Derek’s Sandbox – Day 75

Almost there…

Although I’ve graduated with a degree in technical communication, I’ve been surrounded by the marketing world for much longer from being in a band and working in radio promotions. Granted, I do not know EVERYTHING about marketing, but I do know a lot about people. I understand that sometimes you have to scrap your approach to stick to your plan/goal. Which ultimately, everyone’s goal is to make money.

Through my exposure to many different kinds of advertising, I’ve come up with a few stereotypes for each.

This is what is being said about the latest… According to me…

Flyers – Mitch Hedberg never said it better when he addressed the art of flyering with this statement. “when someone hands you a flyer, it’s like saying “Here, throw this away for me.”” Unless you’re a pizza company with coupons, quit hanging stuff on my doorknob, my recycle bin is getting full.

Billboards – “You’re lives aren’t as important as $.99 milk!”  Think of how good your cereal will taste knowing that you cheated death by looking away from the road to discover a small fortune saved. 93 percent of rear-end collisions involved the driver of the following vehicle looking away within three seconds of the crash (Bagg, 2006). Thanks for your contribution to the bettering of mankind with discounted dairy products!

Radio Commercials –This-s Weekend-d Only-y, No-o Financing-g, No-o Credit-t Check-k, Nothing-g Down-n! Come-e Get-t it-t before-e it’s-s gone-e!!!!!!

Assuming that anyone is listening to commercials in the first place, MORE REVERB ON YOUR VOICE IS NOT THE ANSWER TO GETTING PEOPLE TO LISTEN!

TV Commercials – Unless you’ve booked an ad during the Superbowl, I hope your ad is long enough to portray a logo during the framed fast-forward process of TiVo. TiVo is second in the “technology must-haves” to cell phones.  If TiVo and DVR comes before a washing machine and microwave for necessities, I might recommend a different approach (I’ll Give You My DVR When You Take It From My Cold, 2008).

Infomercials – BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! No there’s not, don’t kid yourself.

Email Marketing – I can’t delete them fast enough anymore!

Search Engine Optimization – Search Engine Optimization? Don’t people have pop-up blockers for that kind of stuff?

Here is the fact of the matter. If any of these mediums can broadcast your product to almost a third of the world, if not more? Please by all means do it!

But they don’t. Internet marketing and search engine optimization in particular can allow you to market to your target audience on the world’s most popular medium allowing everyone an opportunity to operate by ethical and creative means.

SEO and PPC is not for everyone though. If you don’t have a website, you don’t need internet marketing. If you’re product or business isn’t ready for success or growth, don’t jump ahead of yourself.

Our regular advertising we’ve grown up with used to be practical, but for the most part is overwhelmed with deceit and simply bad.

So, here’s my question to you- What is practical to your customers?

Bibliography

Bagg, C. (2006). Multitasking and Driving Don’t Mix. Retrieved January 7, 2010, from Research Magazine: http://www.research.vt.edu/resmag/ResearchMagJan06/multitask.html

I’ll Give You My DVR When You Take It From My Cold, D. H. (2008, September 3). Tivo | Epicenter | Wired.com. Retrieved January 7, 2010, from Wired.com: