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If you’re pitching real estate in Costa Rica you shouldn’t be advertising in a local paper in New Jersey. Chances are the properties may not sell.

In other words, when handling international advertising, knowing your brand and knowing your brand’s target audience will not only garner you recognition, it will get you sales. Read the rest of this entry »

You’ve spent the money, you’ve generated traffic (or sales) and now you want to know what worked and what didn’t in terms of your advertising dollars. So now what?

In general, we advise clients to use traffic reports as a guide — not gospel — when evaluating media plans, as not all media is created equal.

For instance, magazine advertising is generally used for image building and branding. If you didn’t get a large response of people reporting that they saw your ad in one of the various magazine pubs you used, don’t be surprised.

Newspaper advertising is highly ranked, because people tend to report the reason for their visit (or sale) based on the last thing they saw or what they had seen most often. Since newspaper advertising is run frequently, people remember the ads more often.

Also, people may have seen or heard your television ad, radio spot or saw your banner ad, but if it wasn’t the last thing they remember it most likely will not register as the impetus for their action. This also explains why signage is most often sited as a traffic generator. Typically, advertising signage is the last thing a respondent sees before taking action.

Another consideration is that repeat customers may claim the reason for their purchase or visit is because they are already clients. Keep in mind that your radio ad, television ad, web banner, email, signage, school flyer’s, etc. may have prompted their most recent action.

Advertising works best when it is part of a wide media mix, enabling you to reach as many people as possible in as many ways as possible. This is why your entire advertising budget should never be allocated to a single medium. (And yes, that includes the web.)

Your brand is your image, a reflection of you. If you’re known for your pearls and cashmere sweaters, you wouldn’t suddenly dye your hair orange, pierce your nose and start to wear camouflage. It doesn’t mesh with your image.

Likewise, you shouldn’t mess with your brand. In fact, you should take your brand as far as you possibly can. Companies such as American Express are known for sending a voluminous book to advertising agencies outlining brand standards and stipulations, ensuring that every time a customer sees the American Express brand it looks the same. In this way, you guard the brand with your life.

Your brand is the hardest thing to establish and the easiest thing to dilute. This doesn’t have to mean that your brand’s logo should always be shown in red, white and blue. It can appear in black and white and it can have different variations and configurations. But in whatever way those features manifest themselves, they need to be utilized consistently. The font shouldn’t change. The PMS colors should remain consistent across the board, from Your website to your billboard and to your packaging and your eblast. Think of Nike’s swoosh. It is universally recognized. Why? Because the brand never varies from one usage to the next.

Similarly, your brand logo should automatically communicate a single message of who you are and what you stand for.

Remember newspapers? Television and radio? Those humble staples of the mid-century have gotten plenty of grief of late as bygone utilities of a bygone age.

This became more apparent when social media took control of our networking lives, garnering a lot of credibility as an advertising medium. Suddenly no one was reading a newspaper or listening to the radio anymore – or so we were told. Anyone under the age of 30 was getting all of his or her information from the Internet, and Facebook was the means by which everyone was finding out about everything.

Well, as swiftly as that cultural turn took place, it seems another has occurred just as quickly. Or maybe the turn never really occurred in the first place because it seems members of the younger generation – get ready – are still watching TV.

Lately there’s been a lot of chatter about social media and social networking in general and the mad dash to connect via Twitter, Facebook and with blogs. (Ok, we’re guilty of this as well.) While these tools should be a part of every advertising and marketing plan, companies cannot afford to ignore traditional  advertising mediums. Recent articles have come to the conclusion that members of Gen Y, born after 1982, get their information on new products and services from TV, not the Internet.

And newspapers are the number once source of information for first-time homebuyers.

The bottom line is create a well-rounded ad and marketing program that encompasses both traditional and new forms of communication. It’s never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket, not even in 2011.

The World Wide Web has re-established the idea of networking; now you’re not just meant to network within your own social and business sphere but must reach out to scores of unknown people with whom you have nothing in common just to gather points on a page.

Well, what’s wrong with that? The more people you can attract to review your message, the better. And with the economic downturn, all types of networking have become popular. The web is giving business owners more opportunity to connect with exactly who they want to do business with. In fact, it’s giving us the ability to do business with exactly who we want to do business with.

It’s important to begin with knowing who you want to have as your customer and then to know where to go to find them.

Outside of the social networking offered through cyberspace, people are drawn to regional and national networking meetings as a way to connect and meet people and increase business. The thing is, if you’re really serious about networking you need to do it where your customers largely reside. As examples: If you want the contract for the stucco work on a large commercial building you should figure out how to network with property management and condo associations as those folks are all potential clients. If sporting goods is your product, volunteer for Little League, not the senior citizens center.

If part of your networking agenda entails involvement in a for-profit or non-profit organization, go one step further and actually do something with the organization; don’t merely show up for meetings. Your involvement will be invaluable to people who will come to look at you as someone who will get the job done.

Even better, with the abilities on the Internet you can now find those people online and begin networking with them, until they feel comfortable enough with you, your message and your company to purchase what you have to sell. Whether networking on or offline the concepts are all the same. Find your customer, build a relationship with your customer and then they will make the decision to use your company when they are ready to buy.

Maintain your brand image

Maintaining your brand isn’t difficult; it’s like maintaining anything that’s near and dear to you: understand it, nurture it, anticipate when things will get tough and know when you’ve gone too far. Your brand is your baby and like all children, it needs to express what you want it to express; grow in the way you want it to grow and fulfill the promises you’ve stated, all under your gentle supervision. Brand Z recently published 25 ways to build a brand, we’ve taken the best of those and reworked the messages to reflect our thinking on the same subject.

To keep your brand relevant in the eyes of consumers, here are the top 10 things you should know:

1. Anticipate and understand change. This is true for the product as well as the core audience and target market. Anticipate change or you’ll be caught unaware when changes occur.
2. Be original and consistent. In today’s world we’re overloaded with messages. It’s important your brand is original and your message be brand specific. New trends are tempting and may drive sales in the short run but not all are good matches for your brand and your brand’s consumers.
3. Open lines of communication with customers. Social media has opened up a world in which consumers now make their opinions known … and these opinions are useful. Listen to your customers and to your salespeople.
4. Be open, honest and trustworthy, and this goes for everything from pricing to problems. Make sure there are no hidden messages or text. Coming out of the recession, people are mindful of how much they’re spending and what they’re buying. Build trust and deliver.
5. Today’s consumer appreciates durability, quality and heritage, and expects to purchase at a fair price. Deliver value.
6. Deliver a great experience. Happy clients and customers who will spread the word.
7. Protect your brand’s value and fulfill the brand’s promise. If you’re a hotel promising the lowest beachfront prices, that’s a promise you have to fulfill.
8. Be consistent and flexible in delivering your message across a variety of ad mediums.
9. Break the rules. What you did yesterday has a tendency to become the rule. Don’t make rules for the brand. Build guidelines, but cast rules aside. They won’t help your brand to grow.
10. Consumers respond to brands that offer something real and relevant to their lives. People are ready to act now; your brand should, too.

There’s nothing that can level the momentum of a good company and its products more than a ludicrous ad that promises the world and doesn’t even deliver a tiny patch of grass. In today’s society, people listen when you tell the truth and tune you out when you’re not.

The loud, obnoxious pitchman approach to advertising is a method of sales that the baby boomer generation finds quite distasteful. Remember images of the medicine salesmen from the Old West? Selling their hair tonics and promising a new head of hair within days? Or a remedy for every single ailment under the sun?

That’s the kind of hard sell that will make your customers run for the hills. As another, modern day example: If you’re selling a product that promises to reduce wrinkles or fade the signs of aging, that’s one thing. If you’re selling a product that promises to make the customer look 25 years younger, that’s not only impossible, it’s unbelievable, and to some, a little insulting.

There are FTC laws regulating deceptive advertising claims; an ad, according to the FTC’s Deception Policy Statement, is deceptive if it contains a statement – or omits information that is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably under the circumstances; and is “material” – that is important to a consumer’s decision to buy or use the product. In short, truth in advertising is very important in a skeptical world. Belief in your product is one of the main ways you keep customers coming back.

That’s not to say limits can’t be pushed. But you have to know when to stop. Connect with your customer on an emotional level and be as truthful and honest as you can. You’ll reap the rewards and develop a loyal following.

Billboards may look like the perfect place to wax eloquently about everything your company does. But don’t pen your great American success story just yet. In the case of billboards less is more.

Despite the size of the canvas, the fewest words have the most dramatic impact. There is a tendency for people to think of a billboard in the same manner they do a print ad. The result? A big mess with everything in it but the kitchen sink. In fact, there should be no more than seven to eight words on a billboard.

Because you only have a little over two seconds to capture a driver’s attention,
billboard advertising should not be used as the primary engine of an advertising strategy. They’re more of a recall medium, designed to piggyback on an overall print, broadcast or online advertising campaign. The billboard needs to be a part of a family of advertising mediums. If ‘Joe Consumer’ reads a full-page ad in the newspaper and, as he’s barreling down I-75, sees a billboard carrying the same – or similar – message, something will click. And if the message is delivered well, it will etch a lasting place in the consumer’s mind.

However, it’s not only the words that need to be finessed – it’s the colors and the visuals. If you’re attracted to rich tone-on-tone colors in your home, save it for your bedroom not your billboard .

A billboard’s colors need to be high contrast, such as yellow and black, which are best for visibility. A case in point is pest control giant Truly Nolen, whose corporate colors are black, yellow and red. They’ve built an image across the country with a brand and image building campaign using three simple words on their billboards. Other ways to put billboard advertising to use is as a directional: next exit, turn left. Photography’s doable but the image better be strong.

However you convey your billboard message, remember this colloquialism that speaks volumes in the world of advertising: short, sweet and simple.

Upstairs is a room called the attic. It’s a hodge-podge of pieces of your life: furniture, clothing, nick-knacks. It’s a story of who you are, all tossed into piles. Maybe a few cobwebs.

It’s OK for your attic to be cluttered – it’s even charming. Muddle in your advertisements isn’t quite the same. Your customers can’t wade through every pile of what it took to get you to where you are and what it means to keep you there. Building a website or print ad involves careful deletion: consumers don’t care about every piece of information that tells all about the what and where and when and why.

So when you think about building an advertisement, don’t toss in every piece of information you can think of. And definitely leave out the cobwebs.

Ads aren’t effective if they look like ransom notes: overflowing with information with no dominant message. The way to build effective communication is to remember that you only have a few seconds to grab someone’s attention: with billboards it’s fewer than two seconds and even less on the internet. People are overloaded – a nanosecond is all you have to make them stop and pay attention. A company needs to create one main visual: a picture with a great headline or fluid, clear copy. You can’t clog your advertisement with everything but the kitchen sink. That creates chaos. Your viewer will lose patience and you’re a click away from being dumped into oblivion.

Something must jump out and make a statement; if it doesn’t, the ads becomes one big blur. You need a dominant image – be it a headline, picture or simple, engaging text — to engage the viewer and give them a reason to take action.

For example: in every GAP e-blast there’s one main visual – sometimes a young girl wearing a scarf or a huge banner advertising 50 percent off or free shipping. Whatever else is happening on the page, one dominant item always gets the consumer’s attention.

Give the consumer just enough information to whet their appetite but not so much that they won’t pick up the phone or place that online order.

A brand is like a jewel – it needs to be protected and valued and placed at the best vantage points. It is what keeps you recognized, relevant and real.

Part of what helps to establish a brand is creating a simple and easily understood logo coupled with effective advertising and marketing. After this, however, your company needs to go further. Someone should take charge keeping that brand consistent.

Your brand’s keeper, be it an ad agency or in-house marketing person, is there to ensure the brand remains true to its origin. It doesn’t stray from the thing it ought to be; it doesn’t compromise, and despite product changes and upgrades, remains true to what gave it its fame. Its longevity could transcend months, years, decades or centuries but the brand must remain relevant and always be the link between your company’s name and its products. So in retaining this revered image the keeper of the brand must also bear the responsibility of making certain that the continuity of the brand remains the same through all mediums.

It’s a strategy that should also be reinforced and utilized at all levels of the company; everyone needs to learn the common vocabulary and refer to this vocabulary every time an employee is engaged with the public.

Above all, clear, concise repetition is key. Every single time a prospective or repeat customer sees your brand he/she should easily identify that image with your products and become used to the language through which you are communicating. Nike’s brand is so well known that people have used its “Just Do It” as a rallying cry for everything from getting out of bed to launching a life-changing project.

Idea. Brand. Purpose. It all comes together through a cohesive advertising strategy. Your brand can never stray from what it stands for. And what it stands for can never change.