Advertisement Ideas: Lessons Learned From Relay For Life!!!

As I watched this video of one of my Relay Idols, Jeff Ross, A member of The American Cancer Society Relay For Life Hall Of Fame. Jeff’s lessons from this presentation can carry over to almost any business model when it comes to marketing and delivering your message. The key is to be consistent with your message. Jeff’s passion for The Relay For Life teaches us that if we are to attract and keep clients/customers we must be passionate and consistent. We also learn that having a team that can lift you and promote you will help you to succeed in business.

Relay for Life teaches us the importance of planning, implementing and evaluating a project so that we can grow our business. Relay shows us the importance of advertising as with put promotion and advertising people do not find us and if people do not know about you and how to do business with you they will go elsewhere. Relay teaches us about brand recognition, now that I have been involved in Relay for Life for over 15 years I can spot that logo a mile away. Relay teaches us how important it is to make our customers happy and why we need to turn our customers into advocates. We learn that when we deliver what we promise and give people a reason to engage with us that we increase the chance of them becoming a customer. Relay teaches us to overcome excuses as many people will tell you why they don’t want to be involved or why they do not want to make a donation this is like someone making excises why not to do business with you. Relay teaches us how to use the logo so it is used in a way that gives people a good feeling so that they will want to do business with us. Relay teaches us the importance of knowing your target audience so as to effectively market to them. The way you attract a 21-year-old is different from the way you attract a 75-year-old. Each demographic that you seek has a different way that they will resonate with you. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Lessons Learned From Relay For Life!!!

Advertising Ideas: Lessons Learned From Obama, McDonald’s And More!!!

Advertising Ideas:Lessons Learned From Obama, McDonald’d And More!!!

What can a U.S.President, a Fast Food Chain, and a a 3rd String Quarterback teach us about business? This week President Obama decided it was to much of a security risk to travel to Paris or to send a representative to Paris on his behalf. The newspapers and all the electronic media outlets were a buzz at what is perceived to be another gaffe for this president. Social media had people calling Obama, ODrama, Dumbo, and other derogatory names. I looked and I thought what if a business acted in the manner that OBama acted and received the negative push back how could they spin it and rebuild their reputation in the market place. The lesson that I learned from Obama is to make sure you are always putting yourself in a positive light so that you will always be perceived as someone to know, like, and trust as consumers like to do business with people they know like and trust. If you look at the Obama presidency you can learn many lessons of what not to do so as to avoid the downfalls of negative public relations. There is a saying that one oh crap ruins a thousand at-a-boys. If you truly want to be seen in a positive light then you must present yourself in a positive light especially if you are a high profiled individual. People are going to watch what you say and what you do and they may forget that but they will not forget how you made them feel. So when you are doing business, networking, advertising, posting on social media make sure you leave people feeling good.
As I was watching the NFL Divisional Playoffs I saw this McDonald’s Ad for the first time and I thought McDonald’s has done it again. They created another ad campaign that will be remembered and relate to their target audience.Though it has been over 16 months since my last McDonald’s Purchase I have always looked to their marketing campaigns for lessons. If you notice the characters in the ad you will notice that most of them will resonate with the 25-54 crowd who today has children and that is one of the biggest consumer audiences for McDonald’s.The first lesson learned here is to know who your target audience and to deliver a campaign that will be resonating, entertaining, and relevant . The second lesson is to create something that will get people talking thus creating a buzz around your business. Many consumers want to feel good about supporting the companies where they spend their hard-earned money. After spending money at McDonald’s those who choose to do so have said that they feel good about their purchases because of the perception that McDonald’s cares about the community. One thing I have learned is that it is important to create a warm fuzzy feeling with existing customers and potential customers like what McDonald’s did here with this commercial. Continue reading Advertising Ideas: Lessons Learned From Obama, McDonald’s And More!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Not Interested Stifles Business Success!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Not Interested Stifles Business Success!

I am always amazed when I make a phone call to a business to offer them something that can really help their business and the person on the other end of the phone say we are not interested. So let’s get this straight you have a business you need positive exposure in the market place and a TV Show Host is calling you to offer you a chance to create a digital imprint and you are not interested. Each time this happens I hang up the phone and think did they realize that they just stifled the potential for growth and to have an advocate for their business. When I do seminars I always tell the audience to be open and receptive to everyone that calls and walks through the door(If you have a brick and mortar business) as you never know how the person you are speaking with can be of value and service to you. Your lack of interest could be costing you the valuable dollars added to you your cash flow that is necessary to grow and expand. Your lack of interest can be driving business to the competition who was open and receptive. One business owner told that if they entertained everyone who called they would be out of business.I answered then hire someone you know, like, and trust to be the one to look over the opportunities that are being presented so as to not leave money on the table. An appearance on my TV Show, The Anything Bucket, which airs on Tuesday at 6:30 PM EST puts you in front of over 50,000 viewers mostly women aged 25-54 earning over $100,000 annually what a great demographic to have. Then if you choose to purchase your clip for $150 you can use it across all your marketing platforms so as to create a buzz and generate more clients/customers.

As many of you that read this blog on a regular basis are aware I volunteer with The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of West Boca Raton, FL and have set up a website at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/jdogg2 and I stand at $1614.82 raised so far, however I have run into many people who express this phrase that they are not interested. I find this curious for many reasons as it is proved that supporting local charities can lead to more business. I know that in 2012 when I was emceeing a Relay For Life Event one of the participants asked me what I would charge to emcee a birthday party I gave them a price and they hired me. If I had not been interested in Relay For Life I would have missed this opportunity. I have asked all business people who visit http://main.acsevents.org/goto/jdogg2 and make a donation to please leave a link to the website so I can share their business with my followers. So again you can see where not being interested can be stifling your business. Think about it you make an in-kind or monetary donation and you gain exposure in the market place and pick up customers/clients that otherwise would not have known about you. I am from the old school if you give me support I will do my best to give you support. Sometimes your lack of interest costs you business because you pre-judged someone and didn’t know the sphere of their influence. Ask yourself where your lack of interest may be costing you in the areas of brand awareness and recognition, cash flow, new customer/client procurement, and customer/client retention. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Not Interested Stifles Business Success!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Going Over The Top!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Go Over The Top!!!

In football going over the top has been a way to effectively achieve the objective of getting first downs and touchdowns. In going over the top a player puts himself at risk for the best interest of the team. In business and in non-profit organizations going over the top can be very risky as the message or your actions may not resonate with the audience you are attempting to reach or may not be in line with the hierarchy of an organization. I have often been the one to go over the top be it break dancing at a leadership conference or asking for donations on a parade route or hanging up a FREE HUGS sign at my local Starbucks. Sometimes my over the top actions have yielded great fruits and scored me many points while at other times I have been thrown for a loss. The risk of being an over the top thinker and implementor is great however the rewards this thinking yields makes it all worth it on many occasions. I was told that many people who meet me for the first time don’t know what to make of my over the top thinking or actions and that this thinking may be creating challenges in my personal and professional life. I believe that in order to succeed you must be an over the top thinker because sometimes it is the crazy actions that get noticed and rewarded. I remember one day I was about 14 years old volunteering at The Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon and I decided to get the audience to pledge money for the amount of push ups I could do in a minute. Some thought I was crazy but I knew exactly that doing something unique and different I could raise some much-needed funds for those with neuromuscular diseases. I grabbed the microphone and said Hello, I am Jonathan Lederman and I am asking everyone to make a pledge for the amount of push-ups I could do in a minute so we can help the kids who can’t do push-ups because of Muscular Dystrophy. I did 52 push-ups and raised over $500. I remember standing up at a Jaycees meeting when a local chapter was on the verge of cancelling their Spreading The Joy program and I said what if we ask people we do business with to donate. I was told we never did that before. I asked why not the worst they can tell us is no. I asked them to give me two weeks as we were going to meet again in two weeks they said okay. Well at the next meeting I stood up as told them I secured monetary donations in the amount of $2500 and in-kind donations of over $1000. They asked how I said I just asked. I also told them about the door blocks I set up at the local KMART where we would simply ask customers for donations. They were hesitant at first and didn’t want to do it so I said okay I’ll go on the first day and if anyone wants to join me great if not that is okay too. On that first day I collected over $500 and recruited 15 chaperones for The Holiday Shopping Spree. That year, 1989, saw us take 64 needy children holiday shopping and feeding 30 needy families. Simply by being an over the top thinker I have found success. The lesson here is to take a risk and go over the top. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Going Over The Top!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Build A Fan Base!!!

While I was a senior at Hofstra University in 1987 I had the opportunity to be a public relations and marketing intern with The Long Island Knights of The United States Basketball League. From day 1 I stressed how important it was to build a fan base and create a following for the team. Our arena was located about 100 from a train station across from SUNY Old Westbury. I would take stacks of tickets and simply go to the train station and ask people if they liked basketball if they said yes I would give them two free tickets. I would take this a step further and go business to business asking if people liked basketball and if they said yes I would give them tickets to an upcoming game. I would walk the SUNY Old Westbury campus and give out tickets. I would then begin to call media outlets and share The Long Island Knights with them. As the season progressed the team went from averaging 300 fans a game to over 1000 fans a game. The key was doing promotion to build a fan base.

As I reflected back on my experience with The Long Island Knights I realized that not only in sports is it important to build a fan base but is any business it is imperative to create raving fans. It is important to engage and listen and then prioritize what your fans want so that they will continue to buy your products and services and recommend you to others. We are told all the time have a unique selling proposition (USP) that differentiates you from everyone else in your industry. When I worked with The Long island Knight we had the most unique selling proposition as we had Nancy Lieberman on our team, she was known as Lady Magic and as a result we were able to showcase her in our marketing program. Nancy had many fans who came to see her play and as a result our fan base increased. We also had a great USP in the fact that our games were considered affordable at $10 a ticket. We also flooded the market with free tickets and sold the fans on the idea that they would see competitive basketball. The idea is to make the experience with you memorable and pleasurable so that people will continue to support your business and recommend you to others. Remember it is important to bring the fans in and to make them raving fans. When you can get people talking positively about you this increases your following and thus translates into more fans spending more money resulting in the strengthening of your brand. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Build A Fan Base!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How to Really Effectively Market!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Really Effectively Market!!!

Content-Marketing-Strategy tangerine digital As I work with clients I am always asked what is the most effective way to market? I don’t think there is one methodology that is the best way I believe that an integrate approach to marketing is necessary. I think knowing your target audience is very important. It may be true that everyone may be able to utilize your product or services, however it is vital to know who your ideal client is. I have attended many networking events and everyone is busy trying to sell what they have to offer that they never connect on a cellular level and thus are not effectively marketing. One of the most effective ways to market is to listen and then find ways that you will be of service and value to clients/customers. Ask yourself what can I do to add value to the people I am interacting with. I sit in Starbucks and I listen to people and if their conversation relates to anything I am doing I will go over and introduce myself and give them a business card. Some may look at this as a strange way to market, however I can tell you from experience that by being in tune with others and introducing myself I have secured gigs to emcee, conduct a marketing consultation, and to do training. In putting myself out there I have secured donations for The American Cancer Society Relay For Life by simply sharing http://main.acsevents.org/goto/jdogg2 and my reason to relay. In sharing who I am and how I can be of service to others I have created many income producing activities that also help to strengthen my brand.

Sections-Wear-your-brand One of the most effective things you can do to effectively market is to wear your brand. Since I do many things I pick one of my projects to wear each day. if I am promoting Relay For Life I will wear my Relay For Life Apparel and carry marketing material related to Relay. if I choose to promote The South Florida Gold, a professional basketball team I announce for I will wear my Jersey or other apparel related tot he team and have free tickets to give away. Every client I have worked with has provided me with shirts to wear to promote them. As a promoter of many products and services I must decide who to promote and then have a strategy that will be effective in getting results. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How to Really Effectively Market!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Sell Your Why Not Your What!!!

As we begin to promote ourselves we need to make less of what we are promoting but why we are promoting it. Too many times entrepreneurs and marketing executives get caught up in the what and forget the why. people don’t really care about the what they care more about the why you are doing things. When you engage potential clients/customers don’t tell them what you do tell them why you are doing it. A typical example in when I am asking people for donations for Relay for Life I always tell them why I am collecting using some of the programs that are funded when someone visits http://main.acsevents.org/goto/jdogg2 and makes a donation. I inform them of facts like we want to provide rides to and from treatments and doctor’s appointments for cancer patients through Road To Recovery which provided 380,000 rides to and from medical appointments in 2013 that number is expected to increase by 10% for 2014. The key is to let people know why you are doing something. In business it is when the customer/client buys into your why that you will have the most success with your business endeavors. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Sell Your Why Not Your What!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Get A Frickin Clue!!!

As I was out collecting donations for The American Cancer Society Relay Fir Life Of West Boca Raton as part of GIVING TUESDAY on 12/2/2014 I went into an Army Navy Surplus Store in Boca Raton. I was greeted by an elderly gentleman who has been at the store for some time as I had met him a couple of years ago while again collecting donations. He told me he couldn’t help and that the store was struggling. I kept thinking get a frickin clue man you don’t tell potential customers how bad the store is doing and how you don’t have money. I asked him a few questions as I am in the market for shorts and pants and they sell these items his attitude was oh those are military pants. He then said in a very gruff tone that he would sell me the shorts for $10 each. I may go back despite his attitude because shorts at $10 a pair are a good deal. As I left I kept thinking now I know why this store maybe struggling no advertising as they are relying on being at the same location, poor attitude, and employees coming from a position of lack. I encounter this mentality quite often and I always am left thinking the same thing get a frickin clue.

Oaktree - Spring/Summer 1987 One of my first jobs out of college was working for The Oaktree Men’s Clothing Store in The Boca Town Center Mall. I began working there in February 2008 as a Manager in Training and within 3 weeks I was the #1 sales person in the country for Oaktree. I was doing well setting sales records, building a regular customer base, and using my key contacts as a substitute teacher to promote the store. I remember the one thing that always stood out was the idea of having a positive attitude and fulfilling the customer’s needs. My manager asked me how was I able to outsell him and still do all the tasks of a Manager in Training.I simple told him to sit down and catch a frickin clue as we must have our priorities in order and find efficient ways to meet sales goals and still get the other tasks done. I told him I come in a 1/2 hour before my scheduled shift and punch in so I can set goals for my shift and take care of tasks like putting merchandise out. I gave him this example you go back to the stock room for a shirt for the customer and there are other shirts to put out get the shirt for the customer and while the customer is trying it on stock the other shirts. I left Oaktree and went to work with Merle Harmon’s Fan Far a sports apparel and collectible shop. I was bringing in sales and increasing sales but they decided to keep the manager who was married with kids as they told me I could always get another job. I thought again get a frickin clue I was the one who was doing the work and who was showing loyalty to the company. Well they didn’t get a frickin clue and went out of business. I share this with you so that when you are doing business you get a frickin clue and succeed. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Get A Frickin Clue!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Black Friday – Stop The Madness

Advertising Ideas: If You Only Knew How Black Friday Originated!!!

I do not know for sure if Black Friday had its roots in the slave trade. I checked the dates of some of the historical advertising posters for the buying and selling of slaves and they corresponded to the Friday after Thanksgiving. In the 1870’s they would advertise the sale of slaves, which brought consumers to the slave auction. They made large profits but may have sacrificed their spiritual well-being. Today consumers are targeted for consumer goods on Black Friday and as a result of the TV Ads, the radio ads, the newspaper ads and the social media ads we see that this may be working. During slave trading auctions fights would break out and people would be killed. During Black Friday now fights break out and people are killed. In both cases you are left pondering for what? In both slave trading and today’s Black Friday you are feeding the coffers of the so-called privileged few who have found a way to manipulate you and convince you to stay in a position of lack. Ask yourself am I any better off with the new shiny object than I was before I had it.

Snopes.com states that the term Black Friday does not have anything to do with the slave trade. I wasn’t there so I can only go from the evidence that Slave sales were advertised and many of the dates correspond to the day after Thanksgiving. My point here is that advertising can often be used to manipulate people and keep them in the lack mindset. Regardless of the origins of Black Friday is has created madness that has seen more people hurt than helped. Maybe we should abolish Black Friday as encourage retailers to close on Thursday and then run business as usual and thus not encourage the lawlessness of the few who ruin it for everyone.

You mean to tell me you couldn’t wait for that sexy bra at Victoria’s Secret, or the big screen TV at Walmart, or the New Nike Sneakers at Footlocker. My recommendation is to get your priorities straight and ask yourself how will your life be enhanced by the new bra, the new car, the new TV, or the new sneakers.

Instead of buying into the hype of Black Friday find something productive to do such as donating time or money to a charity. You can start by visiting http://main.acsevents.org/goto/jdogg2 and making a donation. Greed is one of the deadly sins and greedy people will be punished. The only way to stop the madness is not to buy into the hype. As a business you want to create a positive image so people will buy products from you all year round. Having people trampled at your store doesn’t do that.

Remember it is not the materialistic that matters but the spiritualistic. Imagine if you just kept consistent in all you did as a business owner all year round and did not try to manipulate the public the results you might have. Imagine of you as a consumer did not buy into the hype and manipulation the prices you would receive. My message is to stop looking at what you don’t have and be more appreciative of what you do have. When you market and use public relations properly you won’t need the hype of Black Friday or other sales to drive business as people will come to you because they know you, like you, and trust you. It is time to go back to the idea that everyday is a day to be civil to one another and to be of service and value daily. Black Friday may boost your profits but it may not boost your soul. Black Friday may move merchandise but it may jeopardize you image and good will. So think about how you conduct your business.

My message to you is to stop the madness!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Pounding It Hard!!!

In basketball when we say someone is pounding the paint it is a compliment. The mentality to go hard to the basket should translate to you in business as you need to be pounding the paint, your area to cultivate new clients/customers. In basketball we refer to the ball as the rock and when that rock goes in it is a success. Getting the rock in the paint and scoring baskets doesn’t come easy it comes with hard work, dedication, and a commitment to be better every time you take to the court. In business clients/customers just don’t appear you need a plan of action to get them and keep them.

In basketball a slam dunk excites the home crowd and energizes the team. In business sometimes you have to go above the rim and throw down a monstrous dunk to excite your clients/customers and energize your brand. Ask yourself how can I pound it hard and create a slam dunk? One way is to look at your resources like your phone. When was the last time you connected with a past client/customer to see if they needed your product or service or if they knew someone who could benefit from doing business with you. I was recently in a jewelry store and the gentleman behind the counter who identified himself as the owner was complaining how bad things were and how his sales were off. I asked what are you doing to promote your business? His answer nothing. There is your answer you can not score points and garner clients/customers or retain clients/customers if you do nothing. I suggested he take out his phone and every day call 10 clients/customers that he hasn’t seen in a while and ask them if they have gold to sell or know anyone who is looking to sell gold. His answer was I don’t have time for that. I thought wow you just told me your business is off and you don’t have time to build it. I told him my theory about pounding it hard, which is to go out and hit the streets and find the people who are in your target audience and hand them information about who you are, what you, do and why they should be doing business with you. He said no people will come I have been here for 20 years. I said thank you and wished him luck. I went down the street to another jewelry store and the owner who I knew through some of my sales/marketing jobs said to me JDOGG things are doing well I have those calendars you like. I thanked him and asked him what he was doing and he say like you always say pounding it hard, I have my street team out everyday flooding the area with fliers announcing my specials, I have people calling past clients/customers to update records, I am sending out mailers to a target specific audience, I am attending networking events, and supporting charities. I left thinking that is why one business struggles while another thrives. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Pounding It Hard!!!