Part II - Say Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Simply put the primary goal of advertising must be to generate buzz or awareness of the business and its products. Getting the business’ name and products out there is the reason for advertising. If your advertising is currently without a pulse we need to do some tests and give some general information so you can determine the health of your advertising.

Did you start early?
Putting the investment in early and establish name and product recognition is essential and if done properly in time the overall budget for advertising could be cut to a more manageable level. However, most businesses will not invest early so their advertising takes on the drip, drip, drip, of Chinese water torture with no real end in site and no payoff for the investment made. This can be very disappointing and lead entrepreneurs to the erroneous conclusion that advertising doesn’t work.

Advertising does work if thought and preparation are made.

Do you view advertising as an investment?
You will notice that I keep calling advertising an investment. It is. And good advertising should have a payoff, short and long term. Companies just don’t think about their advertising in that term and they rarely spend the time and resources to make sure the payoff is ultimately there.

So how do you go about stopping the cycle of poorly planned and executed advertising in favor of an investment that will pay dividends down the road?

Doctor, Doctor it hurts when I do this.
We all know the punchline but why do we forget this basic premise? It is time to stop what you are doing. This sounds so basic, yet so needed. Many businesses are hooked on the same old, same old the way junkies and hooked on heroin. Yes, that is an exaggeration but far too many advertisers don’t want to change what doesn’t work. They know what they are doing is not reaching the consumer but they insist on keeping things the same and unless additional money is budgeted to go other places the advertising will continue to fail.

Is it time for professional help?
I had a meeting with a business owner and he said he wanted a new advertising plan. When I gave him my recommendations he immediately started to question why radio station “A” and newspaper “B’” weren’t in the plan. I explained they did not reach his target demographic and it would be throwing money away. He felt he owed the newspaper and radio station something and didn’t want to move his advertising investment. After all he had been on that station for fifteen years. Fifteen years of marginal returns. Fifteen years of declining sales fifteen years of wondering why the right people never heard about his business.

Think about that. Would anyone buy stock in a company that routinely lost money? Of course not, but for sentimental or friendship reasons he felt he owed the newspaper and radio station so he invested his hard earned money in places that had a guaranteed zero return. Does this describe your advertising? Are you just buying ads because you are being pressured or know the sales rep. or the owner? In the immortal words of Nancy Regan, “Just say no!” If you can’t say no get professional help.

The Doctor will see you now.
At Commercial Images & Design we are experts at saying no. But more importantly we are able to assess your company’s needs and make ad buys that will be an investment for your business not a drain on resources.

The next step to building an advertising plan will be posted soon so check back. In the mean time if you have any questions about advertising just call and schedule an appointment. There is never an obligation or hard sell and we will always talk advertising for free. For an appointment call:

618-867-2778
618-924-3642
618-922-2463

Ask for Keith or Russ.