“A bed with a single nail sticking up will penetrate you the second you lie down. But a thousand nails can’t penetrate anything. The pressure of each nail is completely diffused by all the others around it.” — Bill Schley If you spend any time watching television or listening to the radio, you […]
Every business exists to solve someone else’s problem. A mattress store can solve the “my back hurts” problem. An HVAC dealer can solve the “it’s too cold in the house!” problem. A restaurant can solve the “I’m hungry and don’t want to cook” problem. As media salespeople, we can solve problems, too. The key is […]
“It was the day my grandmother exploded.” That’s how The Crow Road by Iain Banks opens. The narrator has returned home for a funeral; Chapter One begins in the chapel of a crematorium in Scotland. Although this is from a novel and not a commercial, it’s a great example of an opening line that compels the reader […]
In the advertising sales game, few things are worse than an unexpected cancellation. The agreement was signed with great fanfare a few months ago. The ad looked great, the digital campaign’s performing well, and you’ve settled in for a good, long relationship. Then the email comes out of the blue. “It’s not working. We need […]
Why isn’t my service contract campaign working?” The question came from a television station AE in the Southeast. His customer was an HVAC contractor who wanted to sell more maintenance service agreements. The TV ad had been on the air for about three months. There had been little response. Many heating and air dealers and […]
