The Follis Marketing Report

It’s better to upset a few people than bore every. Consumers are hit with thousands of messages a day. If a marketer can’t cut through or go around it, he’s wasting money. That’s why it pays to be bold. In fact, I tell my clients that if an ad concept doesn’t make them a little nervous, then it’s probably not that good. That does not mean being irresponsible. But it also doesn’t mean being boring. Remember, the job is to get people excited, not just informed. And a smart, bold effort will do that better, and for less money, than something innocuous and uninspired.

What some companies don’t seem to realize is that no one is ever bored into buying a product. And what they perceive as “safe” is actually a high risk because it’s unexciting. No marketer can afford to lose sight of the purpose of marketing: to reach, and motivate, as many prospects as possible. Therefore it’s impossible not to offend someone, somewhere, sometime about something. So, rather than ask; “Are we offending anyone?” the better question is, “Are we getting anyone excited?”

Some of our agency examples:

People don’t like to be hit on. They like to be engaged by something they’ve discovered. They like to be creatively attracted, entertained, and informed. So invest less on sales and more on smart, creative marketing.

Listen to the podcast that lets you hear how other buisness owners solve their tough marketing problems.

“http://twitter.com/ObamaNews”

from the NY Daily News:“Obama Underwear”

Don’t underestimate the power of a great card. A business card is one of the most important, and most overlooked, elements of any marketing effort. It’s often the first impression that a prospect will have of your business. So, rather than ignore it, why not make it an impressive, memorable reflection of your product or service?

It’s almost comical how often at networking events people will blather on and on about their product or service and then hand out the most lame, cheesy-looking card. Not exactly a great credibility builder, is it.

Can you imagine a business card sparking a conversation, that sparked a meeting, that led to a 93 thousand dollar project? I can, because it happened to me. If you want to hear the story and see the card, just leave me a comment below and ask for the “card story.” I’ll be happy to share it with you.

Great marketing will not help a bad product for long. For real, long term success, be sure you have a great product that there’s truly a market for.

Repetition works. Studies show that people need to see the same message several times before they  even recall it, never mind act on it.

Shel Israel, the 50-something marketing/tech guru was recently asked this question on the LexBlog Q & A. His answer is worth hearing. (And I agree.)

Rob La Gatta:
It seems like while a lot of professionals utilize new media, the general public is less quick to adapt. Is a mass embrace of these tools - newsfeed readers, for example - something that will inevitably occur over time? Or will we continue to see this technological divide until the old model is rendered obsolete and retired?

Shel Israel:
I disagree with your premise. When you add up the number of people reading blogs, watching online video, [and] engaging in social networking, you probably have a number nearly equal to the number of people reading newspapers and watching TV. For example, there are 125 downloads on YouTube for every New York Times newspaper sold. Until a couple of months ago, Facebook was growing by a million [users] a week. I don’t see a technological divide. I see a generational divide. Younger people are in the habit of using social media tools and most older people are not. As the younger people age and replace my generation, their habits will not change.

So, what do you think?