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Blog Archive

RX Drug Ads: Side Effects Include Million-Dollar Budgets

You’re watching the game alone at home while your spouse is shopping, and your kids are with friends. Ten minutes into the first quarter, your pizza is delivered. As you sit down and lift that first slice to your mouth, as a time out is called. A commercial for a …

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How to Slice Up Your Marketing Pie

What’s your favorite part Thanksgiving? Is it getting together with your extended family, the non-stop NFL games? Is it the the turkey and mashed potatoes? PUMPKIN PREVAILS One Thanksgiving dessert is on top of almost everyone’s favorites lists. Pumpkin pie is more like a holiday obsession than a holiday tradition. …

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Marketing The New and Unusual

Has it been tough to market your business? Maybe you’re in accounting or wealth management, real estate or medical services. Perhaps you own a restaurant, hair salon or car dealership. Sometimes it’s tough to find the right message. But what if you owned a service or product not most people …

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How Important Are Taglines?

Burger King has been using the well-known tagline, “Have it Your Way,” for more than 40 years. So when they announced at the beginning of October, that they were changing the tagline to “You Rule,” they were expecting quite a reaction from U.S. consumers. For the most part, the reaction …

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The Little Company That Challenged Nike

You’ve probably heard stories about small unknown companies using unique and aggressive marketing approaches to take on and beat an established industry giant. But what happens if the established industry giant also has some pretty awesome marketing chops?  Which company wins in a war between those two?  Nike vs AND1 …

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English Monarchs: Are They Mascots or Masterful Branding?

Seems a little silly, doesn’t it? A little old lady, wearing a crown, walks out on to the balcony of Buckingham Palace. For next ten minutes, the late Queen Elizabeth offers her royal wave to thousands of her adoring English subjects, many whom have waited hours just to see that …

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Tattoo Industry Tips: How to Make Money Coming and Going

Tony Soprano parked his Chevy Suburban in front of Grab & Go Liquor. As he walked into the store, two policemen were leaving.  “He’s all yours.” said one of the cops.  Tony gives them a thumbs up. When Tony sees the store owner, he says, “Hey Mr. Quan, I’m sorry …

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How to Defy Industry Image and Kill the Competition

Imagine you’re picking up your “perfect angel” seven-year-old daughter from a birthday party of one of her school friends. You walk in and see a drowsy kid on a couch. Another is stuffing his face with cake, while one appears to be puking. Not that unusual for a kid’s party. …

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“New & Different” Sells Better In A Crowded Market

How do you increase sales when the market is nearly saturated with products similar to yours? One way is to produce another version of your product that appeals to a new or wider market. That’s what Miller Beer did in the 70s, when they took advantage of the new fitness …

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What Makes Your Advertising Memorable?

84% of TV commercials viewed by consumers are either not remembered or not attributed to the advertiser reports a study by Ipsos Market Research. Ouch! If you’ve got a lot of the budget tied up on the tube, that statistic has to hurt. But it’s not just ads on TV …

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Should Your CEO Be In Your Ads?

Paid advertising has some fundamental goals.  You want to stand out from other ads, differentiate your product, increase brand recognition, and add value to your brand. You also want to move viewers to act  — make an immediate purchase or seek more information.. But achieving these goals is no easy …

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The Billion-Dollar Brand Built Brick-By-Brick

Who the #1 toy manufacturer in the world? Take a guess. Is it Xbox? Meta (aka Facebook) — makers of the Occulus Quest Virtual Reality headsets and games? It has to be a company that makes something electronic or high-tech — like drones, right? Wrong. The #1 toy company in …

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Movie Theaters: Back From the Dead?

 “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,” is a quote often attributed to author Mark Twain when told about rumors that he was gravely ill and died while on a speaking tour. A similar exaggeration may have been applied to the movie theater industry during the COVID 19 pandemic. …

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Will Autonomous Cars Bring Back Burma-Shave Signs?

Imagine you’re in your autonomous vehicle on a trip to Cleveland from Youngstown, Ohio — roughly an hour and a half journey. That’s 90 minutes of solitude that give you — the veteran of driving your own car for decades — free time you never had before. Once on the …

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What’s Your Dream?

What’s your dream? How are going to bring your new idea or existing business to the next level? What is your plan to help you reach your vision? You need a proven strategy to be successful — a strategy that includes these key components — (1) SOLID KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR …

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Local Small Business Gets A Lift…And Gives One.

Imagine you’re the owner of a small business attending an event with lots of other small business owners. Most of them, you’ve never met. It’s a diverse group of people: male and female, old and young, black and white. Their businesses are diverse too: bakery, craft & hobby, shoe store, …

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What’s Your Strategy?

What’s your strategy? How are going to bring your new idea or existing business to the next level? Do you know how to reach the right market? What’s your plan? Your strategy needs these key components to succeed — (1) SOLID KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR MARKET  You must identify your best customer. …

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What’s Your Plan?

What’s your plan? How are going to bring your new idea or existing business to the next level? Do you know how to reach the right market? What’s your marketing strategy? Your plan needs these key components to succeed — (1) SOLID KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR MARKET”  You must find your best …

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Mascot Marketing & The Great Sausage Race

Four friends head to Miller Park in Milwaukee to see a Brewers baseball game. They have a lot in common — each is over 7-ft tall and made of pork. There’s Brett Wurst the Bratwurst, Stosh the Polish Sausage, Guido the Italian Sausage, and Frankie Furter the Hot Dog. They …

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The Marketing Power of Free Time

When you come across news about the development of autonomous vehicles, what’s your first thought?  If you’re like most people, your first thought is probably a question— “Why do we need autonomous vehicles?” Companies in that category may tell you the key benefit of their end product comes down to …

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What’s it going to take?

What’s it going to take to bring your business to the next level and reach the success you have made your goal? What’s it going to cost? What has to be done? What’s the marketing strategy? Whether you have start up business or you are beginning to revamp your existing …

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The Easy Marketing Strategy That Works

“Go Easy on Me,” Adele sang to her lover.  The Eagles suggested you “Lighten up while you still can….and Take it Easy.” And Lionel Richie was “Easy Like Sunday Morning.” “Easy” is a special and often-used word in every language.  Search “easy” in Google and you’ll get 8.9 billion results …

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Marketing Pot: Challenges and Cash Besides Clever Lines

Buying marijuana is not something Americans are used to doing out in the open. Many recall a scenario in which one friend scored the pot and brought it to his or her friends. Comedians Cheech and Chong had a routine featuring a character named “Dave,” who runs out to buy …

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Is Marketing Really a Form of Mind Control?

The 1962 movie The Manchurian Candidate is a psychological political thriller about the Cold War and sleeper agents. The plot centers on Raymond Shaw, a U.S. soldier in the Korean War who is captured and brainwashed by communists. He is released and returns to civilian life in the United States. …

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