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Aggressive Small Business Marketing & Advertising
Showing archives from 04/2004.
Direct Mail Teaser Copy
Posted by Michael Cage on Thursday, April 29, 2004Paul at Brand Autopsy wrote about being let down by direct mail teaser copy that misled him...
He received a direct mail piece from Sports Illustrated with "Do Not Bend" on the envelope. After opening it, there was nothing inside to warrant the teaser.
This is a dumb -- even "rookie" -- mistake by SI, and I'm surprised the copywriter they hired made it. If you are going to tease someone on the outside of the envelope, you damn well better follow up on it on the inside. Otherwise, disappointment and a feeling of having been "taken" sets in. Instead of thinking about the offer, the recipient is thinking about the con.
A simple photograph as a grabber would have solved all of this for pennies. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
There are 2 comments, add your own!The purpose of advertising is NOT exposure
Posted by Michael Cage on Wednesday, April 28, 2004I like Roy Williams and I actually like most of this article. But something not said needs to be cleared up. Not for the article's sake, but for the sake of small business owners who all too often buy into one of the worst myths about advertising.
High rent accomplishes the same thing as advertising. It gives you exposure.
Exposure is what advertising DOES, but it is NOT how we evaluate success. The purpose of advertising in a small business is NOT exposure. It is to generate a measurable response that advances a sale. Period.
If I buy an ad in the Wall Street Journal and get no new customers, it matters not how much "exposure" I received.
If I buy an ad in the Wall Street Journal and get congratulated on how professional it looks but I get no new customers, it still sucks and exposure is still meaningless.
A hefty amount of bull circulating about image and brand and marketing only exists because most businesses aren't tracking response. They simply don't know any better. A better situation for ad sales reps, to be sure. Also better for the "creative" ad firm reps who know how to be "creative" but not how to sell. Much worse for the business.
I find it endlessly entertaining that a "big company" advertisement winning awards has little or nothing to do with results. Instead they are handed out as a sort of insider's secret handshake of self-congratulatory puff. "Oh, look at how brilliant we are. The soul of the brand of the company was so powerfully communicated by the sparkly blue snowflakes." My, oh my, the businesses that would no longer exist were they held accountable for results! Off with their heads! 
Thanks to Todd at A Penny For... for the link.
There are 10 comments, add your own!QUOTE: Positioning and Success
Posted by Michael Cage on Tuesday, April 27, 2004A quote worth hanging where you can see it...
"Success means never letting the competition define you. Instead, you have to define yourself based on a point of view you care deeply about." Tom Chappell, founder of the personal care products company Tom's of Maine
From The Best Or Bust: How Are You Unique at Worthwhile.
There are 1 comments, add your own!Mark Cuban on Success and Motivation
Posted by Michael Cage on Monday, April 26, 2004These 3 posts on Success and Motivation from Mark Cuban (of Dallas Mavericks and Broadcast.com fame) are must reads. I remember Mark posting on John Audette's I-Sales list many years ago, and I'm thrilled he's still making his voice heard.
There are 0 comments, add your own!Carnival of the Capitalists
Posted by Michael Cage on Monday, April 26, 2004It's up at Venturpreneur this week.
There are 0 comments, add your own!