Think Advertising Now for the Holidays

How many of you have thought about your Holiday advertising during Thanksgiving week? You make frantic calls the day after Turkey Day but despite your best efforts, no one wants to talk about advertising as the sales folks are still under the hypnotic trance induced by too many trytophan laced turkey legs.

Or worse, you get a hold of an eager sales representative only to find out that the commercial shoot is going to be trouble. It will take at least a week to get the commercial written, shot, edited and approved. Meanwhile, every moment that goes by you let potential customers slip away.

This unpleasant picture is not one that is uncommon. Many businesses forget to get an advertising plan in place before the Holidays and then they are suddenly in the middle of December with no advertising running at all or worse; they have poorly thought out advertising production that reflects negatively on the business, doesn’t hit the target demographic and doesn’t say what you want it to say.

There is a Better Way

With a phone call and a meeting, a representative from Commercial Images & Design Corp. can sit down with you and discuss your business, formulate an advertising plan and then put the plan in place. You can leave the booking and production to us giving you time to watch football and your commercials on Thanksgiving in between your great-uncle’s snores.

Commercial Images & Design is full-service advertising agency that will work with you to put a plan in place then implement that plan to help your business grow. To start your holiday advertising off right call Keith or Russ at 618-867-2778. With over thirty years experience in television advertising and production we can help you tell others effectively about your business.

Part III
It's time to A.C.T.

Once you know that you need some guidance and help from a professional source, find one that has a plan in place to ACT. At Commercial Images & Design Corp. we ACT by analyzing your needs thoroughly, customizing an advertising plan and taking action by helping you invest your dollars. The information below highlights just some of what we do as an ad agency when you need us to ACT.

1. Analyze - With your help, we determine your customer base (projected or anticipated). Who will purchase your product or products?

2. Customize - Customize an advertising plan based on the above information. One size does not fit all in advertising. What works for company "A" may not work for company "B". We must implement a plan that fits your budget and the needs of your company. The final outcome must be an advertising plan that brings customers to your door.

3. Take Action - Once the agreed customized advertising plan is in place we will implement the plan in three phases. First we will make strategic advertising purchases that meet YOUR NEEDS. Far too often advertising agencies and media sales people offer plans that meet their needs. Spending your hard earned dollar indiscriminately is a waste we will not tolerate. Every dollar spent will be to achieve the goal of letting your market hear about you.

Second, we oversee all advertising production. Whether we purchase newsprint, radio, television or outdoor signs we will make sure everything has a consistent theme and content. This is done by producing the work ourselves or overseeing the production of others closely. Depending on cost, advertising can be produced in a number of ways. We will make sure it is the highest of quality and consistent with the message you want to get out to prospective customers.

Third, we track your success by helping you analyze growth in purchases or canvassing customers. These are part of the services we can offer. This will confirm we are on the right track or allow us to make changes to the advertising plan. We will respond quickly to the market that will allow us to get your message to the ears of the buyers.

Our only concern is you and your products or services. We are your representative and we want to do anything we can to help you grow your business. We do not represent other business interests from other media and will never push you into investing your money where it will not work. Also, as an agency, we will roll any cost breaks from media buys back into more advertising for your company.

Lastly, we know that our long-term relationship will be based purely on the success of the advertising plan. Our only motive is your success.

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.

Making every dollar count. When it comes to advertising for small and medium businesses it is very important. Advertising strategies for small and medium businesses must be cost effective but still get the right message to the target audience. Over the next few weeks I will be discussing the way to get the most out of your advertising dollar by employing a proper strategy.

An advertising strategy simply put is a campaign developed to tell others effectively about products and services you offer. Specifically tell potential consumers in the hopes of convincing them to buy what you are offering. This strategy will reflect other business considerations (overall budget, brand recognition efforts) and objectives (public image enhancement, market share growth) as well. It is very important to note that whether you advertise or not you are telling potential customers about your business. Lack of advertising speaks just as loud as advertising in some respects.

Your advertising or lack there of determines the view that the public has of your enterprise. Even though a small business has limited capital and is unable to devote as much money to advertising as a large corporation, it can still develop a highly effective advertising campaign. The key is creative and flexible planning, based on knowledge of the target market or customer base. Once that is known proper advertising and effective advertising can be used to reach the target demographic.

So what are your goals? The Small Business Administration says many businesses goals are:

1) Promote awareness of a business and its product or services;
2) Stimulate sales directly and "attract competitors' customers"
3) Establish or modify a business' image.

In other words, advertising seeks to inform, persuade, and remind the consumer. Commercial Images & Design Corp. can help you with your advertising plan regardless of budget. To find out how please contact Russ Ward or Keith Jackson at (618) 867-2778

This is Part 1 of a series that discusses small and medium businesses and advertising. Check back to see the next part soon.