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Blog Archive


Jeans Makers Turn Blue as Athleisure Goes for Gold

What drives changes in fashion? Is it changing tastes, art, environment or functionality? Nope. Those are the consumer excuses for purchasing the new items. Most changes in fashion are generated by entrepreneurs who envision an opportunity. Looking back, the women and men who are the founders of some of these …

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Did the Pandemic Destroy Customer Loyalty?

Who do you picture when you hear the word “disloyal?” Benedict Arnold? He accepted 10,000 pounds sterling ($2.6 million in today’s dollars) and a commission in the British army to betray the U.S.A. How about mob boss Lenny Strollo? He broke the Omertà— the Mafia code of silence — when he turned …

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Marketing Success With Little or No Paid Media

Marketers— whether working in-house or for an agency — rarely get to determine the marketing budget for their employer or client. Oh, we suggest, we recommend, we even put together elaborate presentations to explain why paid media are necessary to achieve the strategic goals. But in the end, the amount …

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How Brand Marketing Supercharges Growth

Before Steve Jobs, there was George Westinghouse.  Westinghouse, who was from Pittsburgh, became a popular figure in the U.S. when his company was among the first to provide long-distance transmission of electricity. His firm demonstrated its expertise by lighting up an entire city — Great Barrington, Massachusetts — for the …

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Pumped Up By The Pandemic, TeleHealth is Huge/Here to Stay

In the 2002 movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” the bride’s father, Gus Portokalos, would choose a word from just about every conversation and point out its Greek origin — even if it didn’t have one. “Kimono is come from Greek word himona, is mean winter. What do you wear …

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Has Marketing Gone Too Mainstream to Be Effective?

Magicians have an unofficial code that prevents them from telling the public how a trick works. But the prestidigitators who stick to the code are not doing so out of some sense of honor or duty. They keep “how it’s done” under wraps because it makes good economic sense. After …

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Some People Hate Advertising, But Don’t Let That Stop You

Remember waiting for a commercial break in a TV show? You could count on it hitting at a certain time in your favorite show every week. When it did, you sprinted for that snack or drink or bathroom. Sure, Clara asking “Where’s the beef?” was funny the first dozen times …

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Why Business Owners Hate Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing — one more marketing panacea that isn’t. Ask most small-business owners what they really think about handling their social media marketing themselves, and most will tell you they would rather do something else — anything else. Social media takes tons of time. It’s aggravating when customers complain …

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The Overvalued, Misunderstood and Misused TAGLINE

“I took a marketing class when I was in college,” said the newly promoted CEO of a small Ohio-based bank. “Uh-oh,” I think, “here it comes.” He’s spent the last 21 years working on spreadsheets, payroll and policy — but he believes that one marketing class made him an expert. …

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Increase Online Reviews to Boost Business

It’s time to deal with that monster hiding under your bed — online reviews. It seems like a monster because it’s powerful, unpredictable and can occasionally attack. But according to BrightLocal.com: Reviews will happen whether or not you make them a priority for your business. We live in an age …

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Only the Strong, Smart and Lucky Win the Business Wars

Political divisiveness is sure getting nasty, isn’t it? American political parties punch it out on every issue — lying, cheating and seeking to cripple the competition. Well let me tell you, American politics are child’s play compared to American business. Some of America’s most recognized companies have surprising back stories. …

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Marketing Sends $31 Billion of TP Down the Drain

The recent pandemic stirred a surge of panic buying of toilet paper, resulting in empty store shelves and even a few fistfights over the few rolls that were available immediately after that. Some people called it a “shortage,” but that’s a misnomer. Americans use about three rolls a week, and …

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I Screen, You Screen…We All Watch TV Screens

Have you ever known someone who appeared to be very normal, but was involved in a very serious criminal activity? I can tell you, it’s shocking and upsetting. At least that’s how I felt when my friend Marty got involved with laundering money for a drug cartel. It seemed so …

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What Will Your Message Be When You Reopen?

Are you ready to watch a movie and eat some popcorn someplace other than your couch? Believe it or not, under the guidelines recently released by the White House, cinemas would be allowed to reopen in the first of three phases. As expected, it will be left largely up to governors to …

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Be Happy for Businesses Thriving During Coronavirus

When I was 10 or 11 years old, my cousin won a local radio contest and was chosen to take a coveted ride on an elephant during the Ringling Brothers circus show at a local venue. “Why can’t I ever win a contest like that?” I complained to my mother. …

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Don’t let your competitors get ahead of you — ACT NOW!

When the COVID-19 crisis winds down and you reopen, it’s not going to be “business as usual.” You’ll be starting over. Customer loyalty levels will be lower, because your customers weren’t being served. No relationships were being built or strengthened. No branding was reinforced. But if you’re ready, you can make up …

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New Farris-Created TV Spot Highlights Service Changes for WRTA

Farris Marketing produced an upbeat TV spot on a short deadline to help WRTA get critical service information out to riders and the public about their upcoming switch to offering only Countywide bus service. With a very short turnaround time, Farris had to think and work quickly while still maintaining …

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Marketers Must Keep Moving During Covid-19

What can marketers do during the COVID-19 health emergency? That’s what every marketing consultant, every member of a marketing department, and every owner, CEO or manager who directs and/or creates marketing for her organization is asking. There is no playbook for this situation, because this specific situation has never been …

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Mike Bloomberg’s $500 Million Marketing Lesson

Lay’s Potato Chips, part of PepsiCo, spent about $100 million on advertising in digital and national TV last year. In return, they received $1.7 billion in sales of the salty snack — making it the top player in the $8 billion potato chip market. Democrat Mike Bloomberg spent about $500 million on advertising his …

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Marketing for Double Invisible Services

I first read Selling The Invisible, a best-selling book by marketing consultant Harry Beckwith, 20 years ago. His book illuminated the difference between selling a product and selling a service. Selling a service can be more of a challenge because you are selling the invisible. The book has become a …

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Farris Helps Whistle & Keg Brand Make Some Noise

Clients Joe and Mike Thomas, owners of Whistle & Keg Brewery and Beer Hall, pose with life-size cutouts created by Farris Marketing for the Youngstown, Cleveland and Columbus locations. The plaques on the cutouts explain how to access Whistle & Keg’s Mile-Long Wall of 50 Taps with WK wristbands and …

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Super Bowl TV Spots — Some Score, Some Fail

26-year old Vanessa watched the TV commercials during the 2020 Super Bowl game so she didn’t have to listen to her boyfriend complain about the lousy officiating. Many viewers watched the spots hoping to be entertained. However, most of the approximately 100 million viewers watched the spots because they didn’t …

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