Way back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, televisions were black-and-white, and telephone deregulation was a gleam in Ronald Reagan’s eye, there was this ad that Western Electric, the monopoly Bell System’s manufacturing division, ran in major magazines. It showed a photo of a small electric fan wired to a phone, over the headline, “This fan…
Author: bgoldman
Research reveals why you're going to believe this post
This post may not be true. Actually, it is. But even if it weren’t, you’d be more likely to believe it. That’s because it has something some others don’t — a picture. Advertising professionals have long known that a picture makes an ad stand out and attract more readership than an all-type ad. They’ve also…
Don't spend more to make your advertising less effective
There are times when doing too much can be as harmful to your bottom line as spending, and doing, too little. Audience size isn’t everything In buying media, for example, the temptation is to go for as large an audience as you can. It’s only logical. Logical, yes, but not necessarily right. Let’s say you…
Why White Pages brand names don't work in today's Yellow Pages world
Where do you go when you know who you’re looking for but not where to find them? The (usually online) White Pages directory. Where do you go when you know what you’re looking for but not who sells it? The Yellow Pages. Or maybe you just go to Google, which works like both, but more like the Yellow Pages.…
What happens when everyone follows "best practices"
Quick, which furniture store is having a this-week-only sale with no payments for six months? Which tire store is selling four tires for the price of three? Which personal injury attorney will fight for you against insurance companies? All of them. And that’s why you can’t tell them apart. “Best Practices” = same practices That’s…