Quick Reads: Advertising

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Unleash Your Inner Ron PopeilSmall Business
According to Tom Lindmeier, adding video product demonstrations to the rich media mix at your online store can boost Web sales. But there's a caveat: "I have seen my share ...
Put That Checkbook AwayMarketing Inspiration
Think about the last time you wanted to make a quick purchase and the person in front of you whipped out their checkbook. Did you wince as they began the ...
The Deviant Approach to CreativityMarketing Inspiration
Take a look around your office—what do you see? The traditional mix of memorabilia, photos from company golf tournaments and perhaps a few mementos from some recent successful product launches? But ...
Partner Your Product with CareCustomer Insight
Marketers often entice customers to buy a product by offering a free gift with the purchase. They might, for example, offer a free half gallon of milk with the purchase ...
Do You Have Peripheral Vision?Marketing Inspiration
In a post at the Influential Marketing Blog, Rohit Bhargava discusses a social media trend that appears to be on the rise. Instead of focusing on a specific event or ...
Who Can Resist a Bargain?Customer Insight
Many marketers believe customers are attracted to discounted prices. Yet this assumption may be wrong. While a lowered price might make people more inclined to buy your product, they may ...
Social Security ShenanigansMarketing Inspiration
Everyone knows you're supposed to guard your social security number like a state secret. After all, those nine digits are the open sesame for criminals who want to run up ...
A Super Bowl Strategy That Paid OffMarketing Inspiration
In a post at MarketingProfs' Daily Fix, Steven Schreibman discusses Nationwide Insurance's controversial decision last year to leak its Super Bowl ad a week before the sporting event. Outside observers ...
Green with LoveSmall Business
In the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day, candy aisles across the nation usually take on a distinctly pink, white and red palette. But this year, notes Drew McLellan of ...
How Saying the Least May Achieve the MostCustomer Insight
Clearly the things you say and show in an ad can convey something about your product. But how about what you don't say or show? A study has revealed that ...
A Week at IKEA Marketing Inspiration
Mark Malkoff, a comedian best known for patronizing each of Manhattan's 171 Starbucks in a single day, needed a place to stay while his apartment was fumigated. Since his friends ...
This Deal Available Only Last WeekSmall Business
How often do you come across an advertisement with a limited-time offer that has already expired? Or a seasonal offer still lingering a week or two after the holiday has ...
Jingles 101 with Dinah ShoreMarketing Inspiration
If we said, "Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese," you wouldn't miss a beat before replying, "Pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun." Some jingles are that effective. General Motors ...
Where's the Best Place for Your Ad?Customer Insight
Before you place your next ad, think carefully about its location. Research at Northwestern University and the University of Iowa discovered that where and when your advertising appears may influence ...
Potty All Night LongMarketing Inspiration
If you travel to Europe or Asia, you're bound to encounter self-cleaning toilet seats in public restrooms. They work in a couple ways: either a mechanized arm reaches out and ...
Having Fun with Serious IssuesMarketing Inspiration
If you grew up during the 1970s and '80s, or you have children who did, we'll bet you can recite entire verses from Schoolhouse Rock classics like "Three Is a ...
Branding Customers—LiterallyMarketing Inspiration
There you are, wandering around SEMA, a trade show for the automotive aftermarket industry, when a promotion at the Dunlop Tires booth catches your eye. If you let them tattoo ...
How Caricatures Help Your BrandSmall Business
Seth Godin points out a post at Boing Boing about a study suggesting that people are twice as likely to identify celebrities correctly when they are depicted as caricatures that ...
Selling with the StarsMarketing Inspiration
In a post at Bloghound, Lois Kelly nominated Macy's for the best ad shown during the Emmy broadcast in September. The premise: A montage of famous people, everyone from Emeril ...
Blog Ads That Work Small Business
When an ad that appeared on her blog failed to impress, B.L. Ochman provided its purchaser, a television network, some pro bono feedback. "Please don't get me wrong," Ochman writes ...
Simple Evaluation Can Resolve an Ineffective CampaignSmall Business
Though they're a great way to boost short-term sales of products and services, promotions can also lose their impact over time. Senior marketing consultant and MarketingProfs seminar presenter Michael Goodman ...
What Belgian Monks Can Teach You About MarketingMarketing Inspiration
In a post at the Church of the Customer Blog, Ben McConnell tells the tale of Westvleteren, a Belgian beer made by an order of Trappist monks, which has achieved ...
Bring Your Online Catalog to LifeMarketing Inspiration
Missouri-based Vat19 started out producing DVDs, but then expanded its offerings to include anything it considers a "curiously awesome" product. Slapstick abounds in the off-beat videos the company makes to ...
Handle With CareMarketing Inspiration
When it comes to personal products, we're receptive to adverts explicitly depicting how something works on our face. Take disposable razors: We don't mind seeing slow motion, cross-section animation of ...
How to Prepare for an Advertising Campaign's SuccessSmall Business
You've done your homework and planned a solid advertising campaign. But, says Elaine Fogel, you need to be sure you're ready for its success. Is your small business really prepared ...