By: Bill Shoss

Just for fun, I saved all the direct mail that we received at home last week.  Just wanted to see what we are actually getting thru the mail in these days of social marketing uber alles.

Here are results:

Total pieces received:       66.

Breakdown as follows:

•          Mail Order catalogs – 21
•          Non-Profits/Causes – 22
•          Coupon Mailers  (co-ops) – 2
•          Magazines/Publicatons – 3
•          Retail – local – 9
•          Personal 1st Class - 9

There were catalogs, postcards, self-mailers, envelope mailers, a couple of invitations, bills, newsletters.  And, the mailers had done their list research. My wife is a vegetarian, and is much into animal rights issues. She likes to shop by mail. I get excited about environmental and various political issues, and I’m a senior citizen.

Guess what?  Most of the mail emanated from sources we know and that cover just the things in which we are interested. Others used rental lists of people who have shown interest in the things or ideas being presented. And, some were off the mark for us. Targeted marketing in action.

Since we also receive email from some of the same people, these marketers are using direct mail within an integrated program including digital channels, and, no doubt, social marketing, QRs, et al.  Makes sense doesn’t it: Hit your customers and prospects where they most like to get information and are most likely to respond.

Not every one of these approaches necessarily fits all situations. Depends on what you are selling, or what your objectives are.  But, one nice thing about direct mail, where indicated:  You get measurable results.

Obviously, there is a lot more you need to know before deciding the most cost-effective way to spend your marketing dollars.  It only makes common sense to weigh all your options before betting the house on any one channel, no matter how trendy it may be.

What’s in your mailbox?  I’m just saying: Maybe direct mail ain’t dead yet.

Bill Shoss is Senior Vice President of R&S Marketing, a full service advertising and marketing agency based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Additional Resources on this topic:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2012/03/11/direct-mail-alive-and-kicking/

http://rsmktg.com/2012/02/direct-mail-go-green-for-maximum-impact/

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By: Gay M.R. Will, Account Executive-Hubbard Broadcasting, St. Louis

I wanted to officially say thank you to all of the “mean girls” and guys from my past.  They motivated me to always put my best foot forward!  They taught me patience, reliance on creativity and to think “outside the box”. Of course, future Class Reunions were always in the back of my mind.

Thanks to all my EX’s

This is the official thank you to all of the “ex’s” in my life.  Without them -

• My creativity would have suffered.
• My determination to succeed would’ve been lessened.
• My enjoyment meeting new people wouldn’t be all that much.
• Mostly, my enthusiasm in my career and ability to enjoy myself along the way would certainly have been depressed!

Someone once said “now people will see who’s got it together and who doesn’t”.  That sentence made me VERY productive! It made me want to be the one “who’s got it together”! Over my career, that’s exactly what people say about me!

Thanks to all of those business owners who screamed and hung up on me when I was cold calling…

I want to thank these people most of all!  These owners, who forgot that I’m a consumer, were the real reason for my success.  When business owners acted a-fool, it made me want to help their competitors excel!  I came up with better ideas, for businesses when I was trying to help someone outshine their competition.  I was able to build much stronger relationships when it was obvious that I was on the side of my client, out to “destroy” the competitors.  And, campaigns were much more gratifying when this extra, competitive, element was present.

This is why I want to give my sincere thanks to all of the miserable people from my past! They are the reason I worked hard to be better at ideas, more concerned with customer service, driven home “the hang tough” attitude, and generally drove me to be as good as I could be.

Thanks again…and I’m not talking Lindsey Lohan!!!

Gay M.R. Hubbard can be reached at WIL 92.3 FM in St. Louis.

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Over the past decade, commercial radio has stepped up their non-spot revenue hunt. Digital sales have become a major part of budgets for the local sales staffs. Each year brings more competition and audiences have become harder to harness. In 2006, radio revenue was 18.1 billion according to Investing In Radio Market Report. By 2016, projected revenues are only expected to be 17.0 billion. Digital sales are only projected to increase .36 billion! That will not fill the gap.

Will Digital Save Commercial Radio?

Probably not! Why would you chose commercial digital over any of the “make your own personal format” choices available today? Like Pandora, Jango, Slacker, AOL Music, MeeMix, or the choices on satellite which have no commercials.  You can pick only the music you like, make it as eclectic as you like and see one commercial every 5 or 6 songs. Or listen to commercial radio digital and hearing the same streaming that you would hear on live radio.

Is Less Really More?

I love radio. I started out in broadcast sales with radio and it has always been near and dear to my heart. It has also been one of the most frustrating to watch. Big broadcast groups with big money continue to make decisions they bought from one of their many consultants in an attempt to increase sales. They have actually made it harder to buy. Turns off a lot of potential clients and they still don’t see the mistake in their thinking.

This is one of my favorite pitches of late; the “less is more” sales strategy employed by a major radio chain.  They somehow think they can convince you that selling a :30 second spot is just as good as a :60 second spot. Oh, I forgot to mention, at the same rate or at a premium rate because “you’re getting the same [or more] after all”! Then you tune in the station and you hear 12 commercials in a break instead of the old 4-6 before the new concept came into play.

If you are an advertiser and you are the 5-12^th position in the commercial break, you need to rethink how you are spending your money.  You certainly could have more impact in other ways.

What is the answer to the problem?

Consultants have many solutions…or…ideas, most of them not tested. Or if they have been tested, it’s in not similar markets with not similar formats. I have my own thoughts which I will cover in Part II of this subject. In the meantime, I’ll look into what the experts say, what radio sales reps say and other active personnel have to say. All should create interesting comments and theories. As they say, “Stay Tuned”…

R&S Marketing is a full service advertising agency in St. Louis providing services in promotion, web development, broadcast media, social media marketing, search engine optimization, production, graphics and design.

To read more on this and other articles pertaining to radio, see:

http://www.commedia.org.uk/news/2012/01/us-government-lpfm/

http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2012/04/05/cbc-radio-to-run-ads-on-radio-2-and-espace-commercial-radio-opposed/

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The goal of all advertising is word-of-mouth! You can’t buy it and a little of  the bad kind will kill you or create obstacles that are almost impossible to overcome. I discovered this article by Martin Atkins and found it fascinating and right to the point. Plus, it makes sense! For more on Martin, check out wordofmourth.org.

Martin Atkins is a rock star.

Like, an actual rock star. He’s a drummer and has played for bands like Public Image Ltd., Ministry, and Nine Inch Nails. Today he still tours and performs on stage — but now he does it to teach new bands how to earn loyal fans.

The bands he works with have no budgets, no extra resources, and face a crowded and noisy market. Sound familiar?

Martin spoke at our last word of mouth event, and as a preview for our Word of Mouth Crash Course in Austin on May 10, we wanted to share it with you.

His tips for getting people talking:

1. Aim low, start small, and stay humble

Martin talks about how bands often start out by worrying about filling stadiums of 20,000 people — but that’s before they’ve taken the time to think about the first two fans on the couch who might actually love them. Martin says to start small, think small, and stay humble. Very, very few bands earn 20,000 fans at a time. Instead, focus on the first two and then repeat 9,999 more times. It’s hard work, but it’s worth it.

2. When in doubt, DTO

If all else fails, DTO: Do The Opposite. During his presentation, Martin pulled out a giant old cell phone and told the story of how he once walked into a crowded room of celebrities and pulled it out. His point: You can’t win the new iPhone/Blackberry/Droid game. But you can do something unexpected, memorable, and remarkable by doing the opposite.

3. Small is the new huge

Martin works with bands all the time and says that if given the choice, a band will always choose the 5,000 or 20,000-person venue over a small one. But that’s not creating the best experience. Instead, he urges them to choose the smaller venue — one they can sell out and leave people standing outside wanting in. Martin shared the story of how one band actually got a record deal by locking everyone out of the venue, which drove a bunch of interest in them.

4. Steal ideas from other industries

Rock superstars Radiohead got everyone talking when they released their album and told fans to “pay what you want.” A few years later, Panera did it with one of their branches in St. Louis. And again — people talked about how brilliant it was. You can do this too. Look for ideas that create excitement in other industries and markets and give them a try. If it fails to create word of mouth — no problem! That means nobody knows about it (and you can try again).

5. Make it one-of-a-kind

People talk about the different, the unique, and the can’t-get-anywhere-else. Musicians are doing it by creating one-off merchandise at tents outside of concerts. They’re doing goofy things with their packaging (Martin once released an album that smelled like blueberry muffins). This works in business too: Your fans want to see your personality and your uniqueness. So, what can you make more personal today?

Makes sense, right? Following this advice just might make you feel like a “Rock Star” or something like it!

R&S Marketing is a full service advertising agency in St. Louis providing services in promotion, web development, broadcast media, social media marketing, search engine optimization, production, graphics and design.

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Written by: Gay M.R. Will, Account Executive at Hubbard Broadcasting-St. Louis

Is the advertising business getting too old? There’s an article in AdWeek about the Advertising industry needing a Face Lift to attract young talent.

My immediate reaction was “Need a facelift? We don’t need anything changed! We have experience! I LOVE this industry! Nothing needs to be changed! Those little Whippersnappers would be lucky to have a job like mine!” I was so confused. But then I remembered the horrible experience I recently had with a Media Buyer. Everything was great during the buying process, but a cancellation brought about name calling, accusations, lies, and much more, FROM THEIR END.

Wake up Buyers, the intimidation routine is old news!!!! You’re scaring away the kids! Let’s work together for your clients. You play nice and we’ll play nice. You don’t even appreciate how much more you get from your Advertising Reps, when you treat them with respect. A lot…that’s what!

We Really Aren’t Like “Mad Men”, Are We?

Wouldn’t you think they would already know this fact? But they don’t, agencies don’t know or care about mentoring for the most part…and we can thank “Mad Men” for that. It really is a case of dog eat dog! Sadly, that sometimes spills over to the reps calling on those same agencies.  That is really when the frustration boils over. The whole game has changed and that brings about a whole new set of rules. Maybe that’s why we need the industry to get younger. They haven’t learned it the hard way, so they might think this is the way it’s supposed to be.

Now, let’s all straighten up and play fair. We can all benefit from younger talent who knows so much more about Texting, Social media, and the change in “Pulling” a message vs. “Pushing” your message on them. Younger talent has a different way of seeing things and perhaps that might help everyone…and, we need younger talent so we can pass on all of this bar business, whiney car dealers, and high maintenance clients! Now, that’s serious stuff!

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/advertising-gets-face-lift-attract-young-talent-139463

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/01/03/new-years-resolutions-for-the-advertising-industry/

http://kred.com/Coachforyou

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Written by: Gay M.R. Will, Account Executive at Hubbard Broadcasting-St. Louis

I’ve always been told that when Wall Street Falls, that’s NOT the time to pull my money!  That’s the time to start playing the game more seriously….get as much of that action as I can! Take advantage of the availability and use it to your benefit. It’s not the time to pull the plug. It’s time to gain ground over those who are – like your competition.

The same holds true with Advertising.  When the economy gets tough and business is slow, don’t cut your advertising costs first?  It’s time to play the game more seriously.  Analyze your Marketing strategy and ask:

• “What can be changed?

• What can be dropped?

• What can be added?”

Maybe it’s time to make a Facebook page and utilize that for your marketing in addition to your current campaign.  Maybe you can cut your billboards back and start radio.  Maybe cut Broadcast TV and move dollars to Cable.  Or maybe it’s time to add money to what has worked in the past and now the market allows you to buy more for the same dollar. But, by all means DON’T STOP! The market has created an opportunity that you can use to your advantage…use it!

Think of your advertising like you think about your marriage.  You can’t pack your bags, and take off, every time you have a disagreement with your spouse.  This is where the “work” comes to play.  You’ve got to continue communicating even though you’d rather not.  And, on the other side of the disagreement, your marriage is that much stronger.

A word to the wise…..Never tell your spouse that “making up” was simply part of your strategy to increase dollars!

http://mashable.com/2011/06/28/ad-industry-digital/

http://rsmktg.com/services/

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Understanding the role of promotion and event marketing within any campaign requires a clear knowledge of the function of promotion and it’s impact on achieving marketing goals.

By design, individual or short-lived promotions drive immediate response, while long-term, repeat campaigns are designed to build consumer loyalty to a specific product or service.

Keep It Simple!

It’s important to remember that promotions need to be simple – for the product and the consumer. The product can be anything from radio stations to a can of coffee. The goal is always to get the product into the consumer’s hand. You can achieve that goal by promotion or by event, but they have different elements that make up start to finish. Promotions are (at the shortest) two weeks long and can continue for a couple of months. Events are generally from one day to a week and serve multiple goals for the client.

Promotion and event marketing are often seen as one entity, but both require clear, precise goals that are measurable by attendance, participation and/or sales. Both are an important part of strengthening customer/company relationships. R&S Marketing has a long history of successful promotions that have delivered and we can help you do the same for your business.

Success Strategies

We’ve developed successful promotions for Jack-in-the-Box, McBride Homes, Seven Up, Wehrenberg Theaters, Chads Coalition for Mental Health…all have generated response, sales and revenue for the organizations. Here’s a brief explanation of how some of them worked and the results:

Jack-in-the-Box was participating in a Mid-West event. We developed a promotion that brought the participation to the local stores by handing out coupons for kid’s meals that were specifically designed for the big event. Jack-in-the-Box created a way to stand apart from the hundreds of other companies by making themselves kid and parent friendly. They also offered value to potential customers and to a consumer market they had not cornered up to that time. Sales increased over the first weekend by 160%.

CHADS Coalition for Mental Health was looking to develop a signature event to drive fundraising and bring awareness to their organization. We developed Kids Walking for Kids focused on youth participation and increasing awareness of death by teen suicide via teens themselves. The first year, we raised over $150,000! We took an event and added a fundraising promotion element and they have steadily grown over the past 5 years.

The examples shown are just two of dozens of successful and sustaining promotions we have developed for clients. If promotions and events are part of your media plan, you need to speak with our promotion and event experts.

R&S Marketing is a full service advertising agency in St. Louis providing services in promotion, web development, broadcast media, social media marketing, search engine optimization, production, graphics and design.

For Additional Articles and Blogs on Similar Topics:

http://socialmediatoday.com/alice-j-ross/498832/difference-between-promotion-and-event-marketing

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Difference-Between-Promotion-and-Event-Marketing&id=7005129

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/148042/

http://rsmktg.com/services/

http://twitter.com/#!/RSMKTG

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Retail never ends and this is a big holiday for the department stores. New oufits,

shoes, candy, baskets, the list is endless! So just for fun, some Happy Easter Facts.

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This is about the 5 things to know about adding content to your website, blog or social media. I’m sure you’re thinking “only 5″, how can that be? Here’s why…after much research and a lot of hair-pulling, I’ve got it down to the 5 key points.

Top 5 Things About Adding Content For Your Readers

Let’s begin on the 5 things to know about adding content for your expected reader. Never forget, it’s all about the reader…what they want to know and how you can provide the information.

• Time – How much time do you have to write original content? You can paraphrase, or out-and-out copy, but search engines love original content that offers relevant information to the reader. Don’t just write junk to fill space and don’t keep saying the same thing re-worded.

• Reader Involvement – What do you expect from your readers? Even if you are providing content that is interesting to your readers, how much can you throw at them without burn-out? Most readers have an upper limit on what they can digest in a short period of time.

• Length – For goodness sake, get to the point! Everyone wants their information and they want it quickly. Keep it short, to the point and easily readable. Search engines love 350 words or less, and they absolutely love FAQ’s (frequently asked questions), which are always brief and to the point.

• Topic – If you are a tech site, there’s no end to the interest in content. The readers of tech sites want lots of information in condensed form…and you can’t give them too much. If you’re writing medical, outside of a directory of terms, you can burn readers out quickly. You want participation not irritation.

• Reader Type – Different articles attract different readers. If they are information junkies, they can’t read too much – like techies – they are able to consume lots of info quickly. An older reader, especially the not tech driven, wants and needs less information…probably no more than 5-6 times per week.

There’s an ongoing argument about how much and how often you should add content, articles or blogs. If your audience is tech driven, there’s no limit on how much you can put out there. If not tech driven, the average is about 8 times a week. That does not include FAQ’s.  They can be posted more frequently. Being one who is on a never-ending search of information, I find I can only take so much before I don’t even want to see the caller ID…it’s just too much!

Alice J. Ross is President of R&S Marketing, a full service advertising agency in St. Louis providing services in web development, broadcast media, social media marketing, search engine optimization, production, graphics and design.

For similar articles and more information:

http://rsmktg.com/2012/03/basics-of-writing-for-the-web/

http://www.twitter.com/RSMKTG

http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/220587

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This is a really interesting and informative about the importance of business blogging vs Facebook. I’m a big Facebook fan (not too sure about the new timeline thing) but Facebook determines who sees you.  When you blog, everybody sees you! So, if you have content that is for the masses, keep up with blogging, postings and adding content to your site.

Business Blogging vs Facebook

Top 10 Reasons

 #10 Stability

No frustrating changes to deal with-Facebook changes are fast and furious, and they can drive you nuts! But your blog is self-hosted, stable, consistent and dependable.

#9 Bigger Payoff

Facebook marketing is risky and uncertain investment, but when done right, the time invested in your blog ALWAYS pays off.

#8 SEO

When done right, business blogging improves your search ranking through in-bound links & keyword optimization. Facebook doesn’t contribute to your search ranking.

#7 Long Shelf Life

Your blogs have a long shelf life because they will continue to be found in search for months and years. FB updates only last a few days at most.

#6 News Feed

Facebook decides who can see your updates, but on your blog ANYONE and EVERYONE can see your content.

#5 Content Hub 

The blog is the hub of your content and where your thought leadership starts. Facebook only helps you to distribute and promote your content.

#4 Offer More Value

FB fans will only “like” your brand if they think you have something of value to offer. But on your blog you can give them more value with helpful tips, advice and teaching them new things.

#3 More Clicking

A compelling link on your blog will most likely be clicked, while a link on your FB will most likely be ignored.

#2 Reach Multiple Audiences

This includes RSS, email, site visitors and all social networks. On Facebook you can only reach the people who ‘like’ your page.

And The Number #1 Reason Business Blogging is Better Than Facebook

Control

You get to do what you want…not what Mark Zuckerberg wants!

It’s spelled out for you, business blogging vs Facebook certainly leaves business blogging the clear winner. If you would like to see more articles and infographics like this one, check out socialmediatoday.com.

Alice J. Ross is President of R&S Marketing, a full service advertising agency in St. Louis providing services in web development, broadcast media, social media marketing, search engine optimization, production, graphics and design.

For additional information and similar articles/topics:

http://rsmktg.com/2012/01/marketing-basics-of-posting-on-facebook/

http://rsmktg.com/2012/03/basics-of-writing-for-the-web/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SuNx0UrnEo

http://www.insidefacebook.com/2011/08/23/in-line-privacy/

http://twitter.com/#!/leemeade77

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