Bragging Rights
Today I'm choosing to bring to your attention several recent notworthy accomplishments of Wizard of Ads® Partners. Although this is current information, what follows is not news. News is (allegedly) impartial. I can't be impartial about these people... I'm much to...
Passing The Torch (Torching The Past) Part 2.
Verisimilitude. (ver-a-sim'-il-i-tood) Noun. "The appearance of truth." It's the word that could make you rich. But first, a quick history lesson. When the Baby Boom generation came of age they rejected many of the values of their parents' generation. Consider dress...
Passing The Torch (Torching The Past) Part 1.
Care to be alarmed? The way you've been marketing your goods and services is about to fail. Not suddenly, not dramatically, but surely, completely, and inevitably. The aging of the Boomer generation is changing the nature of the market. By necessity it's changing the...
How Big Is Your Reputation?
Locate in the busiest intersection in town. In an area with enough traffic, and you may not need to advertise at all.
Relational, Not Relationship
In a conversation with a collegue in the graphics industry I claimed that all buyers act in either transactional or relational mode when purchasing anything. He said "I don't. I don't drive across town to save a few cents, and I certainly don't have a relationship...
Fearing Customers
When I was 16 and my cousin Kelly was 15, we were both enthusiastic about becoming scuba divers. (Interestingly enough, we both did about six years later). However, my story takes place in 1969 when Kelly found an ad in the back of a magazine for "military surplus wet...
Hippocrates Golf Lesson
As an advertising practitioner, I see a lot of crap masquerading as well-thought-out marketing. I'm reminded of Hippocrates instruction: "First, do no harm."* Every day we all see advertising campaigns that harm the advertiser's image, damage his credibility, and even...
My Father’s Example
Last Thursday I was sitting in an Austin seafood restaurant with Wizard of Ads ® partners John Cassidy-Rice (Wizard of Ads, England) and Dave Young (Why We Blog). I mentioned that my father is my hero. "He's the man I want to be when I grow up," I told them. To the...
Customer Service Equals Two Letter Grades
Have you ever heard of The Keg restaurant? How about the third season of The Apprentice? They will be forever linked in my mind.I spent last weekend in Cincinnati, where my brother-in-law is responsible for my current case of projection TV envy. His is incredible!...
When Is Advertising Season?
Fred sells houses. Fred knows that a certain percentage of houses are going to close in July. He also knows that homes in the process of being sold spend roughly four to six weeks in escrow, and therefore the decision to purchase is being made in May. Fred should probably start his advertising in April to affect his July sales.