Tools of the Trade

Have you ever been to a sporting event, or on a boat looking up at the sky and seen a small airplane pulling a banner ad across the sky? Did you think to yourself and wonder how many people saw the same thing? As an advertiser and marketer, I often ponder this thought when viewing the Bud Select advertisements, among others, waving across the Lake of the Ozarks on a regular basis.

Aerial media can be used as a very cost effective advertising effort. Messages can be viewed by your audience at beaches, sporting events – tailgating counts! - concerts, parades, special events, or even during rush hour drive times. Average reading time is about 37 seconds at 1000 feet - Much more effective than billboard or other sorts of outdoor advertising!

There is minimal competition with this targeted circulation, unless those ugly birds or fluffy clouds count. Become more prominent in the ever-growing world of advertising.

Aerial advertising is four times more cost effective than regular print media! Also, GPS technology allows you to track where exactly where your ads have been. To continue, your company’s or product’s name most likely will be read, register, and also recalled quickly later.

You should consider the same objectives with traditional outdoor to be similar with aerial advertising – large letters, short message, quick and to the point. Black, red, yellow, and purple are some of the best colors to contrast against a blue and white sky. When it’s cloudy, simple white is good against the dark background. Always make it striking to demand the audiences’ attention.

Let me continue with some other benefits: your audience won’t flip through the channels or cut to the page in the paper or magazine without noticing your 4×5 placement in the upper, right-hand corner.

Aerial advertising is somewhat of a novelty in the world of product promotion. Most ads are seen during the day, when energy levels are high, positive moods are flourishing (audience is, most of the time, on vacation or enjoying a hobby!) They are most receptive during these times anyway.

How about the GoodYear blimp across the Royal’s and Chief’s stadiums? This “graceful giant” in the air has been making a presence since 1925 with the first blimp from their company known as the Pilgrim.

The only down-fall to this great exposure – the FAA doesn’t allow you to ride along in the air plane during the paid-for exposure time. You’ll have to leave that to the professionals, I guess.

I sit in a square room with 5 other content writers. Would it be fair to call it a writer’s block? Ooooh. Ouch. Bad pun. That one kind of hurt. But, writing like that does have the particular advantage of elucidating an ancient question that, gone unanswered, has plagued writers since the invention of the alphabet.

What does a writer do when their writing just plain sucks?

Most writers have experienced moments when they realize their attempts at witticism have not only missed the mark, but have sailed straight into the heart of Dullsville, U.S.A. But, what can you do when you don’t have time to wait for the writing gods to point you in the right direction?

Here are a few tips for writers tangling with, dare I say it, writers block:

Start with the easy parts. If you start with the parts of your project that come most easily, the rest of your piece might just follow naturally. So, don’t be afraid of starting in the middle or at the end – you may just be stuck under the pressure of writing the perfect lead.

Freewrite. Start writing anything – even if it’s miles of copy away from your goal, you may find that simply getting into the flow will help you get writing in the right direction. (That’s what I did with my pun of dullness.)

Crappy first drafts. Anne Lamott’s book on writing Bird by Bird popularized the method of writing crappy first drafts. If you start writing with the understanding that your first draft is going to be a sloppy mess, it gives you the freedom to get it down on paper and return to it later for a beautifying editing process.

Outline it. If you know the main components of what you’re trying to communicate, start with those. Then continue to sequentially add more specific details. Eventually, you’ll have a healthy outline to draw on during the development of your final piece.

Write it as a letter. Pretend you’re writing a letter to an old friend or family member explaining what you intend to write about. This will take the pressure off and help you get the words down in a conversational style that you can revisit later.

Every writer probably has tricks like these up their sleeves. Care to share your tips for the trade?

What with writing blogs, podcasts, internal newsletter columns, and agency promotional copy, I’ve been saying a lot lately: “I need an idea.”

Here’s a technique I use when I’m stumped. I call it “metaphor.”

Here’s how it works. State your problem. Say you’re trying to come up with ideas to improve your marriage. (If you’re reading this, Marsha, don’t worry, it’s just an example). Next, spy any object—say a pencil. Then simply apply the characteristics of the inanimate object—in this case the pencil—to your problem, thereby improving your marriage.

Here’s the way your internal dialogue might go:

“Wow, is this a stupid exercise.”

“Hey, don’t be so negative. Give it a try.”

“Fine. Okay. What characteristics does a pencil have?”

“Well, it’s pointy”.

“Applying that characteristic to my problem . . . let’s see. . . well, I could get to the point faster. That would help.”

“Good. What other characteristics does a pencil have?”

“It’s got an eraser . . . I can erase all the mistakes that were made . . . forgive and forget!”

“It’ll break if I bend it too much . . . better not put too much pressure on the marriage or it could break.”

“This pencil has a number 2 on it. . . I should put her needs first and make myself number two.”

And so on. You’ve just generated four ideas to improve your marriage.

One of the keys to creativity is stimulation. In his book “Jump Start Your Brain” author Doug Hall cites research that claims focus groups who are given toys or other objects to stimulate their thinking come up with 500% more new product ideas than those who are simply asked to generate ideas without stimulation.

Try it. You might just save your marriage!

Karma—n—The effect of a person’s actions and conduct during a person’s existence, regarded as determining that person’s destiny.

Rick Williams, the Target Admissions Support Center Executive Director and Dave Meierotto, DOA Trainer and QA Manager, gave a capabilities presentation yesterday to enlighten a few of us on what exactly they do. TASC is PlattForm’s 240-agent contact center offering inbound and outbound “tele-connection” services.

Most people cringe at the words “call center.” It evokes images of dinners interrupted by pushy salesmen trying to sell you aluminum siding even though you own a brick home. But the overriding message I heard from Rick and Dave is that they are not selling anything. They are changing lives.

When one of our outbound ASR (Admission Support Representatives) reaches a party with absolutely no interest in talking about furthering their education, the ASR is instructed to thank the party, and wish them luck or a good day.

Even in the face of rejection, the ASR changes lives — maybe it’s only making someone’s day better with a kind word or smile. Nevertheless, I think that’s a good thing. And if there is any justice in the world, it should result in some pretty good karma for everyone working at PlattForm’s Contact Center.

I asked my daughter why her room was still a mess. “I didn’t have time to clean it, Dad.” My response to her was “No, you chose to spend time doing something other than cleaning your room.” (She just rolled her eyes and gave me that “you’re acting like a ‘motivational speaker’ look.”) But it’s true. There’s always time for the things we put first.

Peter Drucker says, “Time is the scarcest resource and unless we manage it, nothing else can be managed.” I believe that. It’s one of Steven Covey’s “Seven Habits” (read “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”), I admit managing time doesn’t come naturally to me. But it’s something that can be learned. Of everything I’ve learned about time management, daily planning is one of the most useful. The fifteen minutes used planning your day leverages the remaining eight or nine hours. It’s a great investment. Here’s what to do.

Make a list of everything that needs to be done. Put an “A” next to every task that absolutely must be done that day—‘there will be dire consequences if I don’t accomplish this task today.’ Put a “B” next to every task that that ‘should’ be done today. And put a “C” next to every task that ‘would be great if it were accomplished today.’ Then go back through the “A” list. Rank them. Of all the “A” tasks, which is most important? Which task is next in importance? And so forth. Do the same with the “B” list—then the “C” list. Now you have a list of your tasks in order of importance. And voila, your day is planned. When those inevitable crisies occur and something falls off of your list, make sure it’s not one of your “A” tasks.

Try this for 3 weeks. I guarantee you’ll be more productive.