Retail Stores Can Expect Less Sales For 2013 Back-To-School Season The National Retail Federation is predicting that the 2013 retail back-to-school season could be off by as much as 13%. That’s not so good news for retail stores that sell clothing and typical back to school supplies. Since there will be less dollars in the […]
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RSS feed for this sectionHow Early Should You Start Promoting Black Friday Sales?
Black Friday 2013 Promotion in July Every year it seems retailers move up their Christmas and holiday promotions. This year may top all others. I’m posting this blog on July 4th. Normally, I wouldn’t post on a holiday, but when I saw this today I just had to make a comment. I logged on to […]
Advertise On Pandora Internet Radio
Now, Even Small Businesses Can Target Potential Customers with Pandora Internet Radio. I’m always looking for new or unique ways to get my clients message in front of more potential customers. My two teenage boys have been users of Pandora Internet Radio for some time. I had thought about trying a test, when one of […]
How Do Your Customers Find Your Business?
One of our clients is rolling out a program this week to track where people saw or heard their advertising. It reminded me of how difficult it is to get accurate information back from consumers. Even if the ad is striking, it may be misremembered by customers. A number of years ago, our agency was […]
Laws of the Font
There’s been a controversy in Michigan over the legality of the font size on a ballot initiative. The state law requires that the headline or summary description for petitions must be in 14 point boldface. Opponents of the proposed law asserted that the font choice of the ballot proposal did not conform to the legal […]
Market With Color
During the recent APRO Conference in Memphis (Association of Progressive Rental Organizations) I attended a session about the importance of color in advertising. The speaker was Denise Turner of Color Turners. All of the factors that contribute to the design of a promotional piece are important, of course—but be sure you don’t neglect the color […]
Customer Insights: What You Know Makes the Difference
How much do you know about your customers? Studies show that what we think we know is unreliable for decision-making because we are too often influenced by what we want to be true or what would be true for us. Business success rests on a little, easy-to-get information. Managing a good database of customer information […]
Preparing for “The Holidays”
This is the season to order your promotional calendars to give away in November, December and January. To have them available in time, the bulk of the orders will need to be in by late August. Why Give Away Promotional Calendars? Even in 2013, personalized calendars remain one of the most popular promotional products purchased […]
Advertising Basics: Make it Easy for Your Customers
A recent advertising insert in the Dallas Morning News caught my attention, not for what it said, but for what was not included. The large full color insert for Conn’s , a retail appliance and furniture store with multiple locations, did not include an address for a local store. In fact, there was not even […]
Marketing Requires Planning
“Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.” –Thomas Alva Edison Marketing and advertising inevitably require some lead time but too often businesses don’t plan ahead. For marketing dollars to be well spent some preparation is required before implementation. It is important to plan far enough ahead to establish objectives, determine processes for […]
