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Super Bowl Advertising Lessons

February 8, 2012 10:10 AM
While most of us can't afford to advertise during the Super Bowl, no advertiser should walk away from it without learning a few things. First, a few fun facts about consumer attitudes toward the Super Bowl commercials according to the National Retail Federation's recent survey:
  • Of people planning to watch the 2012 Super Bowl, 25% say that the commercials are the most important part.
  • A whopping 18.5% say that advertisers should save their money and pass the savings on to them.
  • Almost 75% say they see the commercials as entertainment.
  • Only 8.4% believe the commercials influence them to buy products from the advertisers.
  • Even fewer at 7.3% say they are influenced to search online for more information.

Other notable tidbits include:
  • Most of the commercials to be aired during the game were actually released online before the game in an effort to get even more people to watch them and with repeat exposure.
  • In fact some ads like Honda's Ferris Bueller reprise offer more online than during the game. Game day viewers will get a one minute commercial while early bird online viewers will get a full two minutes. Honda even got savvy and threw in some Easter eggs for added fanfare, all of this is after a previously released 10 second teaser ad.
  • As of the Friday prior to the Super Bowl, Honda's Ferris Bueller ad had over 10 million hits and Volkswagen's Star Wars themed ad had over two million.
  • One Super Bowl commercial uses up about 10% of most major corporations' ad budget for one ad.

Now for the take-away points we can all learn from:
  • Why wait to grab people's attention. If you can start generating buzz early, take advantage of that opportunity, especially if it's free and viral. Granted, in these examples, the companies have spent a lot of money to be in the Super Bowl.
  • Repetition, repetition, repetition. Whether having multiple spots during the game or just getting people to watch their commercials multiple times online before and after the game, these advertisers understand the importance of hitting consumers repeatedly with their messages is the most effective strategy.
  • Humor and creativity alone don't sell. It's easy to get caught up in the entertainment value and the post-game ad meters, but most people don't feel these ads impact them to buy. In part, it's because of the marketing. If it is effective, people don't realize it is influencing them. On the other hand, sometimes with commercials that focus specifically on being popular, effectiveness and encouraging action that leads to a purchase are forgotten easily. 
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Create soft drop-shadows in Adobe® Photoshop

February 7, 2012 8:28 AM
A blurred edge shadow can add more interest and depth to artwork, especially typography. In this workshop, you will work in layers in Photoshop to add a shadow to a heading.

Step 1
Create a new file in Photoshop with dimensions larger than those of the headline for which you want to make a drop-shadow. Go to the File menu and Place the image into the document. You will see in the Layers palette that it comes in as a new layer. Click the small arrow button on the upper right of the palette to make a New Layer. Name it shadow and click and drag on it within the palette to place it beneath the heading layer.

Step 2
In the Layers palette, click on the heading layer while holding down the command key. This will select the heading and you'll see the "crawling ants".
Still working within the Layers palette, click on the shadow layer. You'll fill this selection in the shape of the heading with the color you want the shadow to be. Go to the Edit menu to Fill... and choose the color and opacity.

Step 3
Next you'll need to determine the amount of blurring or softness of the shadow. Deselect the shadow layer you just filled and go to Blur under the Filter menu. Choose Gaussian Blur and set the Radius of the blur in the window that pops up. The larger the radius, the more diffused the blur will be. Keep the Preview button in the Gaussian Blur window clicked to see what the blur would look like. Hit OK when the blur looks as you want it and you should now see it underneath the heading art.

Step 4
Offsetting the shadow to the side and moving it slightly down will accentuate the effect and give the perception of depth. Make sure you're still in the shadow layer and use the Move tool to drag the shadow so it's not directly underneath the heading. Finally you'll need to flatten the image, eliminating the layers so that it can be saved as an .eps file. Flatten Image can be found under the Layer menu.

For more information on working with layers in Photoshop, go to Help > Photoshop Help... on the far right of the Photoshop menu. 
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Are Your Customers Stressed?

February 1, 2012 11:08 AM
You probably don't need a survey to answer this question. Most Americans feel stress, especially women and mothers. When thinking about ways to reach new prospects via advertising and the benefits to focus on, stress reduction is a great option. Of course, there are many ways to reduce stress and even more ways you can help make life go a little more smoothly for your customers, such as:
  • Time-saving services
  • Convenient location
  • Fast service
  • Valuable information
  • Products/services that help with relaxation
  • Exercise motivation
  • "Escape" from the daily demands
  • Therapy
  • Foods that reduce stress (healthy or escapism/indulgence)
  • Exposure to nature
  • Humor
  • Sleep aids
  • Connections with others
  • Contest or drawing with pampering or time-saving prizes 
  • Special events with a stress reduction theme
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Paint vectored art with cool color gradients in Adobe Illustrator

February 1, 2012 10:01 AM
With Illustrator's mesh tool you can step things up and create complex shading effects in vectored shapes. Learning and becoming comfortable with the options available with gradient meshes simply takes some experimentation and practice. But it's worth your time as an illustrator to learn what gradient meshes can do for your artwork. This workshop shows some of the basics of the mesh tool in creating a puffed heart.

Step 1
Open a new document in Illustrator, draw a heart shape and assign it a red fill color. Under the Object Menu, choose Create Gradient Mesh... A box will appear for you to choose the amount of mesh lines and whether an initial highlight is desired. There will be a mesh point at the intersection of each line.

Step 2
Using the Direct Selection tool (white arrow), begin to paint highlights by clicking on a mesh point and choosing a lighter shade from your color palette. Shadows can be added the same way using darker colors.

Step 3
Create more mesh lines and points by choosing the Mesh tool and clicking inside the heart. A new gradient mesh point will be created in whatever fill color is selected in the toolbox. Continue to add highlights with lighter reds, pinks and white, and shadows with deeper red shades until you've gotten the look you want. You can adjust the color of any mesh point while it is selected by using the sliders in Illustrator's color palette.

Step 4
Each mesh point has a set of direction handles to adjust the curve of the mesh line and the way the graded color looks. The mesh points themselves can be repositioned using the Direct Selection tool.
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Is Cause Marketing Effective?

February 1, 2012 10:01 AM
We talk a lot about marketing the benefits you offer and how to best communicate that with your target audience. Sometimes though, it's okay to promote other aspects of your business. According to a recent survey done by Ask Your Target Market, your support of nonprofits can have a beneficial impact on your sales. Key findings include:
  • Almost half (45.3%) of respondents say they are more likely to support businesses that sponsor charitable causes. For about the other half (47.8%), it depends on the charity.
  • The most popular type of charities "support the communities where the companies do business" (44.8%). The next most popular answer was "any charity at all," selected by 30.7% of respondents.
  • Close to half (44.5%) said charity support could backfire, causing them to not patronize a business if they didn't agree with it. The rest said it wouldn't affect business support (21.3%) or that they couldn't think of a charity they would not agree with (34.3%).
  • For those saying certain charities could affect business patronage, the most controversial types of causes are:
       - Charities being over-exposed or have shown poor donation management (62.4%)
       - Political causes (53.7%)
       - Certain social issues (55.6%)
       - Religious groups (51.7%)

Keep in mind that we aren't recommending you use this information to decide which charities to support. Instead, we simply want to bring this topic up for discussion as a marketing strategy. When you support groups that are in sync with your target market's interests, then it is worth promoting even advertising your support. You could run a few ads stating which groups your business donated to, or you can get more creative by encouraging support from others too. You could:
  • Match donations, for example matching all canned goods brought to your store for a local food pantry.
  • Donate $1 for every purchase made on a specific date.
  • Provide a heartfelt explanation of why you are supporting the nonprofit.
  • Hold a contest to help allocate your donation among various groups.
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Can You Define Your Target Market?

January 25, 2012 10:51 AM
Deciding where to advertise and how to craft the right message hinges largely on knowing your target market. You can make assumptions based on foot traffic you've seen in your store (or what you expect if you're just getting started), but we all know what they say about assuming stuff. 

Doing marketing research is beneficial so you can more clearly define, understand and target the right customers. Of course, as a small business, you're likely thinking, "Sure, sounds great, but I don't have the budget to hire an agency for this." If you can't afford to hire a professional, here are a few ideas to help you get the information you need at a price you can afford.

Survey your customers: There are free or inexpensive online survey tools you can send to your email list, post on your Facebook page, etc. You can also just ask customers to answer a few questions. If you're trying to decide between radio, TV or your local newspaper, ask your customers which they use and when. If you're thinking about direct mail, ask for some location information. You get the idea.

Create your own focus group: Invite your friends over and ask them to bring someone who fits your target. Or, ask a few customers to bring a friend who hasn't shopped with you but might. Offering food may be incentive enough, but you could also give a gift card or bring free merchandise to hand out. Even if you try to round up complete strangers, it won't take tons of money to entice them to spend some time discussing their opinions in an effort to help your small business.

Remember, less is more when it comes to the questions you ask. Try to focus on the information you need to know. Plan your questions and how you expect them to be answered so you can identify pitfalls with wording, etc. Be intentional with the way you phrase questions so you don't lead individuals towards a specific answer. Multiple choice with a few opened-ended questions at the end (right before any specific demographic info) are ideal for surveys. With focus groups, you want to encourage some discussion but still keep the questions easy to answer. 
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What Do Your Customers Really Want?

January 23, 2012 10:41 AM
Of course, the only way to know for sure is to ask them. In the meantime, you can use these findings adapted to your business. According to research done by BIGresearch for T Scott Gross, the five things consumers want are (in order of priority):
  1. Helpful employees who can answer questions and are knowledgeable about the products /industry
  2. Friendly employees who want to help customers
  3. Good value for money 
  4. Convenience 
  5. Prompt checkout
Key Takeaways:
  • Price isn't the most important aspect. While cost does make the list, notice that it is value not bottom dollar pricing that most shoppers want. Don't try competing on price when you don't have to.
  • Good customer service is an awesome way to set your business apart and create loyal customers. Bad customer service, on the other hand, can be a business killer. Hiring the right people is even more important than your advertising. 
  • Convenience doesn't just mean location, though being able to get in and out easily is important. Customers are willing to drive for service. Having merchandise arranged so it's easy to browse and find items is important.

Advertising Tips:
  • Think about which areas you excel in--especially compared to your competition. Then make a point to market the related benefits you provide shoppers. 
  • Consider including pictures of your store so consumers can see the easy-to-shop merchandise. 
  • Promote convenient hours or special services such as delivery or personal shopping, etc.
  • Use testimonials to demonstrate your great customer service.
  • Offer tips and suggestions that position you as helpful and knowledgeable. 



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Another creative typography option within MultiAd Creator

January 23, 2012 8:56 AM
This workshop shows how the shapes of letters can be modified.

Step 1
Place an illustrated heading from Creative Outlet into a new Creator file, draw a text block above it and type in your text. Use the Arrow tool to select the text block and go to Convert Text to Paths under the Elements menu. The original text block will remain and the new path element will show up as an outline. Delete the original text block.

Step 2
Select the path element you just made and click on the Reshape tool. Control points which can be moved by dragging will appear on all the lines. If the line is curved, the control points on it will have direction handles which can be dragged to reshape the curve. Control points can be moved individually or several can be selected at once and moved all together, as will be done in the next step. When you click on a control point with the Reshape tool, you will see the hand icon "pinch" on the point.

Step 3
Still using the Reshape tool, drag it over the letter to select the control points. Once the control points are selected, they will change from hollow to black. Click on any one of the selected points and drag to the desired position. As you drag the line, the control points will temporarily disappear so you can clearly see the reshaped line as you move it.

Step 4
You can now resize the word by selecting it using the Arrow tool and dragging the selection handles horizontally or vertically. You could also skew or rotate the word as you could any path element.
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Finding the Right Advertising Message

January 18, 2012 4:12 PM

According to an extensive seven-year, million-dollar plus study done by the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, successful advertising hinges mostly on crafting the right message. In fact, according to an article in Entrepreneur, the study concluded there are only three consistent facts regarding advertising return on investment:

  • Results are NOT tied to dollars spent.
  • Results are tied to the message.
  • Once the message is working, repetition makes it work better.

Crafting the right message, with both copy and graphics, is extremely important, but how do you know you've got the right message? One of the best solutions is to test it.


As a small business, you likely don't have the resources to have focus groups and test markets at your disposal. You do have other options. 


The first and most expensive way to test is to just run the campaign and keep track of the responses you get. Another lower cost option is to run a smaller version of your ad in the classified section or whatever media you're planning to use. Your response will be smaller but you can still see if it generates any action. 


You could also try Google or Facebook ads with similar copy. The cheapest route―and least scientific―is to share it with your friends, family and loyal customers via email, your blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Use them as your test market and see if you generate any sales. If they don't respond, don't expect those less familiar with your products/service/business to.


Once you get an effective message in place, repeat, repeat, repeat. The Wharton study found that good messages advertised consistently usually equal twice the growth in year two and triple the growth in year three. 




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Does Your Branding Design Really Matter?

January 16, 2012 12:41 PM

While branding design is obviously not the most important factor in getting customers to buy, it can definitely have an impact upon it. According to a survey by Ask Your Target Market, 28% of respondents say they have chosen not to buy something because they didn't like the branding design. As for what parts of the branding consumers notice first, 40% said the overall feel and 26% said the colors used.


So what does affect buying? AYTM says, "Overall reputation and price were the two most important aspects of making buying decisions, followed by convenience and past experience with the company."


Respondents were asked "How important is a company's branding (website, package design, logo, etc.) to you when choosing companies to support?" Interestingly almost 41% said at least somewhat important and another 40% said it depends on the type of company. About 17% even ranked branding design in the top two items of importance in choosing a company to support. Seven percent ranked it first over overall reputation, prominence in the market, price, convenience and past experience with the company.


Before you hire a summer intern to redo your logo, website and color scheme, consider hiring a skilled designer or agency with proven experience crafting the right look based on your target market. Then do some testing. It is worth a little extra time and expense to make sure you aren't losing a third of your potential customer base because your branding doesn't resonate with them.

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