As I have said before, I am in the business of making your business look better. It’s what I do. If you were to hire me, part of my job would entail helping you find the right ways to market your business.
For my business, I have a sticker that I could put on my truck if I wanted to. It is my (former) logo, custom made by a company who does such work. I say could, because I have never done it. I’m not really in the business of getting business on the highway. Plus, my driving record could probably prove that I wouldn’t obtain much business even if I was. While I am not a fan of window stickers/car decals/magnets for my business, I might recommend them for you and your business if I knew it would attract the right clients. Who knows.
What I wouldn’t do though is any form of the following:
I wouldn’t put any sort of advertising on your car if it isn’t a professional looking vehicle. Meaning, if we are fighting for window space with your ‘Calvin, doing anything inappropriate to any other brand,’ it ain’t happening.
I’d only ever seen the ‘Injured Bad’ video from my buddy Rob a year or so ago but apparently there are others in the ad campaign. These are examples of good advertising. Trigon BlueCross BlueShield (30 seconds each)
Note: This post was written some time in early-September and never polished or finished. It may not make a lot of sense but it needed to see the light of day.
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about advertising. How it affects me, us as a society, and how I can become better at creating/using it. To me, advertising at its core is about making you feel bad or insecure about what you have by showing you what you don’t have and how it is better. It doesn’t always work, but when done well can create firestorm for your product/service/company. A few companies who are very good at advertising (or hire good agencies): Apple, Miller High Life, & T-Mobile come to mind.
Like the Vern Fonk video from a while back, advertising through the use of things like viral videos has the potential to spread rapidly and can gain outstanding results. But they have to be done correctly.
With all types of advertising out there from print/web/TV/radio/billboard, there is one I admit that I just don’t get yet. The ad campaign that leaves the thought of ‘what exactly were they selling?’ in the audiences’ mind doesn’t actually seem like the perfect solution. I won’t say never but very seldom does it ever work. The Sony Bravia commercials come to mind as one’s that might.
As I spend some more time collecting my thoughts/learning about advertising on the Internet I hope to gain an understanding of what works well and what doesn’t. Adwords vs. Banners, Promoted vs. Viral, Blatant vs. Subtle. Lot’s of options when it comes to advertising.
To go with all my advertising thoughts, Cadbury Dairy created the following to promote video their milk. I think. It doesn’t make me want to buy their milk but it does make me want to share their video.
