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Actual for You - How To Waste Money Advertising
Trying to think of a way to promote that new product or service that your company recently introduced? Why not try to use a promotional newsletter? Sure a lot of businesses already use it. But it is still a great marketing tool for that new product or service you want everyone to know. You just have to think of a new way on how to introduce that product to your prospective customers and loyal customers.A promotional or marketing newsletter is used by businesses who wants to promote a product or service they just introduced. Newsletters are typically sent by mail or are placed inside the store where customers can just pick up a copy.Newsletters normally use grids, content and photos for design. Newsletter design cannot survive without these three. A good content plus a colorful grid and a striking photo would help present the newsletter in an effective package.A large nameplate showing the
And what's with the 5 point type? Yes, we know it's big when you stand on it, but from the ground....
3. ADS DESIGNED FOR FREE BY THE NEWSPAPER
There may be plenty of talent in the graphic departments of the nation's newspapers, but truth be told, they'll never give you cutting edge creative with font finesse, eye-catching headline and motivating body copy. Why? They simply don't have the time. It's a sausage mill environment typical of most media that offer up free production services. Bottom line - i
Accounts Payable would be easy if it wasn’t for all the paper, as anyone who works in the area will tell you. Paper-based, manual accounting systems have been the bugbear of corporate AP departments for decades.Even the most rigorously organised AP system has plenty of opportunities for problems, including lost or misplaced invoices; incorrect manual data entry; time lost sorting and filing paper, or trying to locate matching purchase orders. All of which leads to slow processing, which can impact directly on the organisation’s financial reputation with partners and suppliers. What’s more, manual AP systems make it almost impossible to meet the regulatory and compliance demands of Sarbanes Oxley, IFRS and others for complete document traceability and auditability.All in all, it’s a recipe for a fruitless paper chase. Throwing manpower at the problem isn’t a viable solution. More people means more
Well it's your lucky day, because over the years, I've uncovered many key areas where advertising dollars are squandered, misspent, misdirected and misused.
But first, I think it's important to define which advertisers are likely to be the most wasteful.
1. Companies that don't use professional media-buying services.
2. Companies with in-house agencies that lack the expertise to buy media correctly. They save the standard 15% agency fees, but waste way more in weak creative, poor media planning and overbuying (it impresses the boss to hear or see his company name every 3 minutes).
3. Businesses that simply don't use the proper media to reach their target market.
4. Businesses that rely solely on their Agency. Although Agencies are usually very adept, honest and have the company's interests at heart, they may not be quite as frugal with their client's money. It is wise to hire an inside marketing professional to be your liaison.
5. Companies that lack a leadership approach in their creative and simply follow the same old - same old.
These are just a few examples of the kind of companies that are wasteful when starting up an advertising campaign. Let me say that we are talking about wasteful - no successful.
In fact, many of these companies are major players as well as spenders. That being said, I only wish I had the money they wasted.
So, what are the most wasteful advertising practices that go on day after day?
Let's start with Print.
1. BUYING FULL COLOUR, FULL PAGE ADS
They're simply not necessary unless the colour of the product is integral to making a sale. ie: fashion collections, paint, wallpaper etc. The fact is, when you take a full page ad, there is no competition. You dominate. Your message is absolutely getting through. Colour ads will serve you much better when you want your ad to stand out on a page filled with ads. Don't get me wrong, I think full page ads say something very important - THIS IS BIG, DON'T MISS OUT! But I believe spending extra money for full colour is generally unwarranted. And really, newsprint colour rarely does justice to the product.
2. BILLBOARDS WITH MORE THAN 7 WORDS
Here's a real money waster. People are driving by at a fair clip, and some companies actually expect them to read sentences, paragraphs and even instructions. Can you believe?
And what's with the 5 point type? Yes, we know it's big when you stand on it, but from the ground....
3. ADS DESIGNED FOR FREE BY THE NEWSPAPER
There may be plenty of talent in the graphic departments of the nation's newspapers, but truth be told, they'll never give you cutting edge creative with font finesse, eye-catching headline and motivating body copy. Why? They simply don't have the time. It's a sausage mill environment typical of most media that offer up free production services. Bottom line - it
T. Harv Eker, author of Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, states that the journey to success is full of twists, turns, ups, downs, stops and reverses. You have to "zig zag" your way to success.He is right. Once you understand this fact, you will begin to understand that your own journey to success will be full of adventure and different roads. Roads that you may not have chosen to venture down, but roads that will ultimately lead to your success nonetheless.We are only kidding ourselves if we really believe that everything will be smooth sailing and will go exactly the way we want it to.Understanding that life presents us with sudden concerns and problems will allow us to be prepared to deal with the unexpected. We won't have unrealistic expectations that will stop us in our tracks.We understand that as we travel the journey to success, we will have to evaluate, correct, re-align, st
3. Businesses that simply don't use the proper media to reach their target market.
4. Businesses that rely solely on their Agency. Although Agencies are usually very adept, honest and have the company's interests at heart, they may not be quite as frugal with their client's money. It is wise to hire an inside marketing professional to be your liaison.
5. Companies that lack a leadership approach in their creative and simply follow the same old - same old.
These are just a few examples of the kind of companies that are wasteful when starting up an advertising campaign. Let me say that we are talking about wasteful - no successful.
In fact, many of these companies are major players as well as spenders. That being said, I only wish I had the money they wasted.
So, what are the most wasteful advertising practices that go on day after day?
Let's start with Print.
1. BUYING FULL COLOUR, FULL PAGE ADS
They're simply not necessary unless the colour of the product is integral to making a sale. ie: fashion collections, paint, wallpaper etc. The fact is, when you take a full page ad, there is no competition. You dominate. Your message is absolutely getting through. Colour ads will serve you much better when you want your ad to stand out on a page filled with ads. Don't get me wrong, I think full page ads say something very important - THIS IS BIG, DON'T MISS OUT! But I believe spending extra money for full colour is generally unwarranted. And really, newsprint colour rarely does justice to the product.
2. BILLBOARDS WITH MORE THAN 7 WORDS
Here's a real money waster. People are driving by at a fair clip, and some companies actually expect them to read sentences, paragraphs and even instructions. Can you believe?
And what's with the 5 point type? Yes, we know it's big when you stand on it, but from the ground....
3. ADS DESIGNED FOR FREE BY THE NEWSPAPER
There may be plenty of talent in the graphic departments of the nation's newspapers, but truth be told, they'll never give you cutting edge creative with font finesse, eye-catching headline and motivating body copy. Why? They simply don't have the time. It's a sausage mill environment typical of most media that offer up free production services. Bottom line - i
A nonprofit corporation has the public’s best interest at heart. It may have an environmental, educational, religious, scientific, or literary focus (among others). In return for their services, the public can make donations to these companies and then deduct the amount from their federal taxes. In this way, it sure is a win-win situation.Although it sounds pretty straight forward, a nonprofit can be a complicated entity. Therefore, it is wise to know where you can find answers to the many questions that are bound to crop up. The easiest place to uncover these questions is online because there are numerous websites that focus on the ins and outs of nonprofits.For example, one place to start is by making sure you understand nonprofit language; in other words, the terms used when discussing a nonprofit organization. Check out this URL:nonprofit.about.com/od/nonprofitstartup/a/glossary.htmind of companies that are wasteful when starting up an advertising campaign. Let me say that we are talking about wasteful - no successful.
In fact, many of these companies are major players as well as spenders. That being said, I only wish I had the money they wasted.
So, what are the most wasteful advertising practices that go on day after day?
Let's start with Print.
1. BUYING FULL COLOUR, FULL PAGE ADS
They're simply not necessary unless the colour of the product is integral to making a sale. ie: fashion collections, paint, wallpaper etc. The fact is, when you take a full page ad, there is no competition. You dominate. Your message is absolutely getting through. Colour ads will serve you much better when you want your ad to stand out on a page filled with ads. Don't get me wrong, I think full page ads say something very important - THIS IS BIG, DON'T MISS OUT! But I believe spending extra money for full colour is generally unwarranted. And really, newsprint colour rarely does justice to the product.
2. BILLBOARDS WITH MORE THAN 7 WORDS
Here's a real money waster. People are driving by at a fair clip, and some companies actually expect them to read sentences, paragraphs and even instructions. Can you believe?
And what's with the 5 point type? Yes, we know it's big when you stand on it, but from the ground....
3. ADS DESIGNED FOR FREE BY THE NEWSPAPER
There may be plenty of talent in the graphic departments of the nation's newspapers, but truth be told, they'll never give you cutting edge creative with font finesse, eye-catching headline and motivating body copy. Why? They simply don't have the time. It's a sausage mill environment typical of most media that offer up free production services. Bottom line - i
As increasing numbers of people search for information on the Internet, it becomes more imperative to have a compelling Website to promote and support your meetings.Here is my list of "The Seven Most Important Things You can do Online":1. Identify all your Online MarketsIt's a common mistake to focus your attention on the obvious target audience for your meetings site - the potential attendees.But many other types of visitor may find your site, and it's important to consider whether they're important to you, how you want to engage them, and what outcomes you'd like to achieve with them.Visitors to your meetings Website might include:past / potential attendeessuppliers / vendors / exhibitors / sponsors / insurersBoard members / employees / volunteerscontent seekersmediajob seekerscompetitio
2. BILLBOARDS WITH MORE THAN 7 WORDS
Here's a real money waster. People are driving by at a fair clip, and some companies actually expect them to read sentences, paragraphs and even instructions. Can you believe?
And what's with the 5 point type? Yes, we know it's big when you stand on it, but from the ground....
3. ADS DESIGNED FOR FREE BY THE NEWSPAPER
There may be plenty of talent in the graphic departments of the nation's newspapers, but truth be told, they'll never give you cutting edge creative with font finesse, eye-catching headline and motivating body copy. Why? They simply don't have the time. It's a sausage mill environment typical of most media that offer up free production services. Bottom line - i
Upper Saddle River, N.J. - November 2005 - Compensation Resources, Inc. (CRI) has released the results of its 2005 Year-End Compensation Survey. The purpose of this study was to obtain compensation data used for trending and planning purposes at companies of all sizes and shapes. Data was compiled from survey questions that were developed by CRI and distributed to companies in 16 industrial classifications, in addition to Not-for-Profit organizations. The survey sampled year-end compensation data from a variety of organizations, collected in October and November 2005.Results indicated that the average merit/salary increase for all employee functional groups was 4.0% in 2005, and 4.2% is the average projected merit/salary increase for all groups in 2006, an increase over 2004 year-end survey results. Generally speaking, Privately-Held companies reported higher percentages of actual 2005 and budgeted
And what's with the 5 point type? Yes, we know it's big when you stand on it, but from the ground....
3. ADS DESIGNED FOR FREE BY THE NEWSPAPER
There may be plenty of talent in the graphic departments of the nation's newspapers, but truth be told, they'll never give you cutting edge creative with font finesse, eye-catching headline and motivating body copy. Why? They simply don't have the time. It's a sausage mill environment typical of most media that offer up free production services. Bottom line - it wastes your money because it lacks impact. It may even lower your customer's perception of your business if the design qualities lack taste.
4. BAD LOGOS
When it comes to branding, your logo is key! Nothing irks me more than a poorly designed logo. If you plan to be in business a while, invest in a properly designed logo that will inevitably define who you are. If you're looking to build trust, consider a consumer's perspective. Shoddy design = shoddy company.
5. IN-DIRECT MAIL
I say in-direct because that's exactly what it is! Unless it's got the recipient's name and address on the envelope it will more often than not, end up with the dozens of other flyers it is grouped with...in the trash.
When you tally up the cost of designing, printing, and distributing your "in-direct mail" piece into the marketplace, the return on investment is just too low. Always remember. TARGET - TARGET - TARGET your market, otherwise you might as well just throw your money to the wind.
Let's look at money wasters in the RADIO media.
Radio happens to be one of my favorite ways to advertise and for many reasons. But there are companies that just don't understand it well enough to buy it responsibly. And that leads to an inefficient campaign. There are a number of reasons to use radio, but I'll focus on the 2 main reasons.
1. You are introducing yourself or a new product and you want to do some brand building.
2. You are well known and have a fabulous promotion you need to advertise.
Each demands a totally different approach in how you plan to schedule your spots and the number of spots needed. Unfortunately, it can be rather lengthy to explain the many variables in this article so I will site just a few examples.
1. OVER-BUYING
Building a brand takes time. It makes no sense to buy radio spots every half hour. Slow and easy is the rule here. Several spots spread out over the long term.
My favorite approach is to double my radio budget by buying alternate weeks. You can actually buy 26 weeks of airtime and leave the listener with the impression that you advertise ALL THE TIME - 52 weeks a year! This happens because there is a roll-over effect of your message from week to week and the listener does not have a sense of that time frame. Why buy 52 weeks when you don't need it?
2. UNDER-BUYING<
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