Marketing & Advertising for Small Business

Playing to Win

shawn@regalstudio.com (Shawn Porter) — Fri, 26 May 2006 19:41:00 +0000

This past weekend I was in Canada as my family there was throwing my wife and I a small wedding reception. While there we visited my grandfather a few times who, though physically handicapped since WWII and wheelchair-bound for a good portion of that, has remained to this day one of the smartest and most mentally fit people I know. Though he has fell into a weaker state lately, he came out with a quote the during our last visit that set me aback.

"If you play a game to lose, you shouldn't be playing at all."

Every day of our lives whether in our personal lives or in business we climb obstacles that we fear falling from. This quote, to me, seems to represent how my grandfather lived his life. I've never once heard from him that something was impossible or that something may be too hard to accomplish. He set his goals, through determination achieved them and continued on.

Sometimes the most obvious of comments can be the most profound.

Viral Marketing Gets LOST

shawn@regalstudio.com (Shawn Porter) — Mon, 15 May 2006 16:01:00 +0000

Okay, so I'm a LOST junkie. Yes, I'm one of those people who come into work the next day and talk your ear off about how GENIUS the show is. I'm one of those schmucks who gets conned into surfing the web after an episode to find those creepy hidden clues.

However, peeling back the skin of ABC's LOST reveals a genius marketing engine (yes, I used the word 'genius' again). Whether you like the show, hate it or don't care either way whether Michael is really one of the 'Others' we can all learn from the efforts put forth in making the show as popular as it has become.

If you're not familiar with the show, it surrounds a group of plane crash survivors 'lost' on an island who attempt to decipher strange occurences, structures and creatures that inhabit the island. Beyond that is an overlying reason for them being on the island that remains a mystery.

However, there are so many elements that make the show interesting both on air and off. The show is saturated with symbolism, mathematical schemes, phylosophy and mysterious character connections that have been the fuel for viewer speculation. Each episode is followed by a flood of internet traffic where viewers talk about the show and attempt to decipher the new clues presented.

Having noted the massive following of LOST, creators decided to fuel the fire with their own viral campaigns. The campaign started with a web site developed as a corporate presence for the ficticious airline, Oceanic Airlines. Users found that by clicking around the site in certain combinations they were given additional clues or information pertaining to the show. This was followed by numerous other campaigns including a site for the ficitious company The Hanso Foundation and a site made by a ficticious band presented in the show, Drive Shaft.

Producers have also launched several television commercials, newspaper and magazine advertisements that look like ads for the ficticious companies featured in LOST. Recently they also released a book, "Bad Twin", which makes mention of The Hanso Foundation adding to the mystery.

Message boards, podcasts and water coolers are jam-packed with viewers discussing the intricacies of the show, LOST. In fueling the discussions, producers have found a way to keep viewers involved by empowering with the means to decipher the show's mysteries and talking.
Last week I found myself on the phone with my step-father, both of us trying to unlock clues on a web site promoted on a new television commercial for the Hanso Foundation (http://www.sublymonal.com/). Once I hung up the phone I sat back and looked at the situation. What was I doing? How did I become a marketing guinea pig? The answer is easy. They empowered me to make my experience fun and intiguing. Even as a marketing professional, I couldn't resist!

Get your LOST Viral T-Shirt at Regal Threads

Questions about this article? Email me with '4815162342' in the SUBJECT line and you could WIN A LOST T-SHIRT!

Selling Word of Mouth Advertising

shawn@regalstudio.com (Shawn Porter) — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 14:05:00 +0000

Imagine sitting in a restaurant or bar talking with your friend about how bad your cell phone service is. A nice gentleman sitting near you turns and joins the conversation who sympathizes with your frustration with the same company. He then tells you that he just got new service with ABC Cellular who has given him the best service he has ever encountered.

He didn’t sell you anything. He didn’t even push his agenda. He was simply expressing his experiences in normal, everyday conversation.

Normally we might take his advice and at least do some research into ABC Cellular. However, a new marketing medium is sprouting in major cities called a word-of-mouth media channel used to spread the word about a company or product through the most powerful medium of all time - word of mouth. In this new venture normal people are paid to act as agents for a company to talk about a company or product thereby spreading buzz and awareness.

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NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Could ordinary people’s buzz about products be bought and sold by agencies like so much time on TV or radio?

BzzAgent, a Boston-based firm, is betting it can, as it launches a word-of-mouth media channel through its network of 130,000 average consumers eager to chatter about a brand.

Two agency partners So far BzzAgent has two agency partners, StarcomMediaVest Group’s Reverb division and Havas’ Arnold Worldwide, which will pay “slotting fees” based on the number of agents used and the length of time the campaign lasts. Arnold will use the channel for client Hershey Co., when it launches a new product-sampling campaign, believed to be a Take Five product, next month.

Turning WOM into a medium -- as opposed to just a marketing discipline or tactic -- could do wonders for its stature, allowing agencies to buy buzz alongside traditional media buys. There’s even a rate card forthcoming this week. BzzAgent will look to join up as many as six additional agencies as partners this year.

“One advantage of this is that word-of-mouth can live on a marketing plan or a media plan,” said Jamie Tedford, senior VP-media and marketing innovation at Arnold. “It’s important that it’s not just viewed as an afterthought. There’s already a shift as marketers are planning traditional and non-traditional media side-by-side.”

'Right direction' “Even if it’s just a semantic issue, it’s a move in the right direction,“ said Peter Kim, senior analyst at Forrester Research. “If you call it a media channel, it’ll make a lot more sense to a lot of people. Like with online advertising, all this has to be integrated for it to work.”
Marketers and agencies have been giving word-of-mouth a close look over the past couple years as a way to supplement, or even replace, traditional media campaigns. BzzAgent’s network is used by a long list of major marketers from Anheuser-Busch to Volkswagen.

For BzzAgent, which recently raised almost $14 million in venture capital, the move from a promotions firm to a media channel means that it will focus on tending its agents and turn over creative considerations to the agencies it partners with. The idea is to run more campaigns, give agents a broader range of products and creative ideas to work with, and zero in on how to measure their effectiveness. It now runs about 35 campaigns concurrently.

BzzAgent campaigns work like this: Volunteer agents choose a campaign to work on and receive information about the product. After forming an opinion, the agents spread it to people they know and then produce a report on the activity. The reports are then analyzed for the client. Agents receive points in exchange for reports that they can redeem for rewards.

Lowered costs for agencies None of that system will change, but BzzAgent’s surrendering of creative and strategic responsibilities should mean lower costs for participating agencies. “It’s priced in a way that could be a profit center for agencies,” said founder-CEO Dave Balter.

As it’s giving up most of its creative control, BzzAgent is also laying out guidelines for campaigns that forbid pyramid schemes and require that agents disclose the fact they’re working as agents. The issue of disclosure has been a major one for the word-of-mouth community as agencies and marketers worry about getting entangled in shill programs.

“There’s a high barrier of entry to the types of programs we do,” said Mr. Balter, who hopes the standards established will create a point of difference as competitors inevitably crop up. “Word of mouth is a medium and the marketplace is already there.”

Source: AdAge.com

Selling Word of Mouth Advertising

shawn@regalstudio.com (Shawn Porter) — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 14:05:00 +0000

Source: AdAge.com

Super Bowl Ads Fumbles and Scores

shawn@regalstudio.com (Shawn Porter) — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 18:02:00 +0000

As usual, the Super Bowl this year featured the best and worst commercials of the year. This year's spots for which ABC received between $1.6 - $2.5 million dollars each have become almost as popular as the game itself.

As a primary game sponsor, Anheuser-Busch again came out strong with some great, heart-felt and entertaining spots as usual. Godaddy.com, the super-hero-like defender of free speech during last year's game, used their $2 million dollars to poke fun at the debacle. This ad, while not necessarily promoting the product, was a great branding effort in that it related back to last year's ad and the chatter about decency in broadcast that ensued thereafter (not to mention the Janet Jackson affair).

Unfortunately, we also had to sift through a field of bad weeds before finding these gems. I would pay to see Terry Tate, the office linebacker, re-enact his commercials for Reebok in the offices of those who created these monstrosities of not-so-special special effects and presentations of comedic blunder.

The Good - CareerBuilder
It's one thing to be funny. But it's even more important to have it relate to your product. CareerBuilder did both.
See Ad here

The Good - GoDaddy
Using social and political chatter to support the ad was Godaddy's strong point with this ad - that and tying back to last year's spot. I have to wonder how much they spend in creating DENIED ads.
See Ad here
More here (the site that got DENIED air play)
More here (Another DENIED)

The Good - Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch utilized a campaign of emotional spots featuring the loveable Clydesdale horses and threw in a funny spot here and there to change things up.
See Ad here
More here
More here
More here

The Weird But Funny - FedEx
See Ad here

The Bad - Motorola
Using effects is great. But it takes more than a computer to make it special.
See Ad here

The Bad - Cadillac
Can someone explain this spot to me? Did it have a point?
See Ad here

The Bad - Burger King
Anything featuring the King these days just scares me. Now, put him in a 40s-style dance routine and it's enough to make one go mental.
See Ad here

2005 Google Search Trends

shawn@regalstudio.com (Shawn Porter) — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 13:56:00 +0000

A look back at 2005 wouldn't be complete without some lists. Here are three from Google, representing some of the most popular searches in 2005.

Google.com - Top Gainers of 2005
1. Myspace
2. Ares
3. Baidu
4. wikipedia
5. orkut
6. iTunes
7. Sky News
8. World of Warcraft
9. Green Day
10. Leonardo da Vinci

Google News - Top Searches in 2005
1. Janet Jackson
2. Hurricane Katrina
3. tsunami
4. xbox 360
5. Brad Pitt
6. Michael Jackson
7. American Idol
8. Britney Spears
9. Angelina Jolie
10. Harry Potter

Froogle - Top Searches in 2005
1. ipod
2. digital camera
3. mp3 player
4. ipod mini
5. psp
6. laptop
7. xbox
8. ipod shuffle
9. computer desk
10. ipod nano

Major Disasters (click to view)

Star Wars (click to view)

Weapons of Mass Destruction (click to view)

Harry Potter (click to view)

Pop Princess Showdown (click to view)

Black Friday (click to view)

Here's a link to Google's full list of 2005 search trends (more for entertainment purposes).
Source: http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist2005.html

DVR Ratings to Debut From Nielson

shawn@regalstudio.com (Shawn Porter) — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 13:53:00 +0000

With the advent of DVR (digital video recorders) like TiVo and Brighthouse DVR and products of the like, advertising agencies are increasingly worried about ad dollars dropping to the floor. The new DVR systems allow viewers to skip right through commercials to continue their favorite show uninterrupted. I, for one, do exactly that. With the DVR system installed, I never see commercials anymore. It's great for me, but for the companies who paid hundreds of thousands or even millions for those spots, it's a catastrophic invention.

Ad agencies and their clients alike are scrambling to conjure up new ideas to circumvent the system. Some of the concepts include ad banners placed at the bottom of the television show throughout the broadcast and in-show branding. American Idol is a prime example of a show implementing both of these concepts. Notice the blatant mentioning of AT&T (I think they've now switched to Cingular) in addition to the logo placement when showing the 'Vote Now' phone number. In addition, the show Survivor is notorious for on-screen product placement with car give-aways and food challenges including "new, refreshing Mountain Dew Black."

Neilson Media Research has scheduled to implement a DVR ratings system on December 26, 2005. The system will be the first of its kind to track viewer behavior with DVR systems and will offer information showing whether viewers skipped ads or not. According to Neilson, the ratings will be available for viewing on December 28, 2005 on their web site.

Come on in. The water's fine.

shawn@regalstudio.com (Shawn Porter) — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 20:22:00 +0000

I get regular emails from readers here, but I don't see a lot of public posting. Don't forget you can comment and discuss any of the articles here by clicking on the 'COMMENT' link below the article. This blog exists for YOU! Feel free to participate and share your own experiences with all of us. We can all learn from each other and I'm sure no one will bite you (unless, of course, you like that sort of thing).

Post away!!!

Online Shopping Records Broken on Black Friday

shawn@regalstudio.com (Shawn Porter) — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 13:58:00 +0000

Record numbers of consumers never left their homes on Black Friday, the official start of the holiday shopping season. Instead, they poured online in far greater numbers than last year, according to research released by Nielsen/NetRatings.

Some 7.4 million unique visitors to more than 100 online retailers the day after Thanksgiving -- 29 percent more than last year’s Black Friday -- prove that the Web has become a vital component of Americans’ shopping preparations. While many shoppers headed out to the stores over the weekend, the majority first turned to the Internet to check prices and product availability, reported Heather Dougherty, senior retail analyst, Nielsen/NetRatings.

Ebay was the top online retailer over the weekend, with 9.5 million unique visitors. Next in traffic was Amazon with 4.6 million and Wal-Mart Stores, which drew 3.4 million. Target was next with 2.9 million, and BestBuy.com attracted 2.1 million. These were the top online shopping destinations last year on Black Friday as well. But there were also newcomers in this year’s top 10: Circuitcity.com, Dell and Shopzilla.com.

The fastest-growing retail category online on Black Friday was toys and video games, with a 152% week-over-week growth (daily percent change from Nov. 18 to Nov. 25). This sector was fueled by the release of the Xbox 360 and portable game consoles. Next was consumer electronics, which climbed 142%, followed by computer hardware/software with 102% growth. Among the hottest consumer electronics and computer products this year are flat-screen TVs, iPods and other MP3 players, Ms. Dougherty said.

One reason for brisk online sales is rising fuel costs that make shopping from home easier on the budget. Another reason is that online retailers have inundated consumers with special promotions this year, in what Ms. Dougherty calls “a deluge” of free shipping, sales, gifts with purchase and more. “It definitely seems far stronger than ever before,” she said. Additional growth was seen, “cyber Monday,” the Monday after Thanksgiving. “Their e-mail inboxes are filled with promotions, so it makes sense that they will at least go to sites to check them out,” she added.

The Nielsen/NetRatings Holiday eShopping Index is comprised of 100 online retailers across 10 categories, whose online traffic figures and other data are studied and released throughout the holiday season.

Source: AdAge.com

Tis the Season for Online Shopping

shawn@regalstudio.com (Shawn Porter) — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 02:54:00 +0000

As we all know, the holidays are the biggest time of the year for retail shopping. Retailers, especially the big dogs, open up the marketing budgets for ad spending that, in most cases, pays off big time. This coming Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is known as the biggest shopping day of the year. This day, referred to as Black Friday, is called that because it is always considered a day where the accounting books will be 'in the black' (as opposed to being in the red) which signifies a profit.

According to a new poll from Yahoo! Small Business, 83 percent of shoppers during the holidays plan on doing so online. The poll continues to show that 63 percent of those respondents plan to shop with small retailers who offer niche or specialty goods. In addition, three out of five respondents stated that it was very important to know that their favorite store had an online presence.

With over half of people polled saying that they plan on doing at least half of their gift shopping online this year, this means big business for small business this year!

A Thanks to Blog Readers

shawn@regalstudio.com (Shawn Porter) — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 23:31:00 +0000

With all this talk about coupon codes recently (I'm working on some coupon marketing projects at the office lately) made me think that I should offer mine up to readers of this blog.

So, here are a few from my T-Shirt site,
Regal Threads.

SAVE up to 30%! They automatically deduct from your total at checkout. So, keep me in mind for the gift-giving holidays! Feel free to pass along these coupons along. Your friends will love you for it!

Go to: www.RegalThreads.com

Save $7.50 on $50.00 (Code: HOLIDAY50)
Save $20.00 on $100.00 (Code: HOLIDAY100)
Save $37.50 on $150.00 (Code: HOLIDAY150)
Save $55.00 on $200.00 + free shipping (Code: HOLIDAY200)
Save $75.00 on $250.00 + free shipping (Code: HOLIDAY250)

Thanks for all your support!

The 'Secret' in Coupon Codes

shawn@regalstudio.com (Shawn Porter) — Sun, 13 Nov 2005 00:52:00 +0000

You know that funny-looking code that you enter when making a transaction online that gives you 10% off the item you're purchasing. These are secret codes that online retailers only share with special customers, partners or employees. There are many names for them, but I call them coupon codes.

The funny thing about coupon codes is that they have become a viral campaign of sorts. When one person finds a coupon code, many times, they will send it out to their friends and colleagues to also use. "Hey Betty, I just found this coupon to get 20% off at Target." Who's going to turn that down? They get passed around the web via email, message boards and coupon archiving sites such as dealhunting.com and slickdeals.net. If you haven't checked them out, you're sure to save a bunch.

If you have an online store, you should definitely look into the possibility of adding coupon codes to the checkout system. Then, you can do many things to promote this code. You can send out an email to your clients who will likely pass it on or jump on some of these archiving sites and get it out there. It will spread like a virus!

Search Engine Advertising Now Cheaper

shawn@regalstudio.com (Shawn Porter) — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 03:28:00 +0000

Yahoo! has made an adjustment in Yahoo! Search Marketing (or Overture), their sponsored search product that's used by many growing businesses. They've just eliminated the $20 monthly minimum fee for the pay-per-click offering. They expect the move to help boost use of the service among first-time customers who may have been wary about signing up. What's it to you? It could be a good time for entrepreneurs to try out search engine advertising without risking any big budget drains.

What is it? For those unfamiliar with search engine advertising it’s typically called Pay-Per-Click advertising (or PPC). Go to Google or Yahoo and search for something. See those search results up at the top and down the right hand side? Those are all paid listings. The advertiser is paying a small fee (starting at $0.10 on Yahoo) for each click. Each advertiser bids for positioning by the amount they are willing to spend per click. The higher the bid - the higher you ad will be positioned. This can get tricky when advertisers start competing for position.

What does this mean to small businesses? This means that business owners who have wanted to get started with search engine advertising can do so with very little investment up front. All it takes is a little time to learn the game and a little patience. I call it ‘a game’ because, if you’re like me, once you get in there and start playing with it you’ll find it to be addicting and fun playing with the numbers in order to beat out your competition without blowing your wad. If you’ve ever get caught up in a bidding war for an item you really want on Ebay you know what I mean.

The key is to test, test and re-test. Many variables come into play and will determine your return on the investment including how your ad reads, what page you are sending them do, your ad positioning and how much you are shelling out per click. It’s a lot like playing chess – it’s a tricky game but can be fun.

I recently opened a new advertising account for a t-shirt business I started (http://www.regalthreads.com: shameless plug) to test out the new Yahoo online advertising model. I started the account with no start up cost and I deposited just $30 to get started. This $30 is used to pay for your clicks. Notice the screenshot above shows my site at the top of the page! I’ll post more later on my experiences with this. So, STAY TUNED! Feel free to post comments or email me with your own experiences.

Direct Mail Hits Home for Younger Consumers

shawn@regalstudio.com (Shawn Porter) — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 03:29:00 +0000

Direct marketers have long known that older Americans pay attention to mailers, but "Gen X, Gen Y, and the Mail," a new study commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service, found that more than three-quarters of this generation reads and responds to mail just like their older counterparts. Gen X, born between 1965 and 1972, makes up roughly 17% of the population; Gen Y, born between 1977 and 1994, makes up about 25% of the population. Though these age groups are comfortable with e-mail and online marketing, the study found they are more likely to read and respond to printed marketing material. Among the other findings:

Young consumers say 75% of the mail they receive is valuable.
58% of Generation X and 66% of Generation Y prefer paper bills to help them manage finances.
74% of Generation X and 68% of Generation Y read the retail advertising mail they receive.
68% of Generation X and 73% of Generation Y retail direct mail readers have used mailed coupons.

Source: Entrepreneur.com

Market You. Be You.

shawn@regalstudio.com (Shawn Porter) — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 15:28:00 +0000

The time is coming quickly for my high school reunion which takes place next weekend. This is usually the time where one decides to crash diet, buy some slick threads and actually read one of those spam emails we all get about replica Rolex watches. Although I do love my half-classic Camaro, I even toyed with the idea of renting a 300c. I hope my Camaro is not mad at me for my momentary weakness.

Sure, we all want to be better, stronger and better looking but showing off a different side of oneself is completely detrimental to what we've built ourselves to be. This same concept applies to business as well. We all want to show off our products/services in the best light possible for optimal effect. However, there is a fine line that exists between heightening your product’s appeal and over-exaggerating its usefulness. This is called false-advertising which is not only unethical but can bring a company down in a heartbeat if brought out into the open. Many new drug companies are seeing the inside of courtrooms today for this reason.

Reunions are a time for remembrance, re-living days of the past and most importantly, networking! Although it may have been 10 years since I've seen some of these classmates I understand the power in networking and association. You may meet someone who you can benefit from, whether it be through the products they offer or information they have gained. In addition, you never know who may benefit from your products and expertise - even if he was the class bully.