The President of the United States of America (acronym: POTUS) makes an annual salary of $400,000 along with a $50,000 annual expense account. So I find it interesting that about $9 billion* will be spent on campaigns this year to get the job. That’s $9 BILLION with a “B” and a …
Over the years, I have noticed seven mistakes that come up again and again in marketing messages used by a wide spectrum of businesses and non-profits. Any one of these mistakes can harm or even kill your organization, but a lot of people make more than one of these mistakes. …
I can make you do what I want. Buy things. Vote a certain way. Feel better about my client. You won’t even think about it. You’ll just do it. How will I do it? First, I’ll study you — learn your habits and interests, then I’ll put words and pictures …
Our clients make it easy for us by allowing us to do marketing for some great products and services. But some of the best products don’t even exist yet — so I’ve decided to invent them and then market them. Here are my top three: #1 George’s Motorized Wall-Mounted Back …
My palms are together as if I’m praying. But I’m bent at the waist and twisted to my right side. My right elbow is pointing to the sky (the ceiling) and my left points down to the floor or — as our instructor Kathy calls it — the earth. Yes, …
Imagine the year 2525. You won’t be reading my column. Instead, your iPhone 22 will read my column to you. Of course, I won’t be writing my column either — my avatar will be writing it for me. And since he/she/it is just about perfect, the grammar will be a …
I was talking to 5-month-old Nico Farris. Well, not actual words…just “Whoop, Whoop, Whoop! Wheeeeeee! Whoop, Whoop, Whoop! Wheeeeeee! Whoop, Whoop, Whoop! Wheeeeeee!” I say this as I bounce him up and down in my lap and then thrust him up in the air and hold him above me. I …
So here I am at Gilley’s huge new location in Dallas. Gilley’s is the bar made famous in the movie Urban Cowboy. You’ll recall that Bud Davis, played by John Travolta, tries to impress his girlfriend Sissy, played by Debra Winger, with his (mechanical) bull-riding skills at Gilley’s. This location …
I helped make Steve Jobs wealthy by purchasing Apple products. He helped make me happy, hip and productive. We got our first Apple computer in early 80s. It was rectangular, and it was slow by today’s standards — but it was cool. And if you owned an ad agency, you had to …
Take a Position But not just any position. If you want your branding efforts to be successful, you need to develop a strong Positioning Statement. Use these guidelines — It’s what you’re the best at — what do you do better than anyone else in the market? It’s important — …
FUNNY IS FINE…IF IT REALLY IS FUNNY We’re sitting in the darkened editing suite. We just viewed a commercial I shot and edited. A client asked me to shoot what he thought was a funny concept. I cringed, but wanted to keep the client happy. So now I was asking …
I could see the rides. I could hear the midway game barkers. I could smell the french fries and…well…the horses that apparently had their dinner earlier that day. It all seemed so far away even though were were close. My five-year-old feet were tired from walking to the entrance from …
Can you pass a levy without spending heavy? The answer is YES. Several months ago, we faced that question when we took on the challenge of managing a campaign to pass a 3.8 mill Police Levy in Boardman. And the levy passed by more than a thousand votes with almost no heavy …
What is in a brand name that makes it special? Can it really make a difference? Or are there other factors that determine the success of a brand, like extensive advertising campaigns? Let’s face it, with enough TV spots, we can make the name “Humperdink Hamburgers” work for the name …
My earliest positioning impressions of San Francisco came from Rice-A-Roni commercials and the TV show staring Michael Douglas and Karl Malden as cops. Every so often I have to travel to San Francisco for business and did so last week. And maybe it was the five-and-a-half-hour flight, but I couldn’t …
DRESSING QUIRKY I get away with a lot…especially when it comes to my business attire. You see, I tell my professional clients (male) they should wear a tie and jacket at public or business events and meetings because it sends a message to the others that says, “you are important …
Starbuck’s, McDonald’s, Mercedes, BMW, Nike, Reebok, Budweiser, Coors, Raisin Bran, Special K, ESPN, NFL, Home Depot, Loews, Macy’s, Target and dozens of other brand names are well known to me. But yesterday, all of these names faded away. A new name overtook every brand I ever knew: Nico. NICO was …
When Farris was asked to develop and manage the Boardman Police Levy, we agreed immediately. And although this is a pro-bono* account, we take it very seriously. Our office is located in Boardman and two of the partners and several staffers live in Boardman. The situation in Boardman Township, like …
Using social media such as Facebook for business and non-profit organizations can be a trap of sorts. You want to interact with customers and prospects — but unlike paid media, messages and responses are more difficult to manage. CEOs are concerned that a nasty rumor will be planted by a …
This is a scene from Mill Creek Park in an area located about five minutes from my office. I apologize for the low resolution — I shot it with my Blackberry phone camera.When I’m working in town and in the office, I often “escape” to the park to do some …
Senator Joe Schiavoni and I are on the end of this commercial promoting Our Valley Cooks for Kids. The event is the annual fundraiser for drug prevention programs for kids in the Valley and it is put on by Farris client Meridian Community Care. We are proud to be a …
SHOULD YOU GO ON A RADIO TALK SHOW?That depends. If you are representing a cause such as a non-profit or a levy, you need to understand the view of the host of the radio show before you go on the air with him or her. Understand that in most cases, …
Most of the TV spots we saw February 6 should never have made it to the Super Bowl IMAGINE THIS You have millions of dollars to spend on producing one or two TV commercials. Now pretend you have several million dollars more to run a commercial during the most-watched TV …
No one can do everything, but everyone can do something to improve their marketing, their community and their lives. Here are eleven things you can do to help make Twenty-Eleven a successful year. 1. ATTEND BRAND CAMP. Meet three times with key staffers to discuss your brand and your position …
Something our pastor said at Christmas Eve services this year inspired me and got me thinking about what it would have been like working in marketing and PR at the FIRST Christmas. I imagine it would have gone something like this… Bethlehem — the year Zero. I’m working in this …
Branding Brought to New Heights I’m writing this from my room on the 17th floor of the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Directly out my window is the famous but somewhat dated CN Tower. VISUALLY BRANDING A COUNTRY The CN Tower, which opened in 1976, is a communications …
Being thankful is not enough — get your giblets going TOILET SEAT COVERS That’s how I knew Thanksgiving is coming. You see, we usually host the extended family Turkey Day dinner at our house. My wife plans for days and works for hours cooking a fantastic meal, which we devour …
People are attracted to businesses and organizations that care THE POWER OF PRAYER It was 5 a.m. in Los Angeles when I checked out of my hotel, got in a cab and headed to LAX for my flight home. The driver, Emanuel, was from East Africa and came here six …
STARS ON HOLLYWOOD BLVD You know the Walk of Fame in Hollywood? Beatles followers will be glad to know that Ringo finally got his star recently. And they’re moving the scattered Fab Four next to each other. But I digress. I was in Los Angeles recently attending the Solar Power International …
Does a manufacturer need video? Does a service company need to be on Facebook? We work with many business-to-business firms (B2B) that struggle with what to do with their websites. One thing is for sure: B2B websites are sales magnets. Nearly eight out of ten prospects visit your website before …
“I’m a modern man, a man for the millennium. Digital and smoke free. A diversified multi-cultural, post-modern deconstruction that is anatomically and ecologically incorrect. I’ve been uplinked and downloaded, inputted and outsourced, I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading. I’m a high-tech low life. A …
A local hospital, a state rep and an oil company need to learn this DO AS I SAY The worst direction a parent can ever give a child is “Do as I say, not as I do.” In other words, if Dad tells the teenagers not to drink or smoke, …
THEY’RE BACK Trade shows are making a comeback. Companies are starting to get back out there and display their products and services. Others are sending people to go and learn about what is offered. As much as trade shows have been maligned in recent years (due in part to the …
You’ve probably heard the famous Serenity Prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” GOOD MARKETING ADVICE While this prayer brings peace of mind to many suffering souls including me, …
Business models that seemed ideal just a decade ago are obsolete. Don’t wait until it’s too late to make a change. Not many people like change. Most naturally resist it until there is no choice — and then only change as much as they need to in order to survive. …
I attended President Obama’s visit to V&M Star Steel last week as part of a project we’re working on for the expanding plant. Although the President was, as usual, a terrific orator — it was the White House organization and “travel team” that impressed me from a marketing perspective. IT’S …
