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ARTICLES
Free Ad Design?
If you get what you pay for, the cost may be to your business.
As an incentive to get more businesses to advertise, the majority of local and regional newspapers and magazines offer “free” advertising design to their customers. The idea of free advertising design can be appealing to business owners who have just signed up to pay hundreds of dollars for ad space in the publication, but as the popular phrase goes, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
For any business owner that has spent time and money creating a brand, accepting free creative services from a publication is like Jack Nickolson’s obsessive/compulsive character in “As Good As It Gets” using a restaurant’s silverware instead of his own bagged plastic flatware; there’s simply too much risk involved. For a certain amount of time, that ad is the face of your company, representing everything your company stands for. A poor looking ad is the equivalent of having a salesperson go to a client meeting and begin the presentation by picking his nose. A poor impression from that ad on a potential customer can be just as lasting as an encounter with a hygienically-challenged salesperson.
This is not to say that there are not talented designers at local and regional publications who have the ability to create very good ads, because there are. Do you want to take the chance that your ad will be assigned to that particular designer? And if you advertise in multiple publications, each one will turn out as different ads muddling your branding.
In-house designers at publications have varying levels of training and ability, but they share some common bonds. They are generally overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated because their work does not directly generate revenue. Their motivation may be to create great looking artwork, but unlike advertising agencies, in-house designers are not dependent on the client’s happiness to keep receiving a paycheck.
Many small business owners are very supportive of other local business owners and often go out of their way to purchases locally-made products or use locally owned service providers. It may come as a shock to the small business owner to learn that the latest trend in advertising design at publications is to outsource the work to designers in India or elsewhere. Large newspaper companies including Media News Group (57 daily papers), The McClatchy Company (30 daily papers), Sun-Times Media Group (95 publications), and Gannett (85 Daily papers/900 publications) are all sending at least some of their advertising design to India. The distance and time change issues involved not only reduce the ability to communicate exactly what you’d like your ad to look like, they also reduce the ability to make last minute adjustments when an ad proof isn’t right.
The Mayoros Agency is a full-service advertising agency with experience in print, television, on-line advertising, marketing,
media and public relations.
The Mayoros Agency – Refined Design. Strategic Advertising. Targeted Marketing.
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Logo Wow!
Do you love your company logo? You better, you’re going to look at it every day for years to come – and so is everyone else! In the excitement, planning, chaos and craze that goes on in starting a business, it is important not to overlook your company’s image.
You dress a certain way when you go into the office to portray a certain image. Think of your logo as clothing for your company. Like your choice of clothing in the office, your logo impacts how customers feel about your company. Your logo should portray your company like you want it to be known – serious, playful, technical, elegant – no matter what the characteristics. Your logo should say something about you as a company and what your company’s unique selling points are.
When considering a logo for your company, keep in mind the fundamentals of how logos are used. It can be used large for signage, or very small for business cards or pens. It needs to look great in color, but also in black and white for newspaper advertising, faxes and photocopies.
You can create your own logo, but there are several things you want to keep in mind. Websites that specialize in low-cost images will not license these images for use in a logo, so it will be up to you to create the artwork from a blank canvas. Most business owners don’t have the correct programs to create art work that will be acceptable by a professional printer. Professional printers and most publications cannot use files created by paint and publishing programs that were included when you purchased your computer. A professional designer will create a logo that can be used big or small, in print or on the web, and provide you with all the files you’ll need for future use.
The importance of having a professional designer or advertising agency create your logo cannot be underestimated. Remember that your quality of work and dedication to customer service are only experienced once a prospect has become a customer. A good logo provides the prospect with the feeling that your business is reputable and will do a professional job.
If you’re like many businesses that started out of a spare room, or garage, with little or no money, there’s still time to flex your branding muscle. Maybe, like some past clients, you have a logo, but have no idea where the CD with the files for it is. It’s never too late for a reinvention. With some strategic planning, there may be a way to capitalize on the look you currently have and give it an updated, fresh appeal that you love. Or maybe its time to take advantage of an anniversary celebration or milestone event to launch a completely new look!
The Mayoros Agency – Refined Design. Strategic Advertising. Targeted Marketing.
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Planning Applies to Advertising Spending Too.
Business planning, whether in the form of a business plan, growth plan, or marketing plan, is often celebrated as vital to a company’s success. Yet, seldom do any of these plans provide the tangible benefits that can be found by using an advertising media plan.
A well thought out advertising media plan improves the efficiency of your advertising spending, allowing you to reach more potential customers for less money than by making arbitrary decisions on how to advertise. It provides a reference for when and where to spend your advertising dollars. Following the plan keeps you from making mistakes with your spending, such as accepting the “unbelievable” deal that an advertising salesperson has whipped up for that month. While taking advantage of those deals sometimes makes sense, the low prices offered also lure business owners into media that don’t effectively reach potential customers.
Another important reason to have an advertising media plan is that following it will keep your business from overspending at the beginning of the year. Poor spending choices early in a year can result in being forced to stop advertising late in the year or outspending your intended budget. This is especially important for retail operations which benefit most from expanded advertising during the year-end holiday season.
A plan addressing these two problem areas can easily be created by any business owner. A more detailed advertising media plan, which includes research into who to target with advertising, how often to target them and what media will reach them most cost effectively requires a much greater time investment. A detailed advertising media plan includes analysis of media based demographics reached, cost per thousand potential customers reached (CPM), the overall number of potential customers reached (reach) and how often the potential customer will see the ad (frequency). Reconciling these different factors requires a significant amount of quantitative analysis, but the result should be a plan that provides the best media exposure your budget can provide.
Because of the time consuming nature of creating a detailed plan and the need to understand a number of specialized calculations, it may be beneficial to have an expert produce your company’s advertising media plan, such as an advertising agency. Agencies have information allowing them to complete the plan much more efficiently than a business owner could. For example, the agency would have an exhaustive list of media options, with pricing and demographic information on file. It would take a business owner many hours to acquire the same information.
Regardless of whether you tackle an advertising media plan yourself, or hire a professional, your company will benefit from efficiently targeting its advertising spending.
The Mayoros Agency is a full-service advertising agency with experience in print, television, on-line advertising, marketing,
media and public relations.
The Mayoros Agency – Refined Design. Strategic Advertising. Targeted Marketing.
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Why Use an Advertising Agency?
Creating an effective advertising campaign takes a great deal of time and effort. Most businesses do not have the creative talent and expertise to handle advertising campaigns in-house. Additionally, advertising agencies provide an outside prospective on the product being promoted, bringing with them objectivity that can’t be found in an in-house marketing department. Many publications offer “free” design services, but they generally lack the strategic planning that a comprehensive advertising campaign requires. An ad created by one publication cannot usually be used in a competing publication. Advertising agencies spend time researching the best approach to advertising and can create themed campaigns that help enhance a company’s or product’s brand image. Good advertising agencies can carry those campaigns across several mediums, so that a company can present a constant image, whether advertising is place on billboards, in newspapers, magazines, the internet or on television and radio. There are also many services that advertising agencies provide that publications cannot. Agencies can also handle projects such as design of everything from business cards to marketing brochures that make sure your company looks its best. Time saving services, such as handling printing of brochures, overseeing photo shoots, and advertising placement are also normally available.
The Mayoros Agency is a full-service advertising agency with experience in print, television, on-line advertising, marketing,
media and public relations.
The Mayoros Agency – Refined Design. Strategic Advertising. Targeted Marketing.
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