Steady Marketing Builds Trust

One of the most common — and frustrating — conversations that advertising/marketing professionals have with their clients is the one where the client just wants to advertise when they have a special event, or at “peak” times of the year. The jeweler who only advertises at Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Christmas The car dealer […]

Maybe Your Prices Are Too Low

It’s a reflex in many sales situations — when you’re competing with others who offer a similar product or service, the first impulse is to cut your price. What if, instead of reducing your price, you made sure you were the most expensive option in the category? Columnist Harold Meyerson recently discussed the concept of positional […]

“My Advertising Didn’t Work”

These words were spoken, I’ll wager, by a couple of companies who recently advertised in the Oregonian. And it wasn’t the O’s fault. Names are withheld in the hope that they decide to give radio a try — why embarrass them publicly when we could play the hero instead? Advertiser #1 is a local clinic […]

A Nifty Guerrilla Marketing Strategy

This week’s Portland Business Journal has a feature (subscription required to access the link) on Tom Rennie, who owns a chain of auto detailing shops called Autobella. Rennie’s come up with a very inexpensive way to grab market share as his industry shakes out: Every week, Rennie pores over the Internet, calling detailing businesses he […]

Marketing Advice from the Attorney General

I spent four hours on Monday in a seminar about the new Oregon Administrative Rules on advertising and consumer fraud. Not exactly the most riveting topic, but in 20+ years of doing this, none of my clients has ever gone to jail because of advice I gave, and I aim to keep it that way. […]