Advertising Information

Books, Bibles and Fast-Talkers


Every community has 'em. Fast talkers who roll into town with a clever idea to sell to people in business.

Many times the ideas are clever and cute but you should weigh the ups and downs of every offer before you dig out the checkbook. Most of these in-town-for-a-day people want their cash up front.

Some of the common flim-flams are:

Coupon Books

They offer to put you in a giant coupon book to be sold for the needy charity or Lions Club. Books are sold on the phone for $29 and delivered by the Boy Scouts. Watch out for errors and missing expirations once the operation has moved to another town.

Telephone Book Covers

They wrap around the book and the callers see your ad every time they reach for the book. Might be OK if you own the wrecker service, locksmith or funeral home, but run the other way if you have a grocery, Mickey Dees, or bank.

City Maps

Your ad goes somewhere around the edge of the map. You might get pitched by several companies. Some look better than others, most are very pricey. Pick up maps like these when you see them and decide if you'd do business with anyone on the map because of the ad. Distribution is the selling point. Placement is the bug-a-boo. What if your ad is on the back and the reader only looks at the front? Don't be fooled by the promise of radio ads proclaiming free maps and mentioning your name.

Bibles for Newlyweds

I wish I had thought of this one 30 years ago. I would be clipping coupons instead of writing about it.

The fast talker promises to send a Bible to all newlyweds in the county (the names and addresses of the happy couples are public record at the courthouse). Four to six sales at about $500 each and they mail a one dollar Bible 4th class, a peel and stick label stuck inside with the name of the "sponsors" in inkjet color.

They can easily sell a town a day at 3 large and make one trip a quarter to visit the courthouse for names. Work it for two months on a route and eat cake the other 10. A great moneymaker for the Bible people, a dud for advertising effectiveness. But like kids in school and American Flags, this emotion sells well in every community.

There are hundreds of advertising "opportunities" out there. Your job as a business owner is to separate the effective from the cute and clever.

For more about advertising, get my article "Your Billboard is Showing" MailTo:Billboards@BigIdeasGroup.com

©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com

Subscribe to "BIG Mike's BIG Ideas" Newsletter MailTo:subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net

  


MORE RESOURCES:

E Canada Now

Microsoft's Advertising Stunt
Forbes, NY - 12 hours ago
Gates, speaking to 500 advertisers at Microsoft's annual advertising conference, said the rebate program aims to get more consumers to use live.com instead ...
Video: Microsoft: New Talks for Alternative Yahoo Deal AssociatedPress
Pitiless Google Steals Search Share From Rivals PC World
'Microsoft Advertising' Unites Cross-Media Ad Technology Marketing Vox News
E-Commerce Times - PC Magazine
all 786 news articles


Interactive Investor

Daily Mail and General Trust warns of advertising collapse at ...
Times Online, UK - 8 hours ago
The publisher, announcing interim results, admitted that advertising revenues at its UK regional titles, including newspapers in Hull and Bristol, ...
Northcliffe's regional newspapers suffer as DMGT's profits rise HoldTheFrontPage.co.uk
Daily Mail revenues increase as it invests in business systems ComputerworldUK
Daily Mail First-Half Profit Drops on Rising Costs (Update3) Bloomberg
Brand Republic (subscription) - The Press Association
all 29 news articles


eFluxMedia

Microsoft Highlights Breadth in Mobile Advertising at advance08
FOXBusiness - May 21, 2008
Today at Microsoft Corp's online advertising leadership forum, advance08, Brian McAndrews, senior vice president of the Advertiser & Publisher Solutions ...
Microsoft expands mobile display advertising services Telecom Paper (subscription)
Microsoft Unveils Sweeping Mobile Advertising Effort E-Commerce Times
Mobile Advertising Going Strong on Microsoft's advance08 TMCnet
Seattle Times - BCS
all 54 news articles


ABC News

Google Says It Will Defend Competitive Rationale of a Yahoo Deal
New York Times, United States - 3 hours ago
By STEVE LOHR How can Google, the Internet search and advertising giant, contend that teaming up with Yahoo in search ads would not invite an antitrust ...
Yahoo fixation may end up hurting Microsoft IT Week
Why Yahoo! Can’t Go it Alone FOXBusiness
Microsoft searching for answers Reuters
MarketWatch - San Jose Mercury News
all 625 news articles


ChattahBox

Microsoft Moves ‘Beyond the Browser’ to Provide Targeted ...
WebWire (press release), GA - 1 hour ago
Q&A: Mark Kroese, general manager of Microsoft’s Advertising Business Group, discusses growth in digital advertising and how the Microsoft division is ...
Microsoft Demos Zune Advertising Service PC World
Microsoft group aims to expand ads beyond search Seattle Post Intelligencer
No ads on my Zune, please CNET News.com
dBTechno - Electronic House
all 25 news articles


Violent ads breach advertising code
New Zealand Herald, New Zealand - 15 hours ago
A binge drinking television ad played before 8.30pm has been found to be in breach of the advertising code. Complaints were made to the Advertising ...


Kenya: Wunderman Kenya Bags Google Online Advertising Account
AllAfrica.com, Washington - 21 hours ago
Wunderman Kenya, a direct and digital marketing agency division of Ayton Young and Rubicam (AY&R) Group has signed an advertising deal with Google that will ...


Mobile Search Advertising To Grow From $445 Million This Year To ...
Washington Post, United States - 19 hours ago
Juniper Research has released a report on spending on mobile search advertising, predicting it will hit $445 million this year and rise to more than $2 ...


Election reform yes, Libs' advertising gag law no
The Province, Canada - 10 hours ago
Gordon Campbell's effort to rein in third-party election advertising -- mainly union-backed attack ads against the Liberals -- seems destined to wind up in ...
Election law brings grief to the Liberals Canada.com
Election ad bill has 'fatal defect,' NDP lawyer says Globe and Mail
Proposed Liberal gag law may contain fatal flaw Vancouver Sun
The Canadian Press - Canada.com
all 32 news articles


Microsoft Advertising Debuts
Adweek, NY - 23 hours ago
Microsoft has long worked to convince skeptics of its commitment to the advertising business. Now, the company has formed Microsoft Advertising, ...

advertising - Google News

Article List | Index | Site Map
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved.