Business – Advertisement Ideas

Advertisement Ideas: Stop Being Foolish!!!

When was the last time you turned down an opportunity and instructed your customer service person or secretary to use the programmed response of we are not interested? How many opportunities have you let slip away because of a foolish mindset and a preconceived notion of that won’t work for me? How many times have you said I am not interested and then realized maybe I should have listened to the options or at least gotten to know who I was dealing with? How many times have you been presented an advertising idea only to make excuses and not strengthen your brand or increase your revenue? How many times have you decided to pass up advertising opportunities? How many times have you chosen to advertise only to realize that your choice was not the most effective choice? Sometimes it simply comes down to making a decision to stop being foolish.

Sometimes in business we play the part of a fool because we turn down opportunities that could help us to build a stronger brand or that could actually increase our revenue because we do not see the value of what someone is offering. How many times have you let someone leave your business that could of been of service and value to you? How many times have you stayed in your office or in you brick and mortar building wondering why your business is slow? Instead of being foolish and wondering why things are slow it is time to be proactive and speed things up. I like using the example of the pizza place that I spoke with about going out and getting to know his neighbors who said oh I don’t have time for that. This pizza place was in a very heavily trafficked plaza with many store that had many employees so I asked have you gone to the bigger stores and offered them a lunch or dinner special. The answer was no. I suggested he do this and he got very upset and said now you are telling me how to run my business I said no I am suggesting a way for you to increase traffic and build revenue. He wasn’t to receptive so I left. Six months later his pizza place was closed. I thought what would have happened if he stopped being foolish? My advice to all business owners, marketing executives, and non-profit leaders is to get out there and start meeting people and stop being foolish with your decisions. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Stop Being Foolish!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Be Consistent!!!

It is said that how you do anything is how you do everything. I find this to be true especially when it comes to marketing and media relations. In December I attended a Relay For Life Leadership Summit and I soaked up a lot of information and then I implemented 2 ideas that are leading to the success of The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of West Boca Raton. The ideas were to do a Mission Monday Video and a Fundraising Friday Video each week and post them across Social Media. In using the videos I have been able to be consistent and plant the seed for people to look for the videos on Monday and Friday, In being consistent with the videos and using hashtags like #relay2015 and tagging different groups and pages I have been able to reach a larger audience and garner support for the effort to help those touched by cancer. As of 1 PM today The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of West Boca Raton has raised $16,913 with 45 teams and 215 participants. In posting comments updating the fundraising efforts I have been able to be on the top of the mind of the participants and they have been able to spread the message about what they are doing to help those touched by cancer. In having a consistent plan I have been able to garner results which have enabled me to engage people and let them know about other things that I do.

In advertising, marketing, and media relations the keys to success are frequency and consistency. In all that you do when you make an advertising choice you want to be consistent as a one time advertisement anywhere may not garner the results you want as it normally takes 8 touches to get someone to take action. This is why you see so many Facebook posts from me encouraging people to donate to The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of West Boca Raton.I generally post http://main.acsevents.org/goto/jdogg2 with a reason for someone to give.I also go out into the community on a consistent basis with a plan to secure donations and as a result I have personally raised $2526.90 so far. By being consistent and including the fundraising site on my business card and also wearing Relay For Life Gear out in public I have been able to share Relay with others and open the door to further conversation about what else I do. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Be Consistent!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Get It Up!!!

Some of the best advertising ideas and marketing lessons that I have learned have come from a desire to raise the fundraising thermometer for Relay For Life. I have coined the phrase Get It Up as a way to increase donations. The phrase normally conjures up so interesting looks when one says will you help us to get it up and pause and then say our fundraising thermometer that is. The lesson learned here that translates into business is to grab the audience’s attention and then explain what you are doing.

Another important lesson that I have learned through Relay For Life is that you must cultivate and nurture people so as to get the fundraising thermometer up. This applies in business as you work to build your brand and to increase your cash flow. If people do not see your logo on a consistent basis they will most likely support your competitor who has his logo everywhere. Think about where you are advertising, what you are advertising, and how you are advertising. I find it hard to believe that after 30 years as fundraising project there are still people who haven’t heard about Relay For Life when there have been massive initiatives to build The Relay Brand. The lesson here is that you need to be out in the community constantly building brand awareness because there will be people who will not hear about you. I have learned you can wear your brand but if you do not share it people will not know who you are or what you do so it is important to have a strategy where you are doing brand awareness on a daily basis. The one thing I learned through my involvement in Relay that correlates to business is to share your information by getting out of the office and meeting people. Get out there and engage people. Remember the worst thing will be they will tell you they aren’t interested. It the get it up philosophy you it is important to check the fear of talking to people and what they might think at the door. I have learned that not everyone will resonate with your message but it is important to continue to share the message. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Get It Up!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Using Gratitude As A Marketing Strategy!!!

I recently attended an Introduction To Gratitude Training done by Jo Engelesson who is an author and speaker who is a leader in the personal development and spiritual development industry. Her website www.tofa.us allows visitor to purchase tokens of appreciation that they can register and then pass on to those who have positively impacted their day. Jo told her story about how assuming the attitude of gratitude changed her business. I visited the site and bought 5 of the coins and have handed out 4 of them so far. Each time I have given out a token I have seen a great shift in my attitude and as a result have had a successful day. As I gave out one of the tokens of appreciation I began to think how can business owners and marketing directors and those involved in charitable work use the concept of gratitude as a marketing strategy. The answer was simple incorporate gratitude as part of the strategic marketing plan by rewarding existing customers and donors and also when procuring new customers and donors.

One of the greatest thing you can do in business or in your personal life is to express gratitude. People like to feel appreciated. In today’s world where people text, facebook, and email receiving a hand written thank you note goes a long way in making a person remember you. Sometimes the more creative you are with the thank you the better. I remember working for The NY Liberties of Major League Volleyball and asking potential sponsor’s secretaries what their favorite pizza was and then going to the owner of the team, Jerry Saperstein, and asking for a budget to send them pizza with thank you note. He said yes and I sent the pizzas and had the pizza place write a note thank you for speaking with me about The NY Liberty, Jonathan Lederman. This tactic worked and we secured a few sponsors as a result. I then began to use this tactic with reporters. If a reporter did a story about the team I sent a hand written thank you note. The idea is that using gratitude as a marketing strategy works. I would secure people’s addresses who attended games and send them a thank you note and something with The NY Liberties logo on it and tickets. This helped to take the attendance from 300 fans a game to over 1000 fans a game. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Using Gratitude As A Marketing Strategy!!!