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.

There’s an Ad For That

By Steve Fradkin, President
The Wizard of Adz

You’ve seen the “smart-phone” ads.  Whatever you want to do, “there’s an app for that.”  Want to find out the weather in Sri Lanka?  There’s an app for that.  Want to locate the closest location for Kosher Mexican food?  There’s an app for that.  Want to produce an advertising campaign that reaches your target market with the right message and doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg?  Oh wait…there’s NO app for that.

Your situation is unique.

Sure, you can get pre-designed and pre-written ads from the manufacturers of the products you carry, or from your trade or professional association.  You can get logos and business cards online.  You can get the kid down the street to make a good-looking brochure on his/her spiffy new laptop.

But are these easily-obtained and relatively inexpensive products for you?  Do they address and appeal to your specific target market?  Do they present your company’s benefits so that your message separates you from your competition?  Do they select the right media for you, or help you plan your advertising schedule and budget?

Of course not.  They weren’t designed with your business in mind.

• Ads from manufacturers are designed to sell the products — not your company.  An ad for Chevrolets doesn’t lead people to your dealership.  It promotes Chevys, and may give exposure to your competitors.
• Ads from trade associations are even less directed.  They’ll promote hearing aids, for example, but not a specific brand, and certainly not a specific outlet.
• Catalog items — business cards, logos, signs, etc. — are one-size-fits-all.  A design for a painter won’t be different from one for a dentist’s office.  And they sure don’t define your image, your uniqueness.
• And the kid down the street?  He or she may have wonderful graphic skills and may even custom-design your items.  But his/her spiffy computer notwithstanding, the kid probably has no marketing background and little or no idea how to write copy that speaks to your market and highlights your special qualities.

Cheap can be quite expensive

It stands to reason that an ad (or brochure or logo, etc.) that is off-target or not representative of your specific qualities will cost you significant business in the long run.  Wouldn’t it be better to invest a few hundred more in preparing your materials than to lose thousands in sales?

That’s where we come in.  We’ve helped companies break national sales records, triple in size, out-pull other ads in the same publication, even generate so much demand that the ad campaign itself had to be stopped.  We didn’t do that with catalogs or stock items.  We did it with sound advertising strategy.  And we can help you produce better results with your advertising.

Bring your strategy into focus

The Wizard of Adz specializes in developing In-Focus Advertising Strategies.  We work with you to define the unique aspects of your business and separate you from your competition, and then creatively and convincingly convey that message to your target audience.

Want to increase sales and market share, strengthening your competitive position and maximizing your return on your promotional budget?  There’s an ad for that…but it won’t be developed until we talk to you.  Give us a call at 781-821-1818 and ask for our collection of successful case histories — stories like the ones mentioned above, and others.

Did You See Our Ad on the Super Bowl?

 

By Steve Fradkin

The Wizard of Adz

If you watched the Super Bowl Sunday, you probably saw some of the flashiest, funniest, most in-your-face ads ever. And if you're like most, you probably looked at many of those ads and said "huh?" to the others in the room. Were you convinced to drink Budweiser because of the shaggy-ankled horses? Or to buy a Camry because their re-invented couch was made of seven bikini-clad lovelies? Did the polar bears tempt you into a Coke, or did Clint Eastwood's Detroit epic make you yearn to buy a Chrysler? Didn't think so.

So what's with these advertisers who plunk down millions for media and millions more for production on ads that are apparently better theater than marketing? Are they destined to be classic mega-bucks boondoggles, or is there a method to their madcapness?

A couple of possibilities:

In many cases, they're not talking to you. You're not the right age, or income bracket, or you have different interests or attitudes than their specific target markets. Don't forget: there is no such thing as a brand that appeals to everyone. If the ad is done right, it's aimed at the most likely buyers. Segmentation Strategy: Strategy #2 of our Seven Essential Strategies of Advertising. For more information, go to our all-new website WizardOfAdz.com and click on Strategic Advertising.
 

The Super Bowl is a very special venue for ads, in that they tend to generate a lot of news media coverage and water-cooler chat. Consider, for example, that Google shows 17,708 articles related to its reference to Forbes' "The Winners and Losers of Super Bowl Commercials in 2012." Of course, the media don't latch on to marketing strategy; the buzz circles around entertainment value - humor, drama, sex. Want to know more about generating media interest in your company? Go to WizardOfAdz.com and click on Public Relations.

So did you see our ad on the Super Bowl? Of course you didn't! Who can afford the $3,500,000 per spot the media charged for those ads (almost $6,000 a second)? We can't...and we're pretty sure you can't either. Yet, it's amazing how many owner-managed businesses have NO advertising budget plan, despite the fact that they shell out thousands of dollars in advertising and related activities each year. No idea how much they can afford, how to apportion the funds, how to determine next year's marketing and sales objectives and plan towards achieving them.

That's why we've developed The Wizard's 3-Step Advertising Budget Calculator. It will help you determine what belongs in the advertising budget, what size it should be, and how to allocate it month-by-month for an entire year. To download it free, Go to WizardOfAdz.com and click on Free Downloads.

So sorry...no Super Bowl ad for us (or you). Call Sharon at 781-821-1818 or email her at Sharon@WizardOfAdz.com. Let us show you how well-designed plays executed with precision and discipline can help you score goal after goal.