Keynote speaker

We drove through the town of Ribnica today and had to stop for a couple of minutes because of road works. My wife noticed an interesting plaque on a house, which said “Insured by Yugoslavia”. It seems insurance companies of the previous century really knew how to advertise their services.

Why is this kind of advertising good?

• Because without a doubt, all the villagers – and an occasional passer-by – notice the plaque.
• Because the neighbors see it.
• Because the neighbors then discuss their insurance policies and their advantages, and support their choice. This is a good example of word-of-mouth.
• Because if one house is insured soon there are going to be more. You know how it goes in Slovenia – if a neighbor did it, I have to do it too.
• Because the plaque says that the house has a good master.
• Because it discourages competitors’ sales representatives (on the other hand, it might invite them, too).
• Because…

Later I asked my father about the plaque and he said that his father’s house had a similar one, a Vzajemna insurance company plate from before the War. It seems all insurance companies used to do it. The idea itself is nothing special; it’s been used by companies from other industries for quite some time now.

Think about it for a while. You must’ve noticed that almost every inn has its name written on a sign that also advertises beer.

Today, the prices different advertisers pay for the same ad can differ up to 100 times. Yes, one hundred times!
Hmm.
Well.
Alright.
I won’t go into all the implications of the above, but I’ll just say the following. If you don’t know how to buy media space, don’t even try because you’ll get burnt.

This statement isn’t mine. These are Gregor Cuzak’s words, in his blog on October 3^rd. Gregor made a mistake, though, by giving me credit for these words. I have to admit I’m jealous that I haven’t said them myself, but what can you do. J Read his entry. Recommended.

I took a photo of these delicious-looking mushrooms though. Mushrooms and eggs for dinner today.

Or perhaps not. Keep away from what you’re not familiar with. Gregor is right, he speaks from experience and I agree with him. I’ve done it both – I’ve sold and I’ve bought advertising space. Several million euros were involved and I’ve learnt my lesson (most of the money wasn’t mine). If you don’t know the game, there’s a high chance you’ll get burned. Do your research, read books, attend seminars, talk to professionals. Reading a blog such as this also helps.

Here’s a photo of a castle where David Ogilvy worked. David Ogilvy bought this castle in the golden age of marketing, the golden age for marketing agencies.

Gregor mentions Al Ries. My company published an excellent book by this author, The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding.

Companies spend millions on marketing programs, which proves to be futile despite big budgets and good organization. When a company makes a mistake, the competition soon takes over its business. How to avoid these mistakes?

Al Ries and Jack Trout spent 25 years studying what pays off in marketing and what doesn’t. They discovered that programs that had paid off had always been designed according to the basic rules of the market.

The authors identify 22 situations you might find yourself in when managing or establishing brands. The book isn’t just about laws but also about traps. The authors conclude that a good brand name is one that sounds good. Competition is fierce in business today; you can succeed only if customers choose your product from among the abundance of others.

We need goals. If you know where you want to go, you’re more likely to actually get there.

Germans have figured out that men aim better if there’s a fly in the urinal. So they’ve painted a fly in every single urinal at the Munich airport.

They did it so that the cleaning staff has less work. They must have tested both options, with and without the fly. And the fly helped. If you know what you’re aiming at, you’re sure to hit it. J

Have you got goals? Are they concrete? Have you written them down? Do you often think about them? Are they constantly in front of your eyes?

Free marketing ideas by keynote speaker Lisac:

You will sell more if you talk about a subject your customers are talking about. If you watch TV, you must have heard of a media project entitled ‘Swine Flu’. The aim of the media is to attract attention and frighten the audience. In my opinion, they are behaving rather unethically; however, the fact is that sales people like to exaggerate…
OK, let’s drop that. Instead, have a look at an example of a company selling soap. I’m sure that this company, having reacted promptly to the swine flu media project, will dramatically increase sales with this advertisement. Its publication ends the recession for them. [More]

Good advertisements are those that sell well. Publishing an advertisement should cover its costs and bring some money.

Keynote speaker at the airport.

We advertise when we can’t tell our customer the story in person. Advertisements are seller surrogates. A good seller always takes into account his/her environment. A personal address in an office differs from an address over the phone; yet one would address a customer differently at the airport or in Las Vegas, for that matter.
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