Taking Advertising to the Streets

Just when you thought you had seen the last new outdoor advertising technique along comes a new advertising service in the UK called Street Advertising Service that has taken advertising to um…new lows.

Thanks to Springwise, my source for everything new in marketing I learned about this great new advertising medium. I am not sure how long the ads last before they fade away, but for a viral marketing program I think this would work well.

The British company’s Street Art service uses high-pressure cleaning machines to wash brands, logos and advertisements on to dirty pavements. Clients provide their design and SAS turns it into a giant stencil. Working at night, the SAS team blasts the stencil with water and steam on dirty walls, roads, pavements or even road signs. The result is a sparkling clean image in the shape of the company’s logo or message. Nothing but water and steam are used, and it’s all perfectly environmentally friendly and legal, SAS stresses. Pricing for a street art campaign with 15 to 20 adverts throughout a city begins at 1,000 pounds per city plus initial setup costs. Clients so far have ranged from newly opened businesses to global brands.

The idea for the service, which launched last year, came to founder Kristian Jeffrey out of sheer frustration. Jeffrey explains: “I run several small online businesses, and was searching for cost-effective advertising to attract consumers to my sites. My potential customers were walking around me every day, and it was when I was walking through the dirty streets of London that the idea came to me: why not take advertising literally to the street? Having experimented with several different methods, we wanted to apply a technique that was not just eye-catching and effective but also friendly to the environment. What could be more natural than water?”

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Why Blog?

I have been blogging for a few months now and I wish I knew then what I know now. I had read a lot about blogging, but it was a bit sketchy still in my mind. Would the search engines ever find me? Would people read the content? How would I ever get in the top 10 Google rankings from a lowly blog?

As it turned out this blog was born out of frustration trying to design the perfect web site. As a marketing guy I thought I had to have something slick that would convey my knowledge and expertise, but the rigidity of html made blogging look like the perfect answer.

And it worked. Instead of people judging me by the appearance of my web design they are simply coming to my blog, reading my posts and even generating revenue for me.

So why blog? Following are some of the key benefits (some of which I may have borrowed from other lists)

Search Engine Optimization
Blogs give you an increased presence on major search engines. The technology is a magnet for search engines like Yahoo! and Google. A well-written, routinely updated, keyword-oriented blog enhances your chances of high rankings on search engine return pages because most of them index sites based on content— the text on your site. The more times a certain word or phrase, or a combination thereof, is used on your Website, the more likely Google will index your site highly based on that word or phrase.

Communications
Blogs provide a way for you to speak directly, openly and honestly with your customer. Blogs enable you to stop talking at them and start talking to them. Because blog technology allows readers to leave comments on the blog, communications becomes a two-way street.

Brand Building
Blogs serve as another channel on which to promote your brand and company.

Competitive Differentiation
Because blogs give you the opportunity to tell your story over and over, they help set you apart from the competition.

Relational Marketing
Blogs allow you to build personal, long-lasting relationships with your customers that foster trust. One person put it this way: “A blog is a continual tour with a guide you get to know.”

Exploit the Niches
Blogs help you fill your particular industry niche.

Media & Public Relations
Blogs are excellent PR tools. The media calls you, not your competition. Blogs enable you to articulate your viewpoints, knowledge and expertise on matters pertaining to your industry.

Reputation Management
Blogs help you manage your online reputation.

Low Cost
Blogs are inexpensive to set up, operate and maintain. Ongoing marketing costs are minimal. They do require an investment of time in terms of blog posting, but it can pay big returns for the time spent.

Can blogs help your business grow? They can if you know how to use them.

If you want proof then type in any of the following search terms and see where this blog shows up:

• Client appreciation event
• halloween marketing ideas
• open house tips for realtors
• direct mail postcard restaurant

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The Four Elements of Referrals

Do you ever wonder why you do not get referrals from your sphere of influence; the friends, family, clients, business associates and alliances that know you best?

It usually boils down to two three problems, all of which I am guilty of at one time or another.

1. You are not asking them for referrals.
2. They don’t know you need them.
3. You don’t follow up and acknowledge referrals.

Why don’t people automatically refer business to you? For the same reason you are not referring business to them. People are busy, they forget about you in their day to day life, they are not sure what exactly you do or that you even want referrals.

Our basic human nature is to help others, but we also don’t want to impose ourselves on others. In the absence of a clear message from you that you are building your business on referrals it is implied that you are doing fine without them.

I think there are four main elements involved in generating referrals:

1. Networking - business and social
2. Marketing - All of the visible, written aspects of spreading your brand
3. Communication - verbal activities related to contacting your sphere of influence
4. Responsiveness - The follow up of the referral and the recognition of the person referring

You need to be good at all four of these elements to build a successful referral business.

Networking is all of the activities, both social and business that bring you into contact with potential customers or clients. These activities should turn total strangers into warm prospects and potential referral business with a few simple follow-up steps. When you make a connection with someone and earn the right to contact them again you need to concentrate on building trust and communicating what you do effectively. You might send them a handwritten thank you note, an email or letter with your business card acknowledging your new relationship and your willingness to help each other.

Have in place a system for regular follow-up mixing phone calls with written forms of communication to continue to build trust.

Your marketing efforts which include all of your printed material, web site, brochures and email stationery are the tools you use to communicate your brand and build awareness of your business. Pay careful attention to the message you are sending. When you meet people are you making excuses for your business cards? Are you adding additional information on the back that you should have had printed on there in the first place? If you have a picture on your business card does it look like you? When you follow-up with a referral does all of your marketing material communicate the same, professional image?

Communication with your sphere of influence is vital to your success. Before the advent of email we used to phone or write letters to our sphere of influence. Now it is too easy to fire off a quick email or send a newsletter electronically and think we are actually reinforcing our relationships. Don’t fall into the trap that any communication is good communication. Pick up the phone. Talk to people. Tell them what you do. Ask how they are doing. Ask if you can help their business and ask them for referrals.

You need to develop follow-up systems tailored to the strength of the relationship you have with your sphere of influence. You can communicate too much. For example, your friends are part of your sphere of influence, but you might communicate 4 times a year through a birthday card, Christmas card, invitation to an event and a meeting at a social gathering. This might be all they need to remember that you would appreciate their referrals.

Clients who have recently worked with you should have their own follow-up system which might consist of an immediate thank you card follow-up; a personal letter within 6 weeks; a telephone call at the 3 month mark and then a monthly newsletter. The actual system you develop is going to be one that you can sustain and effectively communicates your message.

Your “responsiveness” to both the referral and the person referring is also critical to the long term success of a referral relationship. Bottom line is that when we refer someone we want to feel appreciated by both the person we are referring and the person who we referred them to. If you do not respond in a timely, professional manner it is a reflection on our judgment and it doesn’t take too many complaints from people we are referring to cut off referrals.

Conversely, if we do not receive recognition for a referral it does not take long for us to feel unappreciated and fall back into forgetting about your business.

There is no foolproof system for building referral business, but I do know this about my business:

• I need to be actively networking in business and social environments to grow my sphere of influence.
• I need to use the phone and written communication more than I use email.
• I need to communicate effectively what I do and what types of referrals I am looking for.
• I need to respond promptly to referrals.
• I need to thank people for referrals.
• I need to refer to people in my sphere of influence.

Anything to add?

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Sneak Preview on a Great Holiday Marketing Idea

When is the right time to advertise Christmas promotional ideas? When the deadline is only weeks away.

If you are looking for a way to “Spread Cheer & Build Your Brand” at the same time then customized, candy, cookie or donut boxes are the answer. Give yourself or your reps a reason to get out this season and visit your customers and referral centers.

Below are two sample with all three sizes displayed. Click here to go to my online store for more information.

These are just two samples of the fantastic designs available. There are 4 non-holiday, winter scenes and 4 designs with holiday messages. Click below for specific brochures with sizes and pricing.

Brochure on boxes with Winter Scenes

Brochure on boxes with Seasonal Greetings

The white oval is where we can imprint a full color logo and/or message to promote your brand like this:

What do they cost?

As an example for an order of 100.

Candy Boxes - only $ 0.99 each (min order 50 @ $ 1.49 each)
Cookie Boxes - only $ 1.99 each (min order 50 @ $ 2.09 each)
Donut Boxes - only $3.09 each (min order 25 @ $ 3.79 each)

Click here to go to my online store for more information.

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Stevens, Get Me a Slogan!

Strange title for a post, but it will make sense if you read on. At the end of this post I am going to make you a special offer to develop a tagline or slogan for you for a lot less than you think it would cost.

Do you remember the TV show called Bewitched? It ran from 1964 to 1972 and consisted of 254 episodes. The focus of the show is on the mixed marriage of a nose-twitching witch, Samantha Stephens, and her mortal husband, Darrin an advertising executive. My fondest memory is hearing Darrins’ boss Larry, yell at Darrin “Stevens, I need a slogan”. (I was cut out for marketing at an early age I guess.)

In searching the scripts he might not have said this exact phrase, but following is a reference to the idea.

ENDORA (thoughtfully) - Samantha, is it really true that if Durwood could think up more of those so-called…”Phrases” he would be more successful doing whatever it is he does.

SAMANTHA- Of course. Advertising men get paid a lot of money to come up with clever slogans.

Two of the most popular search terms to reach this marketing blog are “Slogan” and ” Tag Line or Tagline” so there must be a lot of people looking for the perfect tagline. I have written a couple of posts on the topic and they are both read often:

Creating the Perfect Tagline
Writing a Slogan or Tagline

I assume readers are looking for ideas and while I provide lots of samples, dreaming up a slogan for yourself is more difficult than it appears. Firstly defining the difference between a tagline and a company slogan is important. While not a universal definition slogans can change from campaign to campaign, while a tagline is created to last.

So here’s the offer.

I will create a tagline / slogan for you. You won’t find a slogan or tagline by searching the web and you are spending your valuable time on a difficult quest. All I need from you is a few minutes of your time to complete a simple questionnaire and I will do the rest. I will provide 10 to 15 concepts for you to choose from. We will narrow it down to the best three and refine those to the point where you can choose the one that fits best.

The fee for this service is $ 50 payable by credit card. What’s the catch? There is none. If you are not completely satisfied with the results then there is no fee.

In addition, I can help you integrate your new slogan or tagline into your marketing and if you require a logo, stationery package, website or advertising I can help you there too.

Call Mike Blaney at 800-568-8338 or email me at marketingguy@shaw.ca to get started.

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Customer Service Gem - Repair Reporting Over the Internet

There is an innovative website that sets the standard for customer service over the internet and could be applied to many industries. The website is called Housecall and is designed to make repair reporting over the internet easy and interactive.

What is interesting is that any company that makes house calls can use this service for their clients to report problems. Imagine a Property Management company directing people to a website where they can choose from actual appliances in their unit and pinpoint the problem without any technical expertise. The repairman in turn can arrive on site with the proper parts. Click on the image on the right to see a sample image. When you click on any part of this picture a window opens where you can choose from a drop-down list of possible problems without ever understanding plumbing terminology.

This would be a great service to embed in a website to make it easier for customers to pinpoint or explain their problems. When people visit your website are they getting the right customer experience? Are they able to solve their problems? Is it retaining them as clients or driving them to another website. I think Housecall has the right idea.

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Even More on Headshots

I get a lot if traffic to my blog from people interested in more information about how to pose for a headshot. I am always looking for good examples and recently came across a local photographer that I think has it figured out.

Hie name is Peter Holst and his website is www.holstphotographic.com. He states the obvious that “Building a strong brand is the key to success” and refers to his service as photo branding. While his photos are not technically head and shoulder headshots, if you cropped any of these the headshot would e excellent.

Peter’s photography captures the essence of the advice found in these other posts called:

Headshot Do’s and Dont’
The Perfect Headshot
More on Headshots

What defines a good headshot? Here are a few key points:

1. Very relaxed, candid, warm, open honest images of you.
2. Just be a real human being, forget being a star!
3. Look straight at the camera unless the photographer says otherwise.
4. Have a warm smile, not a laugh.
5. Dark clothes attract less attention and put the attention on your face.

Here is a sample of Peter’s work

If you are not in the Vancouver, BC area and still want this quality you can take these to your photographer as a guideline to follow.

Halloween Marketing Idea # 2

In addition to providing treats to your clients in a Thanks a Dozen Treat Box have you ever thought of giving away pumpkins to your clients?

I am not sure how widespread the practice of pumpkin carving is at Halloween, but in our neck of the woods a carved pumpkin means you should knock on the door.

One of my clients hand delivered pumpkins to her client’s and used a doorhanger as a pumpkin hanger. It had tips on carving and an amusing message on the other side. I deleted the client’s name, but you get the idea. Click on the thumbnail for a larger image.

If you don’t want to hand deliver why not set up a display at a local gas station or mall and give away the pumpkins there. An even better idea is to accept donations for the pumpkins on behalf of a charity.

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More on Advertising on Napkins

In a previous posts I talked about Napkin advertising and featured a company called NapkinAd out of Australia. Since then I have discovered a US-based company called HD Napkin which is short for High definition napkin.

I am always looking for something new for clients and I think this is an exciting opportunity for certain advertisers.

What is so exciting about HD Nakins is their process allows the CMYK process to be reproduced onto tissue without compromising the integrity of the image being printed. Their custom-made printing machines, together with high quality paper, and water-based inks, reproduce high-resolution, full-color, photo-realistic images on napkins.

The benefits of this form of advertising is:

1. Unique marketing tool
2. In the consumer’s hand
3. Photo-realistic ads
4. Long & lasting impressions
5. More creative execution

The company offers the following features and services:

1. Napkins are constructed with 3-Ply virgin facial tissue
2. Napkins will be poly wrapped in 50 count packages
3. Each case will house 100 packages
4. All inks are water-based & environmentally safe
5. 4-Color Process / 4-Panel Print Included
6. Metallic Silver and Gold ink is available
7. 10”W x 10”H image area
8. PDF proof included
9. Made in the USA

You can learn more about HD Napkins at their web site.

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Writing For Business

There are many words in the English language that business people mix up with another word that sounds like it or looks similar, such as right and write, or affect and effect.

As a marketing guy I seem to be held to a higher standard than other business people and work hard to pick the write word each time.

While it is impossible to list all of them I thought I would provide a few good examples and if you want hundreds more you can always go to a great resource called the Dictionary of Sound-Alike Words. (Sounds like a Monty Python skit to me)

a lot - many, as in: A lot of people are doing business online today. much, as in: Some people worry a lot about their health.
alot - Wait a minute, there is no such word as alot! It should be two words: a lot, if you mean many or much, or allot, if you mean distribute.
allot - give out or distribute, as in: We will allot the prizes by date of contest entry.

adverse - hostile, as in : The adverse weather conditions forced them to turn back.
averse - reluctant, as in: I am not averse to hearing your suggestions.

affect - to act upon or influence, as in: Strong emotions can affect your health.
effect - (1, a noun) immediate or direct result, as in: What effect does that medicine have on you?
(2, a verb) accomplish, as in: He braided the bedsheets to effect an escape.

climactic - having to do with the climax of something, as in: The villain falling off the cliff was the climactic scene of the movie.
climatic - having to do with climate

device - invention, as in: If your device works, I think you should get a patent for it.
devise - think up a way to do something new, as in: HTML was devised to tell a Web browser how to show the relative importance of lines of text in a Web document.

elicit - draw out, as in: The band’s performances always elicit praise from the critics.
illicit - not allowed, as in: Illicit copying of another person’s work is punishable by law.