buy typically depends on whether a) I’m trying to eat healthy or b) something’s on sale. Often, the latter wins out. With [ … ]
What Makes A Great Slogan
A slogan is a company’s clever little way of getting into your head – and potentially staying there. And although brief, good slogans manage to convey a hefty amount of valuable information. Whether at the end of a radio spot or at the bottom of a print ad, a company’s slogan can make or break [ … ]
How Pur, Hertz And Esurance Are Making Use Of Today’S Most Amiable Voices.
What do water, car rentals and car insurance all have in common? Wait. Hold that thought. What do Zach Braff (Garden State, Scrubs), Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers, Night at the Museum, Midnight in Paris) and John Krasinski (The Office) all have in common? Well, all three are funny, charming and downright quirky. Actually, they are [ … ]
How Will E-Commerce Work For Your Business?
Small businesses often face a hard question when it comes to their website: Are you going to sell online? E-commerce, the process through which you complete a sales transaction online instead of in a location, can be a daunting, stressful decision for many small businesses – especially since there are many different ways a company [ … ]
Flapping in the Wind: Pointless Banners
I was surfing through some different news blogs, and noticed some of the banner ads. Obviously, I’m a little biased about the quality of ads; although none of them were as bad looking as the design above, there were some that came close. What made many of these worse was where they pointed to, if [ … ]
Google Analytics and Goals
Hey, at least we’re not promoting word clouds as an analysis tool… We talk about goals, a lot. Without having clear-cut goals, you never know if your business is truly performing to its full potential, and you cannot gauge progress. In the past, we’ve talked about how you should measure your goals. This time, we’re [ … ]
CRM/Marketing Automation vs Traditional Marketing
CRM. Marketing Automation. Campaigns. Analytics. Integrated. Innovative. There, did I drop enough buzzwords on you at once? For those wondering what I’m talking about, I’m talking about keeping track of your customers, and setting up marketing items that target your leads at specific timed intervals and after customer initiated events. In other words,this is [ … ]
Media Buying Agencies Are Dead
According to an article in today’s Business Insider, the traditional media buying agency is dead. Okay, so maybe that’s an overstatement, but we are glad to hear that the tides are changing back to a customer centric point of view, driven by poignant creative direction and an emphasis on relationships. The savings that occur due [ … ]
Driving Through the Funnel – Landing Pages
We’ve made mention of building landing pages on several occasions. As a quick reminder, a landing page is simply a separate web page that customers are directed to in order to complete a contact form in exchange for additional information or savings. Today, we discuss the key factors that make landing pages successful, and how [ … ]
Defining Customer Expectations
There are certain phrases that are overused all of the time. I remember sitting in a meeting, getting ready to hear about innovative, out-of-the-box ways to exceed customer expectations, and I waited to see what it is, with almost baited breath. The answer? A coupon. OH MY! Yup, you blew away the customer with that! [ … ]
