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Blog Archive

Thank You for Attending Our Educational Session!

Farris Marketing wants to thank you for attending our “Building Brand Value with Community Engagement” educational session at the 2023 Ohio Needs Transit Conference & OPTA Expo. Contact Us Please contact us to learn more about our services or how we can help you with your Community Engagement Event! George …

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Marketing The Unmentionables: Embrace The Awkward

A few months after I got married, I was in the grocery store, shopping from a list my wife gave me. I saw that sanitary napkins was one of the items on the list. Suddenly I felt anxious. I knew it was silly — I’ve skydived, drag-raced, and done all …

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Get Your Feet Wet In Marketing

We’re looking to hire a Marketing Intern or Assistant. This is an entry-level at part-time, 15-20 hours per week. The position could expand to full time eventually. The candidate must be a high school graduate, now working and/or going to college. We want someone who will fit in with our …

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The ABCs (and X’s) of Rebranding

Deciding on whether you should change your brand name should not be as difficult as some businesses make it. If your company or product name (A) no longer appeals to the market you seek or (B) your product line is changing substantially, (C) you should probably change, pivot, realign — …

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After Marketing, Will AI Take Over The World?

Not long after I mentioned artificial intelligence in a previous column, I received an email from a reader, “Before I started using AI, I thought it might be dangerous. Now, I just don’t think about it.”  I have the same attitude. As Mad Magazine mascot Alfred E Newman says, “What, …

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Are Media Moguls Giving Marketers Too Many Choices?

Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are modern media moguls— make that social media moguls. Zuckerberg is more of a true social media mogul, whereas Musk is probably more of a tech, space, solar energy, tunnel-drilling, electric car and social media mogul. Musk owns one social media platform — Twitter. Zuckerberg’s Meta …

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What Brands Do After The Big Boo Boo

How do brands recover after serious service or social mistakes create PR disasters? All brands, whether they represent companies, products, or services, have one thing in common — people.  People create the brands, run the companies, make the products, and supply the services. And people make mistakes. Eventually brands, like …

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Can You Keep Your Brand Name BUT Change What You Sell?

Have you ever been on vacation or a business trip and spotted someone you recognized? Sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s really the person you know because they seem so out of place. I had that same experience while watching the Denver Nuggets crush the Lakers in a NBA playoff …

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How Great Marketing Makes Retailers Rich

If you were starting a business right now, what type would it be?  Would you choose a business that’s web-based — maybe a cool app or something that sells unique products online? And hey, if you’re going to invest in your own business, you want it to be a business …

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Brand Longevity: A Sweet Lesson From Cinnabon

Did you ever invite friends to your house but forget to check with your spouse? Maybe you were going to watch the big game or play some corn-hole in the back yard or ping-pong on the table in the basement. “What are you doing for food?” your smarter half asks. …

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Increasing Your B2B Sales in 2023

“How did those idiots land a such a huge contract from XYZ?” you ask yourself. “Those idiots” are your competitors, of course.  Since you asked yourself the question, you might as well answer it. “I’ll bet they have an uncle who is a big shot at XYZ.” But according to …

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Social Media Stats That Matter to Marketers

What do you say when your child complains about their math homework and asks, “When will I ever need to know what 2,247.67 divided by 96.7 equals — when will I ever use that?”   You probably say something like, “You won’t need to know that exact answer, but it’s helpful …

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Should You Change Your Brand Name or Logo?

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet.” So declares Juliet in Shakespeare’s classic story of Romeo and Juliet. Juliet seems to argue that it does not matter that Romeo’s family name is Montague — the hated rivals of her …

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What Should You Post On Social Media?

“Be careful what you wish for. “ Have you heard that one before? Sure you have. If you owned or handled the marketing a small business in the 80’s or 90’s, I’ll bet you wished for a new type of media.  You wished you could reach your market someway that …

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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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