Advertisement Ideas: Wake Up, Kick Ass, Repeat!!!

In business or in volunteer work it is important to have the mindset that you will have a kick ass day everyday. It is imperative to make sure that your name is constantly out there in a positive light. One of the key elements to building your brand and increasing cash flow is to have a kick ass attitude and not worry about what other people think because at the end of the day all that will matter is were you impeccable with your word, did you not take anything, personally, did you not make assumptions, and did you do you best? When you get up and you begin to run your business or do your charitable work do you have a plan and are you working that plan making the necessary adjustments?If you do not have a pan you will be going in circles. The idea is to not go in circles by kicking ass and remembering some will some won’t, so what, some waiting, next. One way to kick ass is to always advertise so that people know who you are, what you do, and why they should do business with you. So many times I hear excuses why people are not promoting their businesses on a daily basis and I am reminded that there are action takers and excuse makers. Ask yourself which are you? With a kick ass attitude you are bound to rub a few people the wrong way but that is part of doing business. I have built a reputation as the man who gets things done because he I set my mind to kick ass in all I do. In going out daily and promoting who i am and what I do I have built brand awareness while also creating a buzz. I am always surprised by those who are not doing something daily to promote themselves.

Another way to kick ass is to make videos and share them across social media platforms like You Tube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, in your blog, and on your website. I am surprised by how many times I mention the idea of having a digital footprint and people say I don’t need video and my answer is oh yes you do. It has been shown that a video will get a 15-20% higher response rate than a static advertisement. So the question is why are you not kicking ass and using video?

Getting featured in magazines and newspapers is another way to kick ass. What is your public relations and media relations strategy? I ask this question many times and I hear oh I don’t have one, I answer how do you expect people to find you? If you are not promoting yourself to the media at least once a week you may be leaving some money on the table because while your competition is advertising and having articles written about them they may be taking away your potential customers. Look for publications that reach your target audience and continue to connect with them about the great things happening in your business or the great things you are doing in your community. The magazine posted here did an article on me and my work with The American Cancer Society Relay For Life. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Wake Up, Kick Ass, Repeat!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Chutzpah Pays Off!!!

I was out collecting donations for The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of West Boca Raton and I went into a nail salon to seek donations and a patron said you have a lot of chutzpah. Chutzpah is defined as personal confidence or courage that allows someone to do or say things that may seem shocking to others. I said yes I do. She pulled out a $5 bill and put it in the canister. As I left I started to think who are the most successful people in their respective industries? The answer was easy those who had a bit of Chutzpah. I looked at those who were brash and took risks and saw a pattern while others were making excuses they were taking action. I have learned that having Chutzpah can lead to success and will payoff. A few years ago I heard about The Lingerie Football League coming to my city so I sent an email introducing myself and offering my services as a public address announcer. The league wrote back asking me to call them. I called and did an audition on the phone and I was hired. I have done this on several occasions and each time I have secured paid gigs or secured donations.

In my past entry I spoke about using the phone as a tool to enhance your advertising. I was calling for donations for The American Cancer Society Relay For Life a few Fridays ago and one person said you know it takes a lot of Chutzpah to call and ask for donations. I said yes it does can I send you my link for donations and you can consider donating. The answer was yes. I emailed my link, http://main.acsevents.org/goto/jdogg2 and the person went to the site and made a $10. Sometimes it is just a matter of doing something others have not thought about. We have become so dependent on social media that we have lost the idea of using the phone and having the Chutzpah to ask for the sale or donation. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Chutzpah Pays Off!!!

Advertisement Ideas: What A Tool!!!

Advertisement Ideas: What a Tool!!!

In today’s market place where the idea of social media has become the main preference of doing business it is important to remember that the best way to reach your potential clients/customers is still by the personalized phone call and the face to face meeting. So many people have gone away from the idea of talking on the phone or meeting face to face that they are leaving a lot of money on the table. I find this especially true with the millennials who think oh I’ll build a website, drive traffic, and have a high conversion rate. This does happen but the point is if people do not know you and do not resonate with your message they are not going to do business with you. One must have a plan on advertising their products and services. One must formulate a plan of action to reach potential customers/clients. I talk to so many people who tell I am going to use social media especially or I have a Facebook Page. I always answer how are you capturing information so you can engage the audience. I like to get phone numbers so that I can make a personal phone call and thus start to build a relationship for people are going to do business with people they know, like, and trust. It is amazing what can happen when you make a contact via the phone especially if you state hello, this is______________________ and I am just following up with you about our previous correspondence or your inquiry via Facebook. If I do not have a phone number for the person I do my best to obtain an email so that I can reach a potential client/customer in this manner.

In using the phone you can be very effective if you have a clear defined purpose of your call. When I was selling advertising for Forum Publishing Group I had this theory that a sale is made on every call either you are selling a prospect on why they should meet with you or they are selling you why they do not want to meet with you. I found myself getting so caught up with trying to overcome objections that I was blocking myself from success so I decided to adopt the philosophy of some will, some won’t, so what, some waiting next. As I set goals to set up appointments and step back from overcoming objections I found myself setting and closing more appointments. It was at that time that I realized that it is important to be impeccable with your word, not to take anything personally, not to make assumptions, and to always do your best. When I am on the phone booking guest for my TV Show, The Anything Bucket, which airs on www.wrpbitv.com on Tuesday at 6:30 PM EST I keep it short and simple not over complicating things. My attitude is either they want to come to do an interview with me or they do not and it is not my job to drag them kicking and screaming to the WRPBiTV Studio. When I am obtaining donors for The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of West Boca Raton I have a purpose of getting a yes however if they say no I say thank you and move on to the next potential donor. The key is to understand that the phone can be a great tool to creating a buzz, brand awareness, and creating action takers. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: What A Tool!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Be Bold!!!

As I arrived at IMG Strong ARM to be interviewed by Reggie Mathis for The Ask Mathis Radio Show I noticed the production truck and the parking spaces marked for Flo Rida. I went into t he office and introduced myself. I was very early so I asked if there was a place to eat close by and they told me about Franky’s. As I walked over to Franky’s one of the coaches had a trophy from The MLK Basketball Tournament and I asked if I could see it he said yestand I went into show mode and did a quick presentation. Another coach saw it and said do it again I want to get it on video. By being bold and putting myself out there I was able to use my talents and create opportunities that can be monetized in the future.

I found Franky’s and was very pleased that I did. Again I was able to be bold and put myself out there. I was eating a sandwich when I overheard a group of people discussing their business and I went over and asked if it would be okay to give them my business card because I thought I could be of service or value to them. This opened up the door to discuss the subject of deflate gate, the situation of The Patriots deflating footballs during the AFC Championship Game. As they left they said thank you and wished me the best of luck. As I finished what I found to be a great a sandwich I thought I would offer to do a testimonial for Franky’s. They said yes and I did a testimonial. Franky the owner then handed me a card for a FREE Small Sub. I walked back to the studio and I decided to pay it forward by giving Shanika the card for the sub she was grateful. By being bold and putting myself out there I was able to forge what will become opportunities to monetize my craft.

One way to be bold is to take pictures and make videos of that which pertains to your business. This is a photo of me with Jessica Childers, QB for The Miami Fury, the team that I am The PA Announcer for. I have been doing Miami Fury Up Close Videos to help promote the team. The reason is because in today’s market place a digital footprint is very important. The idea is when you have the opportunity to put yourself out there to do that and be bold. In my profession the more people who see my work the better the chances to secure more paying gigs. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Be Bold!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Standing Your Ground!!!

As the phone rang at 11 PM on 1/19/2015 informing that the original agreement for me to host Red Carpet Interviews at a summit was not approved after I was told that everything was in place on 1/18/2015 I knew I stood my ground and stated that I do not work for FREE! I learned that FREE has no value and if people think that you will do it FREE they will expect it for FREE so it is important to stand you ground and make sure that people understand the value you are giving them. When you are advertising it is important to remember you are your brand and that people do not buy the what they buy the why. That is why your message much represent consistency and integrity. In dealing with people it is important to stand your ground when it comes to price as many consumers are now price conscious and base many of their decisions solely on price. This lead us to standing your ground on knowing your target demographic. So many times entrepreneurs and marketing executives lose sight 0f the target demographic and as a result they try to reach everyone and unfortunately spend hours spinning their wheels and do not reach anyone and thus their sales drop. The key is to plan your work and work your pan making good choices and aligning yourself with people who will understand that what you bring to the table is valuable.

When you are selling your products and services it is imperative that you stand and deliver. I have always believed that it is important to be impeccable with your word. I have run into a few people who have made commitments and at the last-minute went back on their word or in the case of the people doing the summit I felt strung along.In the past I was guilty of making appointments and cancelling them however I know understand that the person’s time I made the appointment with is important and they could have met with other people instead of me had I not blocked out their time. I have heard all the excuses like oh I had an out-of-town buyer come into town from a realtor. My answer so your out of town’s buyer time is more important than my studio time and my livelihood. I told that person that the next time they want to come into the studio it would be $150 prepaid. By standing my ground and letting people know that my time and services are valuable I have gained a reputation as a professional who doesn’t just say he is going to do something but actually does it. I have heard well I made that pledge when I was with another company and I am not there anymore. My answer you made a personal pledge please honor it. This didn’t sit well with that person so he lodged a complaint with the charity against me. Get real people you made a commitment honor the commitment. I have heard I am not interested and I don’t see why a clip of my appearance on a TV Show will help me. My answer there is that a digital footprint is important and that a clip of a TV Appearance builds credibility in the marketplace. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Standing Your Ground!!!

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: 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!!!