Each October marks the month of breast cancer awareness. This year, consumer goods companies such as Hershey's, Estee Lauder and Yoplait, among many others, are creating special packaging and/or new products, and marketing to promote the cause. Whether a company is trying to boost its image, increase sales or is truly socially responsible, this is a win-win-win for companies, consumers and charities. Read on to see which of your favorite products have gone pink and joined the breast cancer awareness brigade.
The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. -- The Pink Ribbon Collection is created by Estee Lauder in an effort to donate $500,000 in connection with the sales of its Pink Ribbon Collection to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
The Hershey Company -- Hershey's innovates the York Mints Designer Tins with 100 percent of the proceeds from sales to go to the Young Survival Coalition. Also, the iconic Hershey's Kisses Brand Milk Chocolates, Hershey's Nuggets Chocolates, Hershey's Syrup, York Peppermint Patties and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures all feature pink packaging to showcase the company's commitment to educating women, supporting research and finding a cure for breast cancer.
General Mills Inc. -- The Save Lids to Save Lives project says that for every pink lid sent back to the company, the Yoplait brand will donate 10 cents to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, with a minimum total donation of $500,000 and a maximum donation of $1.5 million.
Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation -- Pink Pony Products is a collection developed by Ralph Lauren. The company will donate 10 percent of the proceeds from Pink Pony products to the Pink Pony Fund of the Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation.
Whirlpool Corporation -- Cook for the Cure is a challenge from KitchenAid, a brand which will donate $50 for each pink stand mixer purchased, and varying amounts for each of the other qualifying pink products, to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. In conjunction with its pink product collection sales, KitchenAid will donate a minimum of $1 million to Komen.
Avon Products Inc. -- Avon creates a Pink Ribbon Product Collection. It will donate 50 percent to 87 percent of the purchase price from sales of pink ribbon fundraising products to the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade.
Mars Incorporated -- Pink M&M's from Mars says that it will donate $550,000 for all specially marked bags of dark and light pink M&M's sold, 10 percent of Promise blend purchases made at www.mymms.com/sgk, and from 7 percent to 10 percent of the retail sales prices of special gift items at M&M's World stores to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Mattel Inc. -- Mattel releases the Pink Ribbon Barbie. For each doll sold, $2.50 is donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, with a guaranteed minimum donation of $25,000.
3M Company -- The Pink Ribbon Post-It Notes from 3M will donate 30 to 50 cents from Post-It Notes and other Pink Ribbon products to City of Hope Cancer Research Center.
Energizer Holdings -- This month, Playtex sells its Passion for Living pink gloves and give a cash donation to The National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Larson note: Are you doing anything in pink this month? If not maybe we can help.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Telesales & Target Marketing Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://componga.com/larson.html
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://pacerrunners.ning.com
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Pepperidge Farm Powers Bakery with Fuel Cell
Pepperidge Farm Incorporated dedicated it’s new 1.2 megawatt (MW) DFC1500B fuel cell power plant it installed at its bakery facility in Bloomfield, Conn. Manufactured by FuelCell Energy Inc., the fuel cell is now the biggest power source for this 260,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, and represents the largest single commercial fuel cell power plant in the United States.
This fuel cell initiative is supported in part by the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF), a ratepayer fund administered by Connecticut Innovations Inc., which provided a grant of $3.5 million to Pepperidge Farm to offset part of the construction costs last year. This is the second fuel cell power plant installation at the Pepperidge Farm Bloomfield plant, which opened in 2003. A smaller, FuelCell Energy 250-kilowatt fuel cell was commissioned for the site in January 2006, also with assistance from CCEF.
On its own, the new fuel cell supplies about 57 percent of the total electrical needs for the bakery. Combined with the smaller fuel cell, this installation fulfills 70 percent of the plant's electricity needs with clean power. Both fuel cells operate 24/7 and greatly improve the reliability of electricity at the site - a key issue for a plant that operates three shifts, six days a week. Additionally, excess heat from the new fuel cell is being used to support bakery processes, which helps reduce fuel needs for plant boilers.
Larson note: This is the kind of innovation and thought that is needed to make businesses, all businesses, no matter where in the world you are, stronger and non-dependent on petro energy sources. If an entire bakery plant can do it, why not you? Not only will they get greener, makes a smaller carbon footprint but they will save money and secure the energy needs of the plant (company). This is an area each of us as business people must be looking at, and if at all possible finds ways to take your business “of grid” or at the least lest depending on energy utilities that are being hard pressed to keep up with demand.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Telesales & Target Marketing Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://componga.com/larson.html
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
This fuel cell initiative is supported in part by the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF), a ratepayer fund administered by Connecticut Innovations Inc., which provided a grant of $3.5 million to Pepperidge Farm to offset part of the construction costs last year. This is the second fuel cell power plant installation at the Pepperidge Farm Bloomfield plant, which opened in 2003. A smaller, FuelCell Energy 250-kilowatt fuel cell was commissioned for the site in January 2006, also with assistance from CCEF.
On its own, the new fuel cell supplies about 57 percent of the total electrical needs for the bakery. Combined with the smaller fuel cell, this installation fulfills 70 percent of the plant's electricity needs with clean power. Both fuel cells operate 24/7 and greatly improve the reliability of electricity at the site - a key issue for a plant that operates three shifts, six days a week. Additionally, excess heat from the new fuel cell is being used to support bakery processes, which helps reduce fuel needs for plant boilers.
Larson note: This is the kind of innovation and thought that is needed to make businesses, all businesses, no matter where in the world you are, stronger and non-dependent on petro energy sources. If an entire bakery plant can do it, why not you? Not only will they get greener, makes a smaller carbon footprint but they will save money and secure the energy needs of the plant (company). This is an area each of us as business people must be looking at, and if at all possible finds ways to take your business “of grid” or at the least lest depending on energy utilities that are being hard pressed to keep up with demand.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Telesales & Target Marketing Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://componga.com/larson.html
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
When Free Doesn’t Mean Free
Want a Free laptop? How about a free plazma TV? Of wait, yes you have won a free trip to Tahiti! If they had said Berwyn I might have believed them but I was not lucky enough to win that trip. How about a $1.000 gift card? Or how about a free round of golf in Myrtle Beach SC?
Free has become a four letter word. Free will knock your emails out into the spam folder. Free is anything but free anymore. Free cup of coffee, sure after you buy a $10.00 donut. A free diamond after you buy a $250.00 insurance policy for its shipping.
If you are a direct marketer, a target marketer and are wondering what happened to the power to the word free, just open your spam folder and take a look. Free no longer means free it means lisence to collect data on you and solicitate you with even more messages on free stuff. Free is tied into forms to fill out, containing special compliance regulations, as to age, residency, valid email address, phone number color for your eyes or the city you were born in.
Completion of these promotions means spending more money than you might have spent to actually go out and buy the item regardless of the cost. Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Free, all gone.
To receive a free membership you muse complete all the steps that are listed below, start with a zip code, then register with a valid and deliverable email address and submit accurate contact data and demographic information including mailing address, etc etc. endless information for them to pinpoint who you are and what other offers to send you!
Weather you are a buyer or sell we are both victims because the fallout damage to myself as a legitimate marketer makes my work even harder to get out legitimate messages for my clients. Its like breathing in second had smoke; it clogs my lungs just like yours.
Larson note: If you have the urge to try for these sweapstakes of Free offers I stongly suggest you have an email address set up for just this purpose so all the spammers can blast away.
Now the truth is, yes I blast out emails, I do telesales to fill up your voice mail, I sand out mailings to fill up your mail box but if you are not interested in my company, and what we could be doing for you, if you don’t want my thoughts and opinions, I don’t want to be bothering your email account, your mail box, or hear the ring tone on your phone. It waist my time as much as it waists yours.
We need real.
We need truth.
Not “free”.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Telesales & Target Marketing Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://componga.com/larson.html
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
Free has become a four letter word. Free will knock your emails out into the spam folder. Free is anything but free anymore. Free cup of coffee, sure after you buy a $10.00 donut. A free diamond after you buy a $250.00 insurance policy for its shipping.
If you are a direct marketer, a target marketer and are wondering what happened to the power to the word free, just open your spam folder and take a look. Free no longer means free it means lisence to collect data on you and solicitate you with even more messages on free stuff. Free is tied into forms to fill out, containing special compliance regulations, as to age, residency, valid email address, phone number color for your eyes or the city you were born in.
Completion of these promotions means spending more money than you might have spent to actually go out and buy the item regardless of the cost. Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Free, all gone.
To receive a free membership you muse complete all the steps that are listed below, start with a zip code, then register with a valid and deliverable email address and submit accurate contact data and demographic information including mailing address, etc etc. endless information for them to pinpoint who you are and what other offers to send you!
Weather you are a buyer or sell we are both victims because the fallout damage to myself as a legitimate marketer makes my work even harder to get out legitimate messages for my clients. Its like breathing in second had smoke; it clogs my lungs just like yours.
Larson note: If you have the urge to try for these sweapstakes of Free offers I stongly suggest you have an email address set up for just this purpose so all the spammers can blast away.
Now the truth is, yes I blast out emails, I do telesales to fill up your voice mail, I sand out mailings to fill up your mail box but if you are not interested in my company, and what we could be doing for you, if you don’t want my thoughts and opinions, I don’t want to be bothering your email account, your mail box, or hear the ring tone on your phone. It waist my time as much as it waists yours.
We need real.
We need truth.
Not “free”.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Telesales & Target Marketing Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://componga.com/larson.html
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
What if we didn’t bail out the Banks?
Now that it is all done and on the books, what would happen if Wall Street wasn't bailed out? I heard that as a suggestion from lawmakers disgusted with government's involvement in this "free-market" society. I myself have been mulling over and over in my own mind exactly what the fall out would have been. As is usually the case, a person only has to look in the history books.
Japan's economy collapsed under the weight of questionable loaning practices in the 1990s. Remember that? We were all afraid of Japan taking over the US economy then BAM! The government sat back and let the financial community heal on its own. The following 10 years were ones of no growth as credit was unavailable and businesses couldn't expand.
Well, if we look out over the Fruited Plains of America we currently are experiencing an economy that's growing, be it slowly, but it is growing. I don't think we really want to slow down any more than we have already. History indicates that the bailout may be the right course of action.
After all, what's another $700 billion to the bottomless hole that is government spending?
Larson note: The biggest thing that I can fault in the bail out is not the bailing out of the companies but the bailing out of the idiots who did this to us. The Golden Parachute Boys (and girls) who need to be held accountable. If I ran or made those kinds of decisions for my company do you think even my congress woman would care? I really doubt it, I don’t make any donations to her campaign so why should she. We need to have access to credit that much is true but we need to keep it in check and need to keep our income and out put balances and not take too many chances to maximize failure. Yet, I am for growth, heck I want double digit grown not the little 3%-5% the Feds think we should be happy with. They seem to think a company growing is a bad thing? We at Larson’s love to grow and love to work with clients who want to grow! We are sill on target to grow this year at over 16% and my chief consultant financial officer does not want to see it any other way.
Growth is good, so let’s have more of it and pass it around.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Telesales & Target Marketing Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://componga.com/larson.html
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
Japan's economy collapsed under the weight of questionable loaning practices in the 1990s. Remember that? We were all afraid of Japan taking over the US economy then BAM! The government sat back and let the financial community heal on its own. The following 10 years were ones of no growth as credit was unavailable and businesses couldn't expand.
Well, if we look out over the Fruited Plains of America we currently are experiencing an economy that's growing, be it slowly, but it is growing. I don't think we really want to slow down any more than we have already. History indicates that the bailout may be the right course of action.
After all, what's another $700 billion to the bottomless hole that is government spending?
Larson note: The biggest thing that I can fault in the bail out is not the bailing out of the companies but the bailing out of the idiots who did this to us. The Golden Parachute Boys (and girls) who need to be held accountable. If I ran or made those kinds of decisions for my company do you think even my congress woman would care? I really doubt it, I don’t make any donations to her campaign so why should she. We need to have access to credit that much is true but we need to keep it in check and need to keep our income and out put balances and not take too many chances to maximize failure. Yet, I am for growth, heck I want double digit grown not the little 3%-5% the Feds think we should be happy with. They seem to think a company growing is a bad thing? We at Larson’s love to grow and love to work with clients who want to grow! We are sill on target to grow this year at over 16% and my chief consultant financial officer does not want to see it any other way.
Growth is good, so let’s have more of it and pass it around.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Telesales & Target Marketing Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://componga.com/larson.html
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Social Media Advertising Accessible to the Big Guys Now
You know it would happen as now as marketing budgets get tighter they have found ways to pull in additional income (in reality they were working on this for a while now) accessible to larger companies with money to spend.
With Silicon Valley venture capitalists telling their portfolio companies to tighten their belts for the recession, it might be a funny time to introduce a new platform for advertising, which is likely to be hard hit as companies cut costs.
Yet ad platforms are exactly what MySpace and visual search startup Eyealike launched on Oct. 13. MySpace MyAds is designed to help anyone from local retailers to musicians and politicians create targeted ads for their social network's 122 million users, with out having to know all sorts of fancy programming and layout work.
MySpace MyAds lets SMBs craft custom banner ads for specific audiences. Business owners can then analyze how their ad campaign is faring on MySpace. According to MySpace's instructions, MyAds looks easy enough for even an all thumbs person like me to create.
Advertisers can either go to the MyAds site or click the Advertise link at the bottom of any MySpace page. Users create a display ad using the MyAds Builder Tool and select an ad price range from $25 to $10,000. Sweet deal huh? But only if you actually make the right connections with your banner ad.
Users can then target the customers with MySpace's HyperTarget technology, which gauges age, sex and geographic location against specific keywords within each user’s interest category. Sounds like a target marketers dream come true. When the advertiser works out their ad, MySpace's customer support will makes sure the ad is up to specifications, the ad can go live. MySpace charges the campaign when a user clicks on the ad. Users track ad performance with MyAds analytics reporting. This tool tracks impressions, click-through and a running cost on active campaigns.
The wide-range price point could be attractive to the active Social Network Marketer. Will Internet advertising dry up as ad dollars get tighter or just be limited to massive, sprawling ad campaigns? It's unclear at this early stage. Or will MySpace through in some juicy perks to make cynics like me want to go for a test drive?
Eyealike VisualAd, meanwhile, is billed as an image and video-based contextual ad platform for social networks and rich media. Eyealike CEO Greg Heuss said that VisualAd is similar to Google's AdWords, but instead of using keywords to target ads, the platform indexes, filters and classifies images and videos. Here comes Web2 at its utmost?
Also, unlike Facebook and MySpace ads that target demographics, the VisualAd platform analyzes facial features, skin color, hair, gender, as well as objects such as logos or product images in online images and videos to serve targeted ads. We are getting to some really cool stuff here guys. I mean where you going to go to get this kind of pin-point accuracy, if they can indeed really come through like this.
VisualAd could be used to identify an infant's face in a user's profile image on a social network. The site could assume that the user has an infant and serve an ad about diapers or baby food.
Heuss believes VisualAd could match more ads to images and improve the match based on the actual image, increasing ad revenue for social networks. VisualAd, priced on an annual licensing fee that varies according to CPU and storage size, modules purchased and use frequency, works as either an API or as a self-hosted solution and runs on Windows and Linux.
VisualAd comes at a time when Facebook and MySpace sell ads on low CPM rates, from 8 cents to 12 cents per one thousand views; Eyealike believes VisualAd could help making the same exact page view worth $2 to $20. But remember the true cost is not in the number of hits or clicks but in the cher-ching of your cash register
I have got to love Eyealike's approach, a visual breath of fresh air against the keyword world of Google and the demographic-focused bent of MySpace and Facebook. I am going to be watching Eyealike a lot in the next few months as have their roll out and wish Eyealike good luck.
But let's keep everything in perspective, MySpace MyAds and Eyealike's VisualAd. Citing research notes that the online ad market is in trouble and that dozens of advertising networks that have cropped up over the past two years will be impacted. Do I hear Ning?
Google is the very company MySpace and Eyealike are trying to differentiate from so it may be a safe bet thanks to its performance-based ad system.
Larson note: Keep in mind how the works economy is right now, and how companies are looking at there ad dollars. Social Media marketing is out there and the big guys really want in, in a way that does not have the high time needs that it has today. This might be just the lead in the Fortune 1000 have been looking for. Good yes, but it might drive the price up for the 5-million and under companies, but they can get in the ball game by out networking. Keep your skills honed in and refined.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Telesales & Target Marketing Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://componga.com/larson.html
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
With Silicon Valley venture capitalists telling their portfolio companies to tighten their belts for the recession, it might be a funny time to introduce a new platform for advertising, which is likely to be hard hit as companies cut costs.
Yet ad platforms are exactly what MySpace and visual search startup Eyealike launched on Oct. 13. MySpace MyAds is designed to help anyone from local retailers to musicians and politicians create targeted ads for their social network's 122 million users, with out having to know all sorts of fancy programming and layout work.
MySpace MyAds lets SMBs craft custom banner ads for specific audiences. Business owners can then analyze how their ad campaign is faring on MySpace. According to MySpace's instructions, MyAds looks easy enough for even an all thumbs person like me to create.
Advertisers can either go to the MyAds site or click the Advertise link at the bottom of any MySpace page. Users create a display ad using the MyAds Builder Tool and select an ad price range from $25 to $10,000. Sweet deal huh? But only if you actually make the right connections with your banner ad.
Users can then target the customers with MySpace's HyperTarget technology, which gauges age, sex and geographic location against specific keywords within each user’s interest category. Sounds like a target marketers dream come true. When the advertiser works out their ad, MySpace's customer support will makes sure the ad is up to specifications, the ad can go live. MySpace charges the campaign when a user clicks on the ad. Users track ad performance with MyAds analytics reporting. This tool tracks impressions, click-through and a running cost on active campaigns.
The wide-range price point could be attractive to the active Social Network Marketer. Will Internet advertising dry up as ad dollars get tighter or just be limited to massive, sprawling ad campaigns? It's unclear at this early stage. Or will MySpace through in some juicy perks to make cynics like me want to go for a test drive?
Eyealike VisualAd, meanwhile, is billed as an image and video-based contextual ad platform for social networks and rich media. Eyealike CEO Greg Heuss said that VisualAd is similar to Google's AdWords, but instead of using keywords to target ads, the platform indexes, filters and classifies images and videos. Here comes Web2 at its utmost?
Also, unlike Facebook and MySpace ads that target demographics, the VisualAd platform analyzes facial features, skin color, hair, gender, as well as objects such as logos or product images in online images and videos to serve targeted ads. We are getting to some really cool stuff here guys. I mean where you going to go to get this kind of pin-point accuracy, if they can indeed really come through like this.
VisualAd could be used to identify an infant's face in a user's profile image on a social network. The site could assume that the user has an infant and serve an ad about diapers or baby food.
Heuss believes VisualAd could match more ads to images and improve the match based on the actual image, increasing ad revenue for social networks. VisualAd, priced on an annual licensing fee that varies according to CPU and storage size, modules purchased and use frequency, works as either an API or as a self-hosted solution and runs on Windows and Linux.
VisualAd comes at a time when Facebook and MySpace sell ads on low CPM rates, from 8 cents to 12 cents per one thousand views; Eyealike believes VisualAd could help making the same exact page view worth $2 to $20. But remember the true cost is not in the number of hits or clicks but in the cher-ching of your cash register
I have got to love Eyealike's approach, a visual breath of fresh air against the keyword world of Google and the demographic-focused bent of MySpace and Facebook. I am going to be watching Eyealike a lot in the next few months as have their roll out and wish Eyealike good luck.
But let's keep everything in perspective, MySpace MyAds and Eyealike's VisualAd. Citing research notes that the online ad market is in trouble and that dozens of advertising networks that have cropped up over the past two years will be impacted. Do I hear Ning?
Google is the very company MySpace and Eyealike are trying to differentiate from so it may be a safe bet thanks to its performance-based ad system.
Larson note: Keep in mind how the works economy is right now, and how companies are looking at there ad dollars. Social Media marketing is out there and the big guys really want in, in a way that does not have the high time needs that it has today. This might be just the lead in the Fortune 1000 have been looking for. Good yes, but it might drive the price up for the 5-million and under companies, but they can get in the ball game by out networking. Keep your skills honed in and refined.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Telesales & Target Marketing Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://componga.com/larson.html
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
Clueless Advertising
Want to know why most ads flop? It’s usually because some creative idiot and art director got all giddy and excited about the graphics they were making and forgot about the message that they had to project. Now don’t get me wrong, a client can mess up their own advertising just as much if not more when they put their two cents in but 9 times out of 10 it comes down to the creatives who muck it up.
The 1st Law of Advertising states that Fancy graphics with weak vague cute headlines and captions will always lose out to ads with strong user benefit messages and user self interest oriented headlines and captions.
The way to generate winners time and time again is to think content. Start by assuming that the ad or mailer only has money for black and white, and the whole entire story needs to be said in words NO graphics! After the complete story is told in words then go back and put in graphics that complement and complement the headlines, captions and content so it will have a complete synergistic impact on your audience.
With poor thinking coming out of Michigan Avenue (Chicago) and Madison Street (NYC), Creatives continue to put the cart before the horse and squander a lot of good money. Keep your focus on your target audience and what you want to say to them
Larson note: Am I being overly nasty here? I don’t think so. I can’t write, I sure can’t create and I can’t produce a single graphic to save me life. Yet, I know what works; I know what attracts me, my friends and their friends. Having spent 20 years as an ad man in an agency don’t just go and write me off all you creatives out there. Remember that when your clients make money, you will make more money. Simple, direct and pointed works every time.
I am also NOT a big fan of creative by committee. Give me a writer, a creative, and a strong rep, let me lock them in a room together and I can give you the best advertising you will ever see.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Telesales & Target Marketing Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://componga.com/larson.html
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
The 1st Law of Advertising states that Fancy graphics with weak vague cute headlines and captions will always lose out to ads with strong user benefit messages and user self interest oriented headlines and captions.
The way to generate winners time and time again is to think content. Start by assuming that the ad or mailer only has money for black and white, and the whole entire story needs to be said in words NO graphics! After the complete story is told in words then go back and put in graphics that complement and complement the headlines, captions and content so it will have a complete synergistic impact on your audience.
With poor thinking coming out of Michigan Avenue (Chicago) and Madison Street (NYC), Creatives continue to put the cart before the horse and squander a lot of good money. Keep your focus on your target audience and what you want to say to them
Larson note: Am I being overly nasty here? I don’t think so. I can’t write, I sure can’t create and I can’t produce a single graphic to save me life. Yet, I know what works; I know what attracts me, my friends and their friends. Having spent 20 years as an ad man in an agency don’t just go and write me off all you creatives out there. Remember that when your clients make money, you will make more money. Simple, direct and pointed works every time.
I am also NOT a big fan of creative by committee. Give me a writer, a creative, and a strong rep, let me lock them in a room together and I can give you the best advertising you will ever see.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Telesales & Target Marketing Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://componga.com/larson.html
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
Monday, October 13, 2008
The Week Ahead for October 13 – October 17
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday: September Retail Sales; September Producer Price Index
Thursday: September Consumer Price Index; September Industrial Production; Weekly Initial Jobless Claims
Friday: September Housing Starts
Larson note: We are going to see some of the Investment Bank fall out start to hit the reports now. Keep your eyes focused on the Industrial Production report on Thursday, this will give a clearer picture of where the economy really is, not in some bank board room where the take care of their own quiet nicely, thank you. Also, take a good look at your micro-economy, of your customers and your sales. Yes there is a trickle down effect from the big corporations to the smaller ones but keeping a stong local base is your key to growth.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://componga.com/larson.html
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. For those looking for more in your telesales efforts, ask about our new inbound telesales service
Tuesday:
Wednesday: September Retail Sales; September Producer Price Index
Thursday: September Consumer Price Index; September Industrial Production; Weekly Initial Jobless Claims
Friday: September Housing Starts
Larson note: We are going to see some of the Investment Bank fall out start to hit the reports now. Keep your eyes focused on the Industrial Production report on Thursday, this will give a clearer picture of where the economy really is, not in some bank board room where the take care of their own quiet nicely, thank you. Also, take a good look at your micro-economy, of your customers and your sales. Yes there is a trickle down effect from the big corporations to the smaller ones but keeping a stong local base is your key to growth.
Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://componga.com/larson.html
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate
P.S. For those looking for more in your telesales efforts, ask about our new inbound telesales service
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