Whenever I’m called upon to offer a critique on or advice about a company or consultant’s copy – whether it’s on a web site, in a brochure, an ad, a blog, or whatever – the first thing I do is read through the copy to see whether the focus is on “we/me” or “you/your.” Most of the copy I look at is the former. A quick, easy and relatively painless way to improve it Continue reading “When You Make It All About You, You Lose”
Category: Advertising
What Is Verisimilitude?
Years ago I was fortunate to be able to work with one of the true gurus in the field of direct marketing copywriting—Herschell Gordon Lewis. A marketing genius, a horror-film writer! (he’s actually known for creating the “splatter film” sub-genre of horror, according to Wikipedia)— Continue reading “What Is Verisimilitude?”
Best Practices for Hiring Agencies, Contractors, and Freelancers
There comes a point in the life cycle of many businesses when advertising needs outgrow the “homespun” and it’s time to call upon the services of a professional agency or consultant. Even small businesses can benefit from the third-party perspective and marketing savvy that experts can offer. There’s a misconception that agencies are too expensive for small companies. That’s not necessarily true. What you want, though, is to find an agency that focuses specifically on your needs.
Here are some practical considerations that you should take into account when looking for an agency or individual to help you with your advertising and marketing needs. Continue reading “Best Practices for Hiring Agencies, Contractors, and Freelancers”
The Power of Traditional Print Advertising
Over the past several years, the use of traditional advertising, including print advertising, has declined sharply as digital marketing has taken off. This has been even more true during the pandemic as many traditional brick and mortar businesses were literally forced to adopt a digital business model or close their doors.
But does traditional print advertising still hold value for marketers? Continue reading “The Power of Traditional Print Advertising”
Marketers Must Have Good Products But Sometimes Good Isn’t Good Enough
Not many people remember a product called Zima, and that’s the point of this post. As a marketing professional, I’ve always been interested in new product introductions and advertising campaigns in general— how well do they work? how long do they “run” (suggesting that the positive effects are continuing to produce results or, if nothing else, that the agency and client haven’t “pulled the plug” prematurely).
In addition, as someone who is not a “beer drinker,” I was interested several years ago when a new product was introduced—Zima—a beer-based beverage that was supposed to be light and refreshing. Hmm. Sounded interesting. The campaign was extensive, attention-getting, and effective—to a degree. It raised awareness. It generated preference (at least initially). All was good. Right? Wrong. Continue reading “Marketers Must Have Good Products But Sometimes Good Isn’t Good Enough”
Peloton: The Latest Example of Consumer Outrage Over Ad Content
Occasionally companies and their advertising teams will find themselves in hot water for controversial advertisements or campaigns that set out to be edgy or funny, but push the envelope a bit too far. Consider, among the many examples, Bacardi’s “ugly girlfriend” ad, Burger King’s sexually suggestive “Super Seven Incher” ads and Dove’s “Before & After” ad showing a transition from a black to a white woman.
Likely these companies knew they were taking a risk in putting those ads out there but didn’t fully appreciate the likelihood of the level of potential backlash. But sometimes ads not intended to contain any type of offensive content still manage to offend. Continue reading “Peloton: The Latest Example of Consumer Outrage Over Ad Content”
Benefits of Better Tracking for Marketing Spend
One of the persistent challenges for marketing departments is the ability to determine a reliable and justifiable return on investment for their marketing spend. One common reason given for this challenge is the difficulty in attributing revenue to specific marketing activities. But in an article for Forbes, Stephen Diorio argues that there is a need for improvement in how the money that is spent is categorized and tracked. Continue reading “Benefits of Better Tracking for Marketing Spend”
No-Cost, Low-Cost Ways to Boost Your Brand
We’ve previously discussed the challenges many companies face when trying to calculate an ROI on their marketing efforts. For small and medium-sized businesses, this can make it difficult to justify increasing spend on marketing efforts.
But, just because you feel like you can’t spend more money on marketing doesn’t mean you can’t invest in your brand. Continue reading “No-Cost, Low-Cost Ways to Boost Your Brand”
What Beer Companies Can Teach Us About the Dangers of Publicly Attacking Competitors
The growth strategy—and corresponding marketing strategy—of a company has a lot to do with the nature of its industry. When a new market is developed or discovered, we say there is a blue ocean—an unmet demand in a market that isn’t served or is vastly underserved. Market share and sales can be increased by simply letting consumers know that a product or service exists and convincing them that they want the product. By contrast, in a red ocean, the market and the major players are already established, and the market is saturated. The only way to increase market share is to take market share from a competitor. That can be exceedingly difficult to do. Continue reading “What Beer Companies Can Teach Us About the Dangers of Publicly Attacking Competitors”
What Are White-Glove Advertising Services and Should You Be Using Them?
Publishers have a lot on their plates these days—from fraud and ad blocking, to Facebook’s recent News Feed changes, to GDPR, increasingly rampant technological innovations and more. On top of the traditional issues related to publishing, publishers also have increasingly been pulled into generating ad revenues through ad tech—a constantly shifting landscape that can certainly be a diversion from creating quality content to meet audience needs.
How are they managing? In some cases, they’re outsourcing this aspect of their ad operations (ad ops) to white-glove consultancy services. Continue reading “What Are White-Glove Advertising Services and Should You Be Using Them?”