The following list, and my answers, are not comprehensive. Gay marriage is a contentious, divisive issue for some. For others, it is a matter of equal rights, and equal treatment under the law. Since the Bible is often used to rail against the government extending equal rights to the gay community, I’ll start this out with a Biblical Verse:
Durriken's Essays
Monday, November 4, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Pagan, Occult, and New Age Advertising
As the former employee of a Pagan
business that also catered to customers of a New Age and/or Occult bent, I knew
that the store I worked at was something special. With a stated goal of
providing every customer with an “Authentic Craft Experience,” the products we
offered were spiritually minded, and included resources for the beginner just
setting his foot to the path, the adept who had been practicing her Craft
forever, and everyone in between. With a high level of traffic on a frequently
traveled artery, in the largest metro area of the state, attracting customers
into the store was an important part of the business. Daily, new customers
would tell me they were just passing by, became curious, and so had turned
around to find out what the place was about. The signs outside the building, at
least, were working. But the most common response I received, “I’ve never even
heard of this place,” was more concerning from the perspective of an employee.
After all, if potential customers don’t know a business exist, if only a few of
them happen upon the physical store by chance alone, then the business is
trusting its success to the subjective opinions of the curious willing to
execute a dangerous U-Turn along a stretch of road with a mile separating the
nearest traffic signals, and luck. If a business doesn’t exist in the mind of a
consumer, if the only exposure to a store is passing it by at 40 miles per
hour, then the business doesn’t exist.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Businesses Use Yellow Page Advertising
Although Yellow Page Directories
have been predicted to go the way of the dinosaur, businesses still use this multi-billion
dollar medium (Grant) of advertising
because it allows certain types of businesses to reach a broader market area,
maintain a solid and consistent message, and create attention, interest, desire
and action in consumers. Any type of business can engage in Yellow Page
Advertising, but the businesses that most frequently find a strong return on
investment fall into one, or more of the following categories: Retail,
Restaurants, Emergency Services, and New Businesses.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Word of Mouth Marketing and Paid Advertising
Smart business owners know that advertising is
a great source for generating new customers (KQV) and engaging current
customers to return again and again. But when it comes to a return on
investment, many small business owners especially fall into the trap of
trusting their customers to do all of their advertising, a type of free
marketing known as Word of Mouth Marketing, or Word of Mouth Advertising. After
all, if a business treats their customer right, building a strong relationship
that is mutually beneficial over time, then surely customers will be the only
form of marketing a business needs, right? In a perfect world, yes, Word of
Mouth Marketing would be the only type of advertising a business would need.
Until that perfect world arrives, a land of fruitful prosperity for all in
which customers remember everything about a business, know what image the
business wants to project, is aware of every special in the past, present and
future, and never have a bad day, paid advertising will be there for business
owners. Word of Mouth Marketing is a great way to spread your brand around
town, yet even the most knowledgeable customer knows only a small portion of
your business.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The Main Products and Target Audience of Pepsi
Sweet,
refreshing, and full of unnecessary calories, Pepsi and its variety of products
continues to be the drink of choice for many individuals in the coveted target
market of 18-35 year olds. Effective marketing and targeted advertisements has
led to Pepsi’s success as a company and a brand, with products that reach out
to a multitude of beverage drinkers, in North America and a growing
international market. But as an obesity epidemic consumes the United States,
with an audience growing ever more conscious of health concerns, and finite
resources growing ever thinner—and more expensive—Pepsi is leading the way in
marketing to its core audience, providing real solutions to the world’s health
problems and economic depression. It also has the potential financially, and
the obligation morally, to make its global brand ecologically sound.
Yellow Page Advertising: What Message Are You Sending?
In this era of electronic
communication and easily accessible information, business owners still turn to
one advertising source year after year to invest their marketing dollars: The
Phone Book. Even when studies confirm that consumers use the internet first for
their purchases, reaching for the yellow pages second or third (Lewis) , directories are
still a multi-billion dollar industry (Grant) . Advertising dollars
produce yellow page directories; if they didn’t still work to bring consumers
to businesses, the yellow page industry wouldn’t exist. After all, business
owners are savvy people. So, if you find you’re not getting the returns you
think you should with your yellow page advertising, then it’s time to ask
yourself what message your ad is sending before shifting your marketing budget to
something else.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)