No, you don’t need a brochure

By Steve Fradkin, President
The Wizard of Adz

Some time ago, a prospective client came to me and said “I need a brochure.”

“No you don’t,” I replied.

“Huh?”

“You don’t need a brochure,” I repeated.  “You need sales.  Now, let’s discuss what’s the best way to make that happen.”

Too often, people launch into advertising without assessing first how it will fit into their entire marketing plan.  What’s the advertising’s job?  What will it accomplish that will, in turn, lead to the process that brings in sales?

Maybe you’re promoting to re-sellers, to get them to buy and promote your product.  Or maybe you’re advertising to get consumers to demand your product at the store.

Or maybe your customers buy your product directly from you.  If so, maybe what you need to do is get your name out there, so your cold-call telemarketing effort will at least be greeted by some brand recognition.  Maybe your advertising merely needs to establish a positive attitude towards your product or service, so people will be likely to receive your salesperson with a smile.  Or maybe you need to generate increased traffic, or hot leads, or immediate sales via return coupon or call.

And maybe a brochure is right for you — but you won’t know it until you have mapped out your whole marketing strategy.  Instead, you may need a mailer, or a series of ads, or a flight of cable TV spots, or a skywriting plane flying over Fenway Park.

Marketing strategy is one of the Seven Essential Strategies of Advertising that we employ to make sure your advertising does what it is supposed to do.  That’s why our advertising — Strategy-Driven Creative Advertising — is so successful.  Give us 15 minutes of your time, and let us show you how these and other strategies play out — and how we can help you design a marketing strategy that will lead to more sales, not more brochures.  Call Sharon at The Wizard of Adz (781-821-1818) or email Sharon@WizardOfAdz.com.

Why are you Advertising for your Competitor?

By Steve Fradkin, President
The Wizard of Adz

• An ad in the Boston Globe reads “Give the Gift of Dance!”
• A radio spot for a car dealer sings the praises of the new Ford Five-Hundred.
• A TV spot tells you that aspirin can save your life in the event of a heart attack.

What’s wrong with these ads?  What do they have in common — and why should you avoid doing what they do in your ads?

In each case, the advertisement is selling “primary demand” — that is, demand for the generic product rather than the specific source for that product.  In each case, assuming the message is convincing, the buyer may go to any of several sources to make the purchase.

• Giving the gift of dance may convince you to buy a gift certificate for dance lessons, but will you go to Arthur Murray, Fred Astair or another dance studio.  Will you go to the specific outlet advertised, or to another franchisee?
• The same is true for the car commercial.  You may decide to buy the Ford, but you have loads of Ford dealers from which to choose.
• And even if you decide to buy aspirins to have on hand in case of chest pains, whose will you buy?

The wrong strategy

In most cases — and almost certainly in your case — promoting primary demand is a wrong strategy.  You will probably end up sending more business to your competitors than to you.  If I ran an ad simply convincing people to advertise, there’s a pretty good chance that those folks I convince will end up calling one of the scads of services and/or media to do their graphics.  On the other hand, if I give people a reason to call me — for example citing how we concentrate on developing sound advertising strategies — then those I convince will be more likely to contact my company.

The exception

The exception is when you are far and away the industry leader.  If you’re Bayer, and most of the aspirin sold is your brand, it’s OK to sell the benefits of aspirin.  Most of the folks you convince will, in fact, buy your brand.  If you’re Campbell’s (“Soup is good food”) or Kodak (“A Kodak moment”), you can sell the benefits of your generic product.  But if you’re Lipton’s or Agfa, you’d better tell people about the specific benefits of your brand.

The same holds true of franchises and dealerships.  Hype GE dishwashers or Pampers and you’ll send customers to anyone who carries those brands.  But tell people why your store is the place to buy GE dishwashers or Pampers (benefits like open 24 hours a day, or lowest prices in the area, or most knowledgeable staff) and you’ll win customers.

Bring your strategy into focus

The Wizard of Adz specializes in developing IN-FOCUS ADVERTISING STRATEGIES.  Part of that process is working with you to define the unique aspects of your business — to separate you from your competition — and then to creatively and convincingly convey that message to your specific target audience.  Give us a call at 781-821-1818 to see several examples of how we’ve done this for our clients, and to tell you about the spectacular results they’ve received.

Ads that make you smile

by Steve Fradkin, President
The Wizard of Adz

Ask anyone to name a particularly good advertisement and I’ll bet the answer you get will be a humorous ad.  OK…so carry the experiment a bit further and ask who the ad was for.

“Uh…some beer company…I think…or maybe…uh…”

That’s because most writers of humorous ads forget something.  It’s not enough to make people smile; you’ve got to make them buy.

There are, of course, some exceptions.  The Geico ads, for example.  The Aflac duck.  Building #19’s cartoon circulars.

They work because the humor is built around the core message.  “So easy a caveman could do it” hammers home how easy it is to go to Geico.com.  The duck just repeats the company name — clearly, the company’s objective was to gain awareness.  The Building #19 fliers reinforce the company’s down-and-dirty, no frills image.

But the typical funny ads — the ones that make you chuckle and say “Wasn’t that clever” — are little more than miniature sitcoms with sponsor names at the end.  Perhaps the most famous one was the sock puppet spokesthing for an online retailer.  Quick…who was the advertiser? (answer below)

Some of the ads we do for clients are humorous.  Sometimes, in fact, the humor is designed specifically to appeal to the client’s target market.  But whether we’re doing a funny ad or a serious one, we strive to produce ads that make you smile.  Ads that produce the kind of action that makes you happy.

Don’t spend your advertising dollars entertaining people.  Invest your money in ads that will work.  Ads that are strategically targeted and crafted to leave a convincing message with your prospective customer.  Let us show you what we mean.  For our collection of case histories, call Sharon at The Wizard of Adz (781-821-1818) or email Sharon@WizardOfAdz.com.

Answer:
The sock-puppet ads from Pets.com were truly creative, and kinda funny.  But Pets.com stock tumbled over 98% from a high of $14 to just 25¢ when the company folded.  Can you name the company using the sock puppet these days?

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There’s No Business Out There

By Steve Fradkin, President
The Wizard of Adz

I heard a real estate agent on TV recently, reacting to the announcement that February was the worst month for home sales ever on record.  He said “We’re not selling anything because there’s no business out there.”

I’ve got news for him: yes there is.

People are buying homes — both new and previously owned.  And while they may not be lining up at the door waiting to make an offer above the asking price, buyers and sellers are keeping some real estate agents quite busy.

I’ve long maintained that, for small businesses, the economy is like the tide.  It really doesn’t matter whether the tide is high or low.  For small businesses, there’s always going to be enough water.  At low tide, though, you have to work a little harder to fill your bucket.

What’s in the bucket?

Working a little harder to keep your business rolling means increasing and streamlining your marketing effort.  It means an aggressive and innovative approach to advertising, direct mail, publicity, etc.  Of course, you could always wait for the tide to come in (wait out the recovery), but you might need (or want) the water somewhat sooner.

Your more aggressive and innovative approach means:

·        Doing more advertising, publicity and direct mail (depending on your business, of course) and getting involved with social media like Facebook and LinkedIn.  In many cases, you may not even have to increase your budget in order to get better results.

·        Sharpening your definitions of your target market, product (or service) benefits, and media plan to maximize exposure with your target market, while minimizing the dollars flowing between your coffers and those of the print, online and broadcast media, etc.

·        Re-working (or re-creating) your website so your company comes up first on the Google list.  You can even purchase key words that will automatically trigger your company when requested by Google users.

Grab your bucket and let’s get some water together

Really…now that the economy is recovering, why would anyone want to hide their business from prospective customers?  Get out the word — now, before your competitors do.  Bring in those dormant customers with a comprehensive marketing strategy and execution designed by The Wizard of Adz to do exactly that.  Because regardless of what that real estate agent said, there is business out there.  And it’s waiting for you to call it in.

Call Sharon at 781-821-1818 or email her at Sharon@WizardOfAdz.com.  Let us show you what well-crafted strategies have done for other clients, and — most importantly — what we can do for you.

A Third of a Century Ago

By Steve Fradkin, President
The Wizard of Adz

In November of 1978 — a third of a century ago — we opened the doors of The Wizard of Adz, introducing a new concept in advertising agencies.  Our initial clients were a lecture agency, an international manufacturer of precision electroformed metal products, a concert promoter, a bank marketing consultant, and a candidate for state office.

A lot has changed over those years, but our philosophy of making quality advertising available to small businesses is still the same.

Technologically, we were in the Dark Ages.  Our graphics department consisted of an IBM Composer (a typewriter-style typesetting device), an AM Headliner (which set headlines one letter at a time on 35mm photographic paper) and a stat camera (there were no scanners back then).  We pasted bits of type and Photostats of pictures and logos onto white cardboards (called paste-ups), and sent those to the printer or medium to be photographed and made into plates for printing.

Our phones were the dial-type.  There were no desktop computers, scanners or inkjet printers.  We did have an IBM Memory Typewriter, which we used for a somewhat primitive form of word processing.  Our first fax machine was a Qwip telecopier (made by Exxon), which took six minutes to scan a page wrapped around a spinning cylinder, convert the images into audible beeps and squeaks, send those sounds out via phone (in an acoustic coupler) to another Qwip, which reversed the process, thermally etching the image on a special paper.

Needless to say, we’ve done a lot of changing.  And learning.  We progressed first to computerized photo-typesetting, then to digital photo-typesetting (a system that cost us $30,000 back in the 1980s).  Desktop publishing didn’t come along until 1984 (we waited several years more for the quality to improve to commercial standards).  Where UPS and taxicab delivery services had been daily visitors, the Internet and e-mail revolutionized delivery of proofs and printing materials.

But the years have done more than impact our office equipment.  Markets and marketing methods have changed significantly as well.  And we’ve kept pace.  To our repertoire of print, broadcast and direct mail ads, public relations and marketing consultation services, brochures, logos, stationery, billboards and bumper strips, we’ve added websites, on-line banner ads, e-mail blast campaigns, voice mail messaging, social network advice and more.

What we started in 1978 was revolutionary for the times.  While most small businesses either couldn’t afford to retain a full-service ad agency or, if they did hire one, didn’t get the attention and level of service afforded the larger clients, we set out to change the rules and make quality business communication available to smaller firms.

·        We eliminated contracts (most agencies required them).

·        We quoted prices up front, on a project basis (most agencies billed by the hour, open-ended).

·        We set no minimum account size (most agencies had minimums of 6 or 7 figures per year).

·        We required no exclusivity (if you wanted to work with other vendors, or place your own ads, we had no issue with that).

·        We provided advertising management services as well as creative and production, to help owner-managers strategize their ad campaigns (most agencies are used to dealing with corporate advertising or brand managers).

We haven’t changed those policies one bit.  And we’ve helped literally hundreds of small businesses set sales records, double and triple in size, quickly sell out of product, and helped candidates get elected to offices from Library Trustee on up to State Treasurer and Auditor.  To see some of our case histories, check out our new website WizardOfAdz.com and click on Strategic Case Histories or Political Advertising.

And to learn more about how we can put a third of a century of experience and progress to work for your company, call Sharon at 781-821-1818 or email her at Sharon@WizardOfAdz.com.

What does your advertising say about you?

by Steve Fradkin, President
The Wizard of Adz

What do your ads, brochures, fliers, etc. say about you.  No, not just the words.  What else does your advertising say — in looks, in feel, in tone?

Does it say you’re professional, or amateurish?  That you’re unique and special, or just like your competitors?  That you care about and believe in your business, or hold back when it comes to investing in it?

It’s amazing how often businesses will invest money in media, or in printing, and then cut corners or miss the mark on the content.  Maybe you’ve got a nifty new computer and Microsoft Publisher, so you figure, why pay someone to do the graphics.  Maybe your niece just graduated in creative writing and she can write your brochure for you.  Hey…it looks and sounds as good as the rest of the junk out there, right?

Maybe.  Maybe your graphics will reflect your business the way it should be portrayed…and maybe not.  Maybe your niece will capture the positioning and motivation strategy to separate your company from the competition and move your prospects to buy…and maybe not.

Maybe you’ll wind up with what so many do-it-yourselfers end up with: advertising that looks home-made.  And that just doesn’t portray professionalism.  It looks like you don’t care enough to look good.  Like you’re not solid, successful, dependable.  It’s like showing up for a sales call in jeans and a torn sweatshirt.

Would you like a free evaluation of your advertising?  I’ll look at your materials and give you an honest (maybe brutally honest) opinion.  But I won’t just tell you what I think of it; I’ll tell you the reasons behind my thoughts, give you some ideas on how to make it better, and show you some examples of how professional strategy and execution made all the difference for companies like yours.  Call Steve at The Wizard of Adz (781-821-1818) or email Steve@WizardOfAdz.com.

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Budget: It’s Part of Your Advertising Strategy

It’s amazing how many businesses come to us for an advertising strategy without having decided on an advertising budget.  If you’re going to plan for your advertising to work for you, you’ve got to start by planning how much you want to invest in that plan.  Every business needs an advertising budget...every business!  With a budget, you can make intelligent decisions on your advertising strategies, and be able to work with a specific set of goals in mind.

We have a simple form that will help you through the budgeting process.  For a free copy of our 3-Step Advertising Budget form (in Adobe Acrobat PDF format), just ask and we’ll e-mail it to you.

Developing your advertising budget is easy, if you remember these three principles:

1. As you sow, so shall you reap — if your advertising is done right, the results of your advertising (that is, your company’s sales) should be proportionate to your investment.
2. Fish when the fish are biting — it’s best to advertise when your customers are buying (actually, in anticipation of seasonal fluctuations).
3. Special challenges, special solutions — unusual circumstances (grand openings, product launches, awareness campaigns, crisis) call for extra promotional efforts and investments.

Here’s a three-step process for preparing your advertising budget, based on these three principles, and on your company’s past history.  If you don’t have a history, you may have to do some research to find out what the norms are in your industry.

Step 1: Historical data

PART A.  Gather up the amounts your company invested during the last 12 months on these advertising and advertising-related activities:  Media charges, Printing, Creative and Graphics, Strategic and consulting services, Postage used for advertising, Mailing services, Promotional items, and any other expenditures related to your advertising effort.      The total is your last-year’s investment.

PART B.  Take your total sales for last year and calculate the percentage of that total that each month represents (example: June = 8% of the total year).  List them beginning with the FEBRUARY percentage and ending with JANUARY.

Step 2: Setting your goals

Total the following percentages:  a) Percentage you would like your sales to increase; b) How unusual circumstances will affect your promotional needs; the expected rate of inflation and a contingency fund to set aside.  Total these percentages.  Multiply times your last year’s investment.  This, plus your last year’s investment is your Advertising Budget for Next Year.

Step 3: Allocating your budget

Multiply your monthly sales percentages (beginning with the FEBRUARY amount) times your total Advertising Budget for Next Year, and list the figures for your monthly budget for next year beginning with JANUARY (that is, your FEBRUARY percentage of sales should equal your JANUARY percentage of your advertising budget).

If you’d like, ask for a free copy of our simple 3-Step Advertising Budget & we’ll email it to  you.

Once you’ve completed your advertising budget, you can then begin to formulate your media plans and other ad strategies.  That’s also where we can help.  Call us at 781-821-1818.